440 CULTIVATION. 



country the horned-worm, so voracious as to require one night 

 only to devour an entire leaf of tobacco. At the South, and 

 especially in Virginia, the housewife's flock of turkeys are 

 allowed to range in the tobacco fields and devour many of 

 these pests. 



Almost as soon as the plants have been transplanted, the 

 work of 



CULTIVATING 



should commence. As the tobacco plant grows and ripens 

 in a few weeks from the time it is transplanted in the field, 

 it is of the utmost importance that the plants get " a good 

 start " as soon as possible. In a favorable season, and with 

 ordinary culture, the plants will do to harvest or " cut " in 

 from eigh^ to ten weeks after transplanting. From the rapid- 

 ity of its growth it will readily be seen that the plant should 

 come forward at once, if large, fine leaves are desired. In a 

 week from the time of transplanting a light cultivator should 

 be run between the rows, stirring the soil lightly, after which 

 the plants should be hoed carefully, drawing away from the 

 hill and plant the old and "baked" earth and replacing it with 

 fresh. If the hill is hard around the plant it should be 

 loosened by striking the hoe carefully into the hill and gently 

 lifting the earth, thus making the hill mellow. This is apt 

 to be the case with stiff, clayey soil, which, if possible, should 

 be avoided in selecting the tobacco field. 



It is doubtless as true a saying as it is a common one with 

 Connecticut tobacco-growers, that the plants will not " start 

 much until they have been hoed." Where the first hoeing is 

 delayed two or three weeks, the plants will to a certain 

 extent become stunted and dwarfed, and will hardly make up 

 for the delay in growing. In from two to three weeks, the 

 field should be hoed again, and this time the cultivator should 

 mellow the soil a little deeper than the first time, while the 

 hoeing should be done in the most thorough manner. Draw 

 the earth around the plant and cut up with the hoe all grass 

 and weeds, aad remove all stone and lumps of manure and 



