184 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 3 



of tobacco plant beds, I will "furnish all the de- 

 tails of the usual, most laborious, and costly ope- 

 ration of burninjx patches lor tobacco plants." 



Aller rakin<j!; oli'the leaves, the whole length of 

 one side of ihe patch, skids of about 4 inches dia- 

 meter are laid, and 3 or 4 leet apart. Wood is then 

 laid across ai)()ut4 or 5 feet broad, and raised near- 

 ly, or quite, tiiree feet high, inlennixcd with dry 

 wood, and battered to a narrow space at the top, 

 and the leaves thrown on to start the fire, which is 

 kindful at short intervals Ironi one end to the other. 

 When it is burnt down sufficiently low, long green 

 poles (say about 10 feet) with a strong hook at the 

 end, are applietl by two men to each log, and it is 

 hauled back another breadth of the fire, or nearly 

 so, hauling back the leaves, and renewing the skids 

 as occasion requires, and piling the wood on, as at 

 first, but dispensing with the dry wood, if you 

 choose, since any wood will burn after the heat be- 

 comes strong. Thi.i operation goes on till the 

 Avhole patch is burnt over. When this strong 

 heat is created, it is unwise, if it can be prevented, 

 to let the fire go out till the work is finished; con- 

 sequently, it is beuun many hours beibre day, and 

 perhaps, kept up till after night comes on again. 

 This is done at the proper season for sowing Ihe 

 seed, say January, February, or March, if the 

 ground is nor, dry enough before. It is then dug 

 with hoes, taking care to draw them out without 

 turning in the surface of the earth. Work it over 

 and over till it is quite fine. Rake it nicely with 

 hand rakes, and take ofi' the roots which are 

 gathered. Mark it with a stick about four feet be- 

 tween the marks. Something less than a level ta- 

 ble spoonful of good clean seed is suliicient for a 

 hundred square yards. Measure half the seed, 

 and mix them well in a liberal quantity of ashes, 

 (say about a quart to the spoonfiji.) Walk be- 

 tween the marks, sifting the seed through the fin- 

 ders,, from mark to mark, going over the whole 

 patch. Then go over it again upon the marks, 

 reaching half way to the neighboring mark on 

 each side. In these two operations, but half the 

 number of seed should be sown. Then mark 

 across, mi.K the other half the seed, and go over in 

 like manner. This particularity is not observed by 

 all. The practice, lor the most part, is to go over 

 once each way. I3ut when it is recollected that 

 every plant which does not attain a proper size is 

 lost, and, consequently, every part that is sown too 

 thick is thrown away, it will readily occur to the 

 tobacco maker that this little additional pains is 

 well bestowed. It is then trodden close, each 

 hand going sideways, and one governed by the 

 track of another, till the whole is gone over — 

 then cover nicely with naked brush. This process 

 of hauling Ihe fire is very distressing, particularly 

 when the wind shifts, which sometimes makes it ne- 

 cessary to move the fire to another side of the 

 patch. For this reason, as well as because the 

 heat all operates togelhcr, I now generally pack it 

 as mentioned in my former number, and burn for 

 immediate sowing. But in this case, it is abso- 

 lutely necessary to procure a great deal ol seasoned 

 wood and brush, to mix with the green, otherwise 

 it will not burn out clear, and of course the land 

 will not be well bm-nt. It requires more too than 

 upon the plan mentioned in my former number: 

 because, in that case the fire must be put to it 

 when it is quite dry, and of course before the winter 

 begins. 



This description is given, Mr. Editor, for those 

 who are novices in the business. And I will here 

 take occasion to repeat to my brother planters, that 

 what 1 have said, and may say, is not intended 

 for those who know as much or more about it than 

 I do. It was my intention to give some hinis about 

 the manner of manuring, hilling, &c., but they will 

 be too late for the present cron. Nevertheless, I 

 will briefly remark, that care should be taken to 

 manure verv regidarly, so that the crop may be 

 uniform. For the same reason, and others, it is 

 important always to make the hills when the 

 ground is in a moist condition, but not wet, (lor no 

 operation should be perlormed when the soil is at 

 ail too wet— it is nuich worse than hard croppiniT)) 

 and a hill should neverbe cut ofi' till there is a plant 

 ready to put into it immediately. Because, if it is 

 cut off beibre the rain fills, upon which it is planted, 

 a crust is formed, the rays of light and heat are re- 

 flected, and the leaves of the plant parched; 

 whereas, the friable surface of the hill freshly cut 

 off, imbibes more freely the atmospheric influence, 

 which communicates more readily^ wiih the mois- 

 ture below, so that you will often find it quite moist 

 in the morninsr, when that which has a crust on it 

 is dry. If rain falls on it after it is planted, be it so; 

 it is better than beibre. When the hills are put 

 up with a "season" in them, we cut them ofi and 

 plant without rain, as fist as the plants are large 

 enough, faking care to draw them in the morning 

 when the dew is on, and keeping them covered 

 with wet bushes, till they are dropped and planted, 

 without allowing \hem to foil (or wither.) The 

 operation of the sun upon the lo[) of the leaf afier 

 it is planted, is less injurious than may be imagined 

 by those inexperienced. I last year planted an en- 

 tire crop onaiarge plantation, without a "season," 

 and it stood unusiudly well. Here, let it be re- 

 marked, that a plant should not be drawn, if it can 

 be avoided, till it is large enough, and has A good 

 root. 



It may sometimes happen, that the hills dry 

 through, so as to make it necessary to cut them off 

 in order to have them made wet by a rain. But 

 this is an evil that ought to be avoided if it can. 

 This happens when the plants are late. For thia 

 cause, 1 have been compelled to put up the hills 

 later than I would wish. And when there is 

 much to be done, I have found it necessary to pre- 

 pare the land well, lay it in beds with the plough, 

 check it at the proper distance, and leave it in this 

 rough state till it rains, so that the hands will 

 round up 4000 each, per day, before it gets dry, 

 and thereby preserve the season in the hill. In- 

 deed I have, in this way, when the plants had at- 

 tained a proper size, levelled the surface, clapped 

 it with the hoe, as usual, and planted without hill- 

 ing. Let it be observed, that the first plant that 

 is put in, stands abetter chance to live, than any 

 that is afterwards put in by replanting. And it is 

 all-important to have an even crop, because in all 

 the after operaiions of topping, siickering and cut- 

 ting, more business is done at each operation, and 

 of course a larger crop can be managed with the 

 same nimiber of hands. 



Referring to the business of burning patches, I 

 have no doubt, as fuel becomes more scarce, other 

 rneans will be adopted that wdl effect a still greater 

 saving, particularly by resorting to standi ngjiatchee, 

 which, as they become older, require less burning. 

 But it will be found that these must be surrounded 



