226 Practical Farming 



attain more than an inch or two in length is a very impor- 

 tant matter, and must be attended to all through the 

 growth of the crop to maturity. The quaHty of the leaf 

 depends very largely on the assiduity of the grower in the 

 removal of the suckers. 



But the most important matter in the growth of tobacco 

 is the fight against the worms, the larvae of the homblower 

 moth. This is one of the largest of our moths, being 

 almost as large as the ruby-throat humming bird. It has 

 a long proboscis that is kept rolled up Hke a watch spring 

 when not in use, but when in use it enables this moth to 

 reach down in the corolla of a deep flower, Hke that of 

 the tobacco plant, to get nectar. 



This moth lays its eggs on the tobacco leaves, where they 

 hatch into a green caterpillar which at once begins life 

 and growth by eating the leaves, and if let alone will to 

 a great extent destroy the value of the whole crop. Three 

 broods of this insect are hatched during the summer, 

 though it is commonly supposed there are but two. For- 

 merly, tobacco growers in their fight against the pest 

 depended on hand picking, running turkeys in the tobacco 

 field and on poisoning the moths with cobalt and sweet- 

 ened water placed in the corolla of the flower of the Jimson 

 weed, or in a painted imitation flower of the same. 



In recent years, however, it has become the common 

 practice to spray the plants with Paris green mixed in 

 water, one-fourth of a pound of the poison being used to 

 a barrel of water and appHed with a spraying pump and 

 nozzle. This is all right for the early brood of cater- 

 pillars, but for the later brood we are of the opinion that 

 the poison should not be used, as there may some of it 



