TOXIC ACEOUS HERBS. 685 



They are, however, as susceptible of cold as the potato, and should 

 not be planted out finally till the end of May. 



Cultivation in the Open Ground. The soil for growing tobacco can 

 hardly be too rich and deep. It is a gross feeder and a rapid grower. 

 The plants should be set in rows three or four feet apart, and eighteen 

 inches at least from plant to plant in the rows. Here they will 

 only require to be kept clean by frequent hoeings, and if their pro- 

 gress is not satisfactory, their growth may be vigorously stimulated 

 with doses of sewage or liquid-manure. The tobacco is a plant of 

 rapid growth, and, in three months from the time of planting, it will 

 have reached a height of from six to nine feet, and formed an immense 

 number of large leaves. It will now begin to flower, and at this stage 

 it probably possesses the maximum amount of poison; this is there- 

 fore the time chosen by many for harvesting and curing the crop. The 

 piecemeal mode of harvesting is the best : About August, go over the 

 tobacco and pick off all the largest leaves. Tie them in bundles, and 

 hang them up in an airy shed or any hot dry house or closet to dry. 

 When they begin to get crisp, they should be placed in a moist atmo- 

 sphere until the leaves "come again," as it is called that is, until 

 they are pliable and can be rolled up without breaking. The leaves 

 should then be laid one upon another, in bundles twenty or thirty 

 thick, firmly pressed, and then stored away in close boxes and tubs in 

 a dry place, and preserved for use. The drying, sweating, and press- 

 sing seem to be the great points needed to develope and preserve the 

 essential oils of the tobacco. If dried only, as is often the case, the 

 tobacco becomes brittle ; if the sweating is carried to excess, the 

 leaves will rot ; if exposed to the air after it is cured, the strength 

 will vanish away. The drying and sweating should, if possible, be 

 performed in a high temperature, at least from 70 to 80. A 

 second or third crop of leaves will be produced, to be treated in 

 the same manner ; and finally, early in October, the entire plant 

 should be cut over and the stalks preserved like the leaves. From 

 their greater substance they will need more time in drying. In all 

 other respects treat them like the leaves. By this mode excellent 

 fumigating tobacco may be prepared. 



The White Hellebore (Veratrum album, L.) is a melanthaceous 

 tuberculous-rooted perennial, a native of Denmark, and formerly in 

 much repute as a powerful medicine. The part employed is the root 

 dried and powdered ; and as it has lately been found more efficacious 

 than tobacco powder in destroying the caterpillar on the gooseberry, 

 it might be worth while to cultivate it in gardens for that purpose. 

 The plant is not rare, and is easily propagated by seeds or by divi- 

 sion. At two years from the seed the roots may be fit for use, and 

 may be taken up, dried on a hothouse flue, and beaten into powder, first 

 on a stone with a cast-iron rammer, and afterwards, if thought; 

 necessary, to a finer powder, in a mortar. A decoction of the leaves 

 and stems might probably also be effective ; or they might be treated 

 like those of the tobacco, and afterwards used in fumigation or as snuff. 



