THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



179 



CO flies away on that side, and furnishes water 

 to put on the bed in very dry vveaiher. I have 

 liequently watered tobarco beds 'with great ad- 

 vaniage. The water can be thrown over tiie 

 beds a consiiierable distance by means of any 

 thing in the shape of a coniinoii scoop with u 

 long handle. All the parts of a bed that can be 

 reached by the water thrown out of the scoop 

 are soon watered. The part that cannot be 

 reached in this manner, can, as the water is con- 

 venient, be soon watered by taking the water out 

 ol' the branch and carrying it and putting it over 

 the bed. Swamp beds may also be watered in 

 ilry weaiher, and ihc planis made to grow much 

 Jaster in this manntr. (F.) 



In choosing land fi^r a tobacco bed, a planter 

 should be carelijl so as not lb take that which 

 is likely to sponge — that is, land that dries quick 

 alter a rain; lor, in Ibis kind of land the to!)acco 

 seed will not come up so well, as the ground very 

 I'requenily dries below the seed afier they have 

 sprouted, and consequently kills ihem. Tiie best 

 kind of land is that which is well covered with 

 vegetable mould. 



Almost any land or situation would answer 

 very well for beds it' it was not for the tobacco 

 fly: hence the g'-eat iniporiance of' choosing 

 places for beds where the flies are not so likely 

 to eat. Fl:es frequently eat worse in some pJaces 

 than they do in others. I have found them to 

 eat worse in small pieces of woods where beds 

 had been sown in succession tor a number of 

 years. They aie not so apt to eat in places, 

 distant from other places,' where beds have been 

 sown or tobacco has been grown. I have always 

 (bund the first situation that I have mentioned 

 the best, on account of flies ; thaf is, a place noi 

 exposed to the northeast or northwest winds. It 

 is a fact that has been Ions known to tobacco 

 planters, that the flies eat worse during the pre- 

 valence of cold northeast winds, than at any 

 other time: hence they do not injure beds in 

 warm so much as they do in cold situations. An- 

 other thing is, the plants grow faster in warm 

 places, and are sooner out of their way. ' As yet, 

 I know of nothing that will prevent flies from 

 eating when once they have gotten in a bed, nor 



ed even if found to be a preventive. In very 

 large pieces ol woods, the flies are not so likely 

 to injure plants. But at thg present day the 

 woods are so cut down thai many planters have 

 no such places. Alter all the experiments that 

 have been tried, with respect to flies destroying 

 tobacco planis, the situation of the bed has been 

 found to be of more consequence than any thing 

 else ; that is, places where the fhes are not likely 

 to be. I have been rather tedious on choosing 

 suitable places for planting beds ; for I consider, 

 that upon these in a great measure depends the 

 successful glowing of a tobacco crop. (G.) 



Almost any kind of soil or situation might be 

 made to grow plants, were it not for the flies. 

 These little insects are the greatest obstacle to 

 the culture ol tobacco. If it was not for them, 

 the cultivation ol tobacco would be as successful 

 as any other culture. 



The best and surest time to sow plant-beds 

 in upland, is about the middle of March. Beds 

 sown at this time will f)roduce more planis, and 

 require less picking or weeding to keep the grass 

 and weeds out. There are several objections to 

 the custom of sowing seed in the winter months. 

 One of them is, if there should be a warm spell 

 of weather shortly afier the seed are sown, they 

 will come up too soon and are likely to be killed 

 by hard freezing weather. Another objection is, 

 the beds, from having bef.n piopared too early, 

 become so liard before the warm weaiher com- 

 mences in earnest, that the plants will not grow 

 kindly. The plants also frequently come up in 

 a sickly state, and very often remain so. Where- 

 as, beds that are sown in March, from having 

 been lately prepared, grow the plants off quickly. 

 The seed comes up quickly and in a healthy 

 state, and the plants are not inju;-ed by drought, 

 as much as they would be had the "beds been 

 prepared in the winter. The best time to sow 

 lowland beds is about the first of April. (H.^ 



In preparing of plant- beds, ii has been the cus- 

 tom fi-om time immemorial to burn them over with 

 brush or wood. This no doubt is the best way 

 where it can be done. It certainly is best to burn 

 a place that has not been used lor a plant-bed liir 

 several years belbre. But a bed that has been 



do I know of any thing that will kill them. Many j sowed the preceding year, will grow planis without 

 experiments have been tried, but with little or no j being burned again. A planter who is scarce 

 success. I have known persons to sow sulphur ] of stuff to burn his beds with, many obtain a great 

 on their beds. Others have sprinkled over them ! deal of briers and brush by clearing up early liis 



the juice of common elder leaves. Some I have 

 known to sow rye flour on their beds, under the 

 impression, that the flour, by forming an incrus- 

 tation on the plants, prevented the flies fiom 

 . eating. Some suppose that keeping the beds 

 covered with pine brush keeps the flies away. 

 If any covering is of any advantage, it is a co- 

 vering of well rotted stable manure put on very 

 carefully so as nearly to cover the plants, witliout 

 covering them entirely up. 1 have found some 

 advantage from enclosing the beds with a waiting 

 of pine or cedar brush. This kind of fence 

 around beds, whilst it fences ifiem in from the 

 intrusion of stock, prevents in some measure the 

 flies from getting in them from adjacent lands. 

 Some have supposed that a light plank fence 

 around beds would prevent flies tirom getting in 

 them, especially if the plank was tarred : as ihis 

 mode would he atienLled with considerable ex- 

 pense as well as labor, it is not likely to be adopt- 



land intended for corn and tobacco that year. I 

 have fi-equently burned beds with briers and 

 leaves. Briars can be put in a cart with a pitch- 

 fork and put over the bed with the same. Beds, 

 before the seed are sown, should be well pul- 

 verized and cleared of all root or other litter. 

 When sowing the seed it is best to sow one half 

 the seed intended for the bed, and tlien rake them 

 in the ground. The other half of the seed should 

 then be sown across the way the others were 

 sown, and the bed then trvd or pat led. By this 

 mode of sowing seed the bed is prepared for dry or 

 wet weather ; that is, should the weather be 

 dry the seed raked in will come up ; if the weather 

 is wet both sowings will come. The surest way 

 to have plants is to sow plenty ol seed in a bed. 

 It is true, beds will be belter with a certain quan- 

 tity of planis in them but as plants are liable to 

 be destroyed in so many ways, it is surest to sow 

 (hick. A great many planis are destroyed by 



