CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO. 11 



shown in Sumatra that the best results -have been obtained on land 

 situated from 8 to 16 kilometers from the ocean, while tobacco planta- 

 tions high up on the mountains have had poor success in growing fine, 

 silky wrapper tobacco. The lowlands, free from frequent inundations 

 and not too near the sea, with soils consisting largely of fine sand and 

 silt, and rich in organic matter, have given the best results. 



In the Philippines many fine bodies of interior valley land, with rich, 

 loamy soils, can be found where tobacco cultivation has not been 

 practiced, and it' is on such tracts of land that its introduction is 

 especially recommended. Mindanao possesses many large valleys with 

 alluvial soils that could undoubtedly be made to produce a fine quality 

 of tobacco. The soils of the large valley between Manila and the Lin- 

 gayan Gulf should be carefully tested with seed from the famous tobacco 

 districts of the world, to determine its fitness for growing tobacco. New 

 areas are constantly being tried in various parts of the world, where 

 tobacco growing was unknown, and the success of so many of these 

 should prove an incentive to greater efforts on the part of the Philippine 

 planter, to enter into competition to furnish a goodly portion of the 

 world's supply of this profitable crop. Only very recently the cultivation 

 of Havana tobacco has been introduced into Annam and Tokin in 

 French Indo-China, and a portion of the crop exported to Manila. Such 

 an example shows what may be accomplished by careful experimentation 

 in the field of new crops, and should stimulate the energies of farmers in 

 every part of the Archipelago. 



CULTIVATION OP THE CROP. 



Since the profits of growing tobacco depend largely on the planter's 

 ability to produce a leaf of such qualities as to make it desirable to the 

 manufacturer, it follows that the greatest care should be exercised in the 

 cultivation of the plant. Prior to the work of transplanting, the ground 

 should be thoroughly plowed or spaded to a considerable depth. Deep 

 cultivation is advisable on any character of soils, as it readily allows 

 the free percolation of rain and air through the soil, and increases the 

 amount of available plant food contained in the soil, and helps to con- 

 . serve the moisture, especially in times of drought. If only small amounts 

 of manures are to be applied, it can be spread broadcast after the first 

 plowing ; but, if large quantities of stable or straw manures are used, it is 

 best to plow them in several weeks before the time of setting out the 

 plants. After plowing, the land should be harrowed with a disk harrow, 

 and then with a smoothing harrow. In Sumatra, where all of the opera- 

 tions are performed by Chinese coolies, the work of breaking the soil is 

 performed by an implement called the "tyankol," a sort of spade, which 

 takes the place of the plow, while the work of smoothing and reducing the 

 soil to a fine state of tilth is accomplished by hoes and iron rakes. Either 



