608 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



Tobacco should be preceded by a leguminous crop of some kind, 

 hairy vetch being highly recommended for this purpose. In addition 

 to the nitrogen from the leguminous crop a fertilizer rich in potash 

 and containing a moderate amount of phosphoric acid should be 

 added before transplanting. The best stand is obtained in the field 

 where the land has been plowed deeply and harrowed several times, 

 thus leaving a thoroughly pulverized soil for the reception of the 

 plants. The methods of cultivation, topping, suckering, and har- 

 vesting are essentially the same as in the case of the Connecticut 

 Havana variety. 



North^ Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tobaccos, The meth- 

 ods of sowing the seed and of preparing and caring for the seed bed 

 are the same in the case of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia 

 tobaccos as those used by the Maryland growers. The seed, how- 

 ever, may be sown at least a month earlier than in Maryland. Two 

 systems of harvesting are in general use, both of which have certain 

 advantages. One of these systems is to prime the leaves as fast as 

 they ripen and string them on laths, allowing 30 to 32 leaves to a 

 lath. The other and more common system is to cut the entire stalk 

 and cure the leaves on it, as is done with the Connecticut Havana 

 variety. The North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia tobaccos are 

 usually flue cured or fire cured, for which purpose a special type of 

 barn is used. The essential points of this barn are that it be prac- 

 tically airtight and provided with one or two furnaces having flues 

 leading up through the center of the barn, giving a large heating 

 surface. There should be at least two small ventilators on or near 

 the top of the barn. 



As soon as the barn is filled with tobacco, fires should be started 

 and the temperature raised to 90 F., where it should remain from 

 24 to 30 hours, during which time the tobacco becomes a uniformly 

 bright yellow. The next step in curing is to raise the temperature 

 from 90 to 120 F., for 15 to 20 hours. This process is commonly 

 known as "fixing the color." Then the temperature may be increased 

 gradually to 125 F., at which point it should be maintained for 

 about 48 hours. By this time the leaves should be almost, if not 

 entirely, yellow, but the stalk will still be green. In order to cure 

 out the stalk, the temperature can be raised to 175 F., at the rate 

 of 5 degrees an hour, where it should remain until the stalks are 

 thoroughly dried. Great care must be taken during the entire 

 process of curing not to allow the temperature to fall, for a lowering 

 of the temperature during the process of curing invariably produces 

 discolorations in some parts of the leaf. 



White Burley Tobacco. The seed bed should have a slightly 

 southern exposure in order to get the benefit of the warm rays of 

 the sun in the early spring, and the beds should be protected from 

 cold winds. The best soil for the White Burley tobacco is a rich, 

 friable, virgin loam or sandy soil. The best plan is to burn and 

 prepare the seed bed on old sod lands. Many farmers select a spot 

 in a vegetable garden and cover it with virgin mold taken from the 



