192 THE CHIEF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL CROPS 



South, however, usually will permit of the growing 

 of some leguminous crop while the land is not occu- 

 pied by the tobacco, and when this can be done, it 

 can safely be substituted for the more expensive 

 stable manure. This is especially true in Cuba and 

 Porto Rico, where tobacco is a winter crop and the 

 land lies idle throughout the rainy summer season. 

 When the tobacco growers of these regions shall all 

 have learned to plant their harvested tobacco fields 

 in the spring to velvet beans, the rank growth of 

 these vines during the summer will furnish an im- 

 mense amount of nitrogenous vegetable matter to 

 be plowed under in the fall, and the results will be 

 a great economy over the methods of manuring now 

 in vogue. Tobacco only requires a short growing 

 season, and therefore thrives under a great variety 

 of climatic conditions. It requires less water than 

 many other crops. Frequent showers are an advan- 

 tage during the earl}^ period of growth, but dry 

 weather is to be preferred as the plants approach 

 maturity and during the time of harvesting and cur- 

 ing. Where water is available for irrigation, the dry 

 winter months of Cuba and Porto Rico furnish ideal 

 weather conditions for its growth. 



The best formula for tobacco fertilizers will natu- 

 rally differ with different soil conditions, but one 

 containing two parts of j^lio^^pli^i'ic acid and two 

 parts potash for each part of nitrogen will be well 

 adapted to average conditions. 



Planting and Cultivation. — Tobacco is always sown 

 in seed beds, and the young plants are transplanted to 

 the field when of sufficient size. Seed-bed problems 



