TOBACCO 241 



soil near a running stream is selected, levelled, trenched, 

 and all roots and vegetation removed. Level beds are 

 then made 3 ft. 6 in. wide and raised 6 in. above the 

 general level; the surface soil is carefully prepared to 

 produce a fine seed bed, and a few days before sowing 

 the beds are covered with a layer of dry grass and small 

 brushwood, and thoroughly burned to aid disintegration 

 and 'sterilization of the soil. 



After burning, the larger pieces of unburnt wood are 

 removed and the fine wood ashes worked into the surface 

 by hand or with an ordinary iron garden rake; the beds 

 are then re-shaped and finally firmed down and sown. 

 About 20 to 25 lineal yards of bed are allowed for each 

 acre. 



Tobacco seed is very small, and one heaped teaspoonful 

 of good seed mixed with dry, fine wood ash and sand 

 is sufficient to sow 70 square feet of bed. After sowing, 

 a thin layer of grass is again spread over the beds and 

 the whole thoroughly saturated with water, the seed bed 

 receiving sufficient water to keep it moist but not wet, 

 frequent light applications being preferable to heavy 

 applications at long intervals. 



The tobacco beds require daily attention, and imme- 

 diately the seed begins to germinate weeds must be 

 removed, and the covering grass fixed on supports a 

 few inches above the beds. 



As the seedlings grow the beds should receive diminish- 

 ing shade by raising the grass cover until it is some 3 ft. 

 above the ground, and, before planting out, the seedlings 

 should be gradually hardened to stand the full effect of 

 sunlight and heat. 



There is great diversity of opinion as to the size the 

 plants should be before planting out, but anything with 

 leaves between 2 in. and 4 in. in length is quite suitable, 

 the age varying from six to ten weeks. 



In a country with a fluctuating local rainfall like 

 Nyasaland, and especially with a crop requiring consider- 

 able harvesting accommodation, it is all-important to 

 have nurseries and growing fields at various ages 

 throughout the planting season, which normally extends 

 from the end of November to the middle of February. 

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