26 



fire. As the beds should be prepared for seedinj^ im- 

 mediately after the frost is out of the ground, the brush 

 should be collected, and put in place some time during 

 the winter. Instead of burning over the whole bed at 

 once, a part may be fired for an hour or so at a time, 

 proceding thus over the entire bed. The place is then 

 to be broken up with hoes, and sometimes with coulters, 

 drawn by horses or oxen, and the work repeated until 

 the earth is made perfectly fine, being careful to avoid 

 turning under the surface. All the roots should then be 

 extracted, and the land laid off in beds (slightly elevated 

 if dry, and more if moist or wet) 4 feet wide. And to 

 16 square yards, a common pipe-bowl of seed is sown. 

 The bed is then trodden or pressed with hoes, and well 

 covered with brush to protect the plants from frosts. 

 When the plants have come fully out, they should be 

 slightly manured with strong manure made fine ; this 

 should be repeated frequently, and in larger quantity, as 

 the plants increase in size and are able to bear it. 



"When the plants have attained a good size, and there 

 is no longer danger of frosts, the covering of brush is 

 removed, and the bed weeded with the hand, those em- 

 ployed in this duty taking great care to avoid bruising 

 the tender plants. The beds require frequent picking to 

 keep down the weeds." 



The following, by Judge Beatty gives, no doubt, what 

 the author regards as the best practice for Kentucky : 



" The first step in the process of tobacco culture is to 

 make provision for an abundant supply of plants. Tobac- 

 co seed are very small, and the plants, when they spring 

 from the ground, grow very slowly, and would soon be 

 smothered by weeds if not carefully guarded against. 

 The places selected for plant beds, should be such as 

 would not be likely to produce many weeds. New 

 ground or that which has been long set in grass, would 

 be best for this purpose. To guard still further against 

 weeds, and to insure a thrifty growth of plants, it is 

 essential that the place in which the seed are to be sown, 



