CULTIVATION. 5 1 



the same point, they are more difficult to handle. The 

 plants should be placed in a hollow made on each hill, 

 which will serve as a reservoir for the water to be applied, 

 and also afford some shade. 



In India, the plants are watered immediately after 

 planting; they should also by some means be shaded 

 during the first few days, which can easily be done when 

 only a small area is planted, but is rather difficult to 

 manage on a large scale. In the latter case, the shade 

 afforded by planting in a slight cavity must suffice. If 

 the plants have been taken from the nursery with some 

 soil adhering to their roots, and are kept sufficiently 

 moist during the first few days, few of them will die. 

 When the weather is dry, water should be applied at 

 morning and evening, and after that time, once daily 

 until the plants have taken root, after which, occasional 

 waterings, varying with soil, weather, and kind of plant, 

 must be given. In dry weather, and with a soil poor in 

 humus, one watering every second or third day may be 

 necessary, whereas with a soil rich in organic matter, 

 and in a moist atmosphere, watering may be entirely 

 dispensed with. During the first few days, the water 

 is applied with a watering-pot, held very low, otherwise 

 the soil would be washed from the plant-roots, and 

 expose them to the direct rays of the sun, causing death. 

 The arrangement of the plants in what is known as 

 quincunx order, as shown in Fig. 6, is generally adopted. 



This part of the operations connected with tobacco- 

 growing is described at some length by Mitjen so far 

 as the practice rules in Cuba. His translator remarks 

 that " as soon as the land has been prepared, it should 



E 2 



