ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 559 



hands in lugs, and from two to four times 

 .as much in good leaf. 



If tobacco is too soft when stripped to 

 prize, it should be hung back in the barn 

 until thoroughly dry, giving good room 

 between the sticks for the air to circulate. 

 It may then be taken down the first damp 

 spell and bulked ready for prizing. Tobac- 

 co intended for the English market should 

 be prized in much drier condition than 

 for any other, owing to the fact that 

 there is an import duty in that country of 

 over seventy cents per pound on 

 the article, and the importer wishes to 

 pay duty on as little water as possible, 

 A large proportion of the shipping leaf 

 of this State is prized by the country 

 operators with a view to the English 

 market; and we think if managed 

 differently it would do better for some 

 other markets, and can be prepared with 

 less expense. For instance, we would 

 prize all dark, heavy leaf in simply good 

 keeping order, and not in what is called 

 "factory dried," and only factory dry that 

 which is bright or colory. Dark shipper 

 should be prized in hogsheads of 1,600 or 

 1,700 pounds net; lugs, 1,800 to 2,000 

 pounds net; factory dried, 1,250 to 1,400 

 pounds net. Care should be taken in all 

 kinds to handle neatly, and not put two 

 kinds in one hogshead when possible to 

 -avoid it. 



Bright wrappers and fine fillers should 

 not be prized so as to bruise the leaf, and 

 if very fine wrappers, should be put in 

 half hogsheads, or tubs of 300 to 600 

 pounds net; fillers from 800 to 1,000 

 pounds. The most important point in 

 these varieties is the assorting or classifi- 

 cation ; and if our farmers will once get 

 to prizing their crops, and attend a lead- 

 ing market in person occasionally, where 

 they can see specimens of the best 

 managed crops of different States, they 

 will soon learn more than can be written 

 on the subject in many long articles, and 

 the information will be such as will lead 

 to their prosperity ; and if only a few of 

 them will try the experiment, our object 

 in writing this will be accomplished. 



TOMATO PLANTS, To Raise.— Make 

 .a hot bed in the customary way, about 

 three by six feet. On about three square 

 feet at one end, sow your seed one-six- 

 teenth of an inch thick ; cover with one- 

 half an inch of rich, sifted soil. When 



the plants are three inches high t make a. 

 trench across the bed, leaving one side at 

 an angle of fifty-two degrees. Wet the 

 plants so that they can be taken up with- 

 out injuring the roots. Place them in 

 the trench two inches apart. Cover them 

 up to the last leaves by making another 

 trench so near that the rows of plants 

 will be three inches apart. When they 

 are from four to six inches high trans- 

 plant them into the garden, taking care 

 not to injure the roots. Plants raised as 

 above directed will be very stocky, will 

 not wilt when transplanted, and will ripen 

 their fruit before frost comes. 



TURNIP CULTURE.— The most de- 

 sirable soil for the cultivation of this root 

 is a sandy loam free from stagnant water 

 — one easily cultivated to a considerable 

 depth, notwithstanding a heavier crop 

 may occasionally be obtained from a clay 

 loam. 



Early in the fall the land intended for 

 turnips should receive a heavy coat of 

 farmyard manure, and be deeply plowed; 

 cross-plowed in the spring about the end 

 of May or the beginning of June, har- 

 rowed and rolled until a fine tilth is 

 secured. Getting the soil into a finely 

 divided state is a matter of the highest 

 importance. It is a well established fact 

 that all soils have the power of absorbing 

 and retaining to a greater or less degree 

 a certain amount ot moisture, and the 

 more finely divided and thoroughly pul- 

 verized the land, the greater amount of 

 moisture will it absorb and retain. It 

 would be very difficult to state absolutely 

 when it is the best time to sow, inasmuch 

 as soils and seasons vary. On clay or 

 clay loam perhaps the most desirable 

 time is from the fifth to the fifteenth of 

 June, and on sandy loams from the tenth 

 to the twentieth of that month. The 

 quantity of seed required per acre will 

 also vary with the weather. In damp 

 weather, on sandy soils, 2 lbs. is ample, 

 and on clay loam, and in weather 

 ordinarily dry, it will be well to use 3 

 lbs. or more. The depth of the seed 

 should be 1 to 1 ^ inches below the sur- 

 face. It is better for plants to come up 

 thickly, for they grow faster than when 

 thin, and are more apt to escape the 

 ravages of the fly; and, moreover, they 

 require immediate attention as soon as 

 they are large enough to thin. Sowing 



