258 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



(to prevent the ridgea from beino; trodden bv the 

 off horse) Troni three to three and a half feet from 

 centre to centre, according to the kind of tobacco 

 which is intended to be planted. The ground 

 should be crossed at the same distance, by a 

 shovel plough or one with a double mould board. 

 The ground will now be in a condition, requiring 

 nothing more to be done to prepare for the plant- 

 ing, but to cut off the centre of the square or ridge 

 with a broad hoe. This last operation should be 

 performed when the plants are of sufficient size 

 for setting, and should be made only so many at 

 a time as there will be plants to fill the first .season 

 that happens. Plants can only be set after a rain, 

 and much care should be taken in this operation, 

 for if plants are well set they will grow quickly, 

 but if badly set they will be kept back some time, 

 and many hills will require to be replanted. This 

 will cause much additional labor and render the 

 crop irregular as to the time of ripening. When 

 the crop is planted its cultivation must be carefully 

 attended to. The first thing to be done is to see 

 that the cut worms do not destroy the young 

 plants. These must be sought after and destroy- 

 ed. The plants must be kept free from weeds. 

 In this operation both the plough and hoe should 

 be used until the plants become too large to use 

 the former without breaking the leaves. During 

 the last ploughing, tobacco should be ploughed 

 only during the heat of the day, when the leaves 

 will have wilted and will not easily break. 



Tobacco is very subject to be injured by the 

 horn worm. This insect is very destructive, and 

 if not destroyed will ruin the crop. The utmost 

 care is, therefore, required from an early period 

 of its growth, to save the tobacco crop. From 

 the time the horn worm makes its appearance the 

 crop should be gone over once a week till it is 

 cut. Topping andpriming are next to be attend- 

 ed to. The latter consists in breaking oil the 

 leaves next to the ground, which, to the number 

 of four or five, are of no value. The number 

 of leaves to which tobacco should be topped, 

 varies according to the kind of tobacco raised, 

 and the season of topping. The first topping 

 will always admit of a greater number of leaves 

 being left ; and, in proportion as the season ad- 

 vances, fewer leaves should be left. The heavier 

 kinds of tobacco are generally topped early in the 

 season, to twelve leaves, then to ten, and still later 

 to eight. The lighter kinds of tobacco are topped 

 to a greater number of leaves. The above rule 

 is only applicable to a rich soil. If the soil is light, 

 the topping should be regulated accordingly, and 

 fewer leaves left. 



Suckering is a much more tedious operation. 

 Every plant requires te be twice suckered before 

 it is ready for cutting. The first suckers are of 

 quick growth, and should be removed before they 

 become large, otherwise they will not only injure 

 the growth of the plants, but will sometimes 

 break off the leaves in removing them. 



Tobacco is usually planted from the middle of 

 May to the last of June. And the cutting season 

 usually commences about the middle of August, 

 and is rarely finished until late in September. 

 Between the planting and cutting of tobacco, the 

 labor of attending to it is light, but very tedious. 

 It requires more hands than any other crop, for 

 the same number of acres ; but weak hands and 

 children can assist and do much of the work. 



When it begins to ripen, stouter hands are re- 

 quired, though children may still aid in the sub- 

 sequent operations. A little practice will enable 

 the planter to distinguish, very readily, the ripe 

 from the green plants. At the first cutting the 

 former must be selected nnd cut, leaving the 

 others to become riper. When tobacco is ripe 

 the leaves become spotted, with a greenish yellow 

 color, and the leaves are so thick and ridged that 

 by folding and pressing them gently between the 

 thumb and finger, they will break or crack. But 

 a little experience will en-ible the planter to de- 

 termine which plants ase ripe by sight alone. 

 Tobacco must be split while standing; and such 

 hands as can readily distinguish between the ripe 

 and green plants, should be employed in the 

 splitting process. The most convenient knife for 

 splitting tobacco is in form somewhat like a broad 

 chisel, except that the blade should be very thin. 

 It should be three and a half inches wide, and of 

 thesame length, having attached to it a thin spear 

 or shank, to be inserted in a handle about a foot 

 long, having a cro&s piece on the top, to be held 

 by the hand. After the spear is inserted in the 

 handle, the latter should be shaved flat on two 

 sides, to prevent the end of the handle next the 

 spear from siriking against the top of the tobac- 

 co stalk as the knife is run down. With this 

 instrument a skilful operator can split the standing 

 plants with great rapidity. They should not be 

 split nearer to the ground than six inches. The 

 cutter may follow immediately alter the splitter 

 or at any convenient time afterwards. A coramo'n 

 hemp hook is the best instrument for cutting to- 

 bacco. The cutting season is a critical time for 

 the tobacco crop. It is subject to a variety of 

 casualties; and vvithoift particular care, is liable 

 to sustain great and irreparable injury. It is sub- 

 ject to he bruised in handling, to be sim burned, 

 and to be greatly injured by heating if suffered 

 to lie too long in large heaps. Each of these 

 will most materially injure the crop, and they 

 must all be guarded against with the utmost vi- 

 gilance. The first is the most difficult to be 

 guarded against, when tobacco is cut in very 

 warm weather. After it is cut, it must lie long 

 enough to fall or wilt, so as to become sufficiently 

 plrant to handle w'uhout breaking or bruising the 

 leaves. The hotter the weather the more diffi- 

 cult it is to accomplish this object without expos- 

 ing the plants to the deteriorating eflects of being 

 sun burned. It is surprising how quickly this 

 takes place, when tobacco is exposed to the 

 meridian rays of the sun, in the month of August, 

 or early in September. The parts of the leaves 

 which are sun burned turn white and soon be- 

 come dry and crisp ; and when cured, assume a 

 green color. The parts thus affected are com- 

 pletely ruined, having lost all the qualities of good 

 tobacco. To guard against this casualty, when 

 tobacco is cut early in the season the operation 

 should be performed in the morning or so late in 

 the evening that the sun will not have power 

 enough to injure it. Cutting, both in the morning 

 and evening, may be practised as convenience 

 may dictate, and may be managed as follows. 

 The planter may commence cutting in the morn- 

 ing, taking care to cut only so much as he can 

 secure before the sun has acquired sufficient power 

 to injure it. When the cutting is completed and 

 the plants have fallen sufficiently, he should com- 



