15 Djkc, 1919.J Tobacco Culture. 755 



TOBACCO CULTURE. 



(Continuerl from page 675.) 

 By Temple A. J. >^mith, Tohacco Expert. 



Intercultivation and Care of the Crop During Growth. 



For ibe lirst week after the jilauts are put out very little progrest^ 

 will be noticed, and sliould the weather be hot and dry, the leaves of the 

 tobacco will probably wither, and little of the plant will be visible. On 

 the other hand, if the weather be moist, the plants will be easily dis- 

 cernible in the rows from the first. A week after planting fresh 

 rooting will have taken place J'.nd the plants will begin to show up 

 along the rows. 



Provided the land has been well pre])ared, no cultivation should be 

 necessary until at least a fortnight after transplanting, but any plants 

 that have failed to strike should be replaced by fresh ones, and these 

 must be put in by hand. 



Should the soil crust or cake round the plants, as sometimes happens 

 after heavy rains, it should be loosened with a hand hoe, care being 

 taken not to injure the plant in the operation. 



As soon as the plants have rooted and can be seen plainly in the 

 rows the horse-hoe or -scuitier should be run between the rows, to keejt 

 the soil loose and prevent the growth of weeds. The first hoeing should 

 be from 4 to 5 inches deep, and each subsequent hoeing shallower until 

 the last, which should merely skim the surface. Three to four hoeings, 

 ■each at an interval of a fortniglit, are generally all that are required. 

 In a fortnight the young plants will be too large to permit of a horse 

 being worked through witliout danger of breaking the leaves. The 

 hand hoe should be used between the plants in the rows to loosen the 

 soil and check weed growth. Some growers hill up the plants when they 

 attain a height of about a foot, by drawing the soil up and around the 

 individual plants with the hoe, and the practice is a good one if winds 

 are bad and liable to bend the plants over, thus making the stalk 

 crooked and rendering them awkward for splitting at harvest time. 



Another practice sometimes followed is to prune the four lowest 

 leaves off each plant, but it is doubtful whether any advantage is gained 

 by so doing. These leaves are of little value, but if left on the plants 

 serve the purpose of protecting the better leaves above them from contact 

 with the soil, thus keeping them cleaner. They also shade the soil near 

 til,' roots in dry weather and prevent the sun scorching the butts of the 



Two Common Pests. 



Cut-wonna at times cause trouble by eating the plant stem through 

 just beneath the surface of the soil, and if these pests are doing much 

 damage they may be easily poisoned. Baits of bran steeped in water, 

 molasses or sugar, and arsenic should be spread on the area to be 

 planted in the evening after sunset, when the cut-worms come to the 

 -!urface. The proportions of the mixture are: — ^1 lb. of paris green <>r 



