FARM CROPS 



161 



Deep plowing, from nine to thirteen inches, is also a 

 prime necessity, for tobacco roots go deep into the soil. 

 After this deep plowing, harrow until the soil is thor- 

 oughly pulverized, and is as fine and mellow as that of the 

 flower garden. 



Unlike most other farm crops, the 

 tobacco plant must be started first 

 in a seed bed. To prepare a tobacco 

 bed, the almost universal custom is 

 to proceed as follows. Carefully 



FIG. 151. TOPPING 



select a protected spot. Over this spot pile brushwood and 

 then burn it. The soil underneath the burned brushwood 

 will be left dry to a depth of several inches. It is then 

 carefully raked and smoothed and planted. A tablespoon- 

 ful of seed will sow a patch twenty-five feet square. If 

 the seeds come up well, a patch of this size ought to furnish 

 transplants for five or six acres. In sowing, it is not wise 

 to cover the seed deeply. A light raking in or an even 

 rolling of the ground is all that is needed. 



