TOBACCO 193 



are among the most important for the tobacco grower, 

 this being especially true in tropical countries. The 

 primitive method of making seed beds, and one that 

 is still very largely in use, is to clear a space in the 

 forest, burn the brush where it lies, and after slightly 

 stirring the soil with a hoe to incorporate the coating 

 of ashes, the seed is scattered broadcast. At the 

 North a low frame is usually built around the bed 

 and covered with cloth to protect the young plants 

 from cold. The advantages of this method are that 

 strong, fresh soil is secured for the young plants, and 

 all seeds of weeds which might otherwise overshadow 

 the tiny tobacco plants have been destroyed by fire. 

 More important still, however, is the fact that the fire 

 has also served to sterilize the soil by killing the myce- 

 lium of the various damping-off fungi, by which it is 

 so often infested. This is a matter of the utmost 

 importance at the South, where seed beds are started 

 during warm weather. When damp, rainy weather 

 follows the sowing of seed beds in Cuba and Porto 

 Rico, immense losses are occasioned by the damping 

 off of the young plantlets. The trouble is not so 

 serious at the North, where seed is sown in the cool 

 weather of the spring; but whenever it is found neces- 

 sary to make seed beds on old land, some method for 

 sterilizing the soil should be adopted. This may be 

 accomplished by piling on brush and burning it, the 

 same as in the woods, by applying live steam through 

 perforated pipes, or by the free use of boiling water. 

 Chemical sterilization is also practicable. Thoroughly 

 spraying the surface of the soil, both before and after 

 sowing, with Bordeaux mixture, gives a considerable 

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