38 TOBACCO. 



frost has impaired their vitality. During leisure time, 

 the pods are stripped from the stalks, and the seed is 

 rubbed out by hand, and winnowed. Its vitality is 

 proved by its crackling when thrown upon a hot stove. 



Seed-beds. A very light friable soil is necessary for 

 the seed-beds ; to obtain this, it should be broken up to a 

 depth of 1 J ft. some months before the sowing season. A 

 drain is dug around the beds, and the soil is utilized 

 in raising the surface. In America, a very warm and 

 sheltered situation, such as the south end of a barn, is 

 selected for the seed-beds. It is a common plan there to 

 burn a brush-heap over the ground, thus supplying potash 

 and killing weeds. The time for sowing in America is 

 usually from the middle of March to the 10th of April, or 

 as soon as the ground admits of working in the spring ; 

 in India, it depends upon the locality : when the monsoon 

 rains are very heavy, it should follow them; in other 

 cases, it may precede them. 



Unless the soil be very rich in humus, it should be 

 heavily manured with well-preserved farmyard manure 

 soon after breaking up. The soil of a tobacco nursery 

 cannot contain too much organic matter ; the presence of 

 much humus will prevent, to a great extent, the formation 

 of a surface crust, which is so detrimental to the develop- 

 ment of the plants during their early growth, and will 

 also facilitate the extraction of the plants when trans- 

 planting takes place. After a few weeks have elapsed, 

 the soil should be dug over a second time, and the whole 

 be reduced to a fine tilth. The land may now remain 

 untouched until the sowing-time, unless weeds should 

 spring up : these must be eradicated. 



