48 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Dr. Jenkins. I would rather hear what you have to say 

 about that. 



Mr. Williams. My experience is somewhat limited, but 

 the manner in which we have treated our soil for our tobacco 

 bed for the past two years — and we have been quite suc- 

 cessful in getting plants early — is to apply nothing in the 

 fall but cotton-seed meal, at the rate of 100 pounds to the 

 square rod, and harrow it in thoroughly and rake and roll 

 the bed and prepare it as you would in the spring before 

 sowing seed, and then as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground in the spring, rake the bed with an iron rake, then 

 rake it again, still lighter if possible, and roll it and put on 

 the glass. We use no fertilizer until the plants are up, then 

 we use nitrate of soda or some special tobacco starter. We 

 put on the water warmed to from 80° to 95°. 



Dr. Jenkins. You start your seed in jars with some 

 vegetable mould? 



Mr. Williams. About half of the seed. That is done 

 by taking an old-fashioned milk pan and filling it about half 

 full of loam, and then put on a cloth and cut a turf the 

 shape of the pan and keep it warm and moist. 



Dr. Lindsey. As to the relative merits of the different 

 forms of potash, we find that the tobacco men as a rule are 

 obliged to use sulphate of potash. Can the farmer get car- 

 bonate of potash sufficiently cheap so that he can afford to 

 use it? What would you advise farmers to apply as a 

 carbonate ? 



Dr. Jenkins. Cotton-seed hull ashes, if you can get them 

 cheaply ; if not, wood ashes. We have first-rate results 

 from wood ashes. There is no better form of potash than 

 wood ashes. I think the carbonate of potash made by the 

 potash syndicate is pretty expensive. We are practically 

 limited to these two forms, — cotton-seed hull and wood 

 ashes. If you make allowance for lime in the ashes, they 

 do not cost much more than any high-grade sulphate. 

 High-grade sulphate costs from five to five and one-half, 

 sometimes more. In ashes you ought to have 5 per cent of 

 potash, that is, 100 pounds to the ton. You want two or 

 three tons of ashes to the acre. 



