FARMERS' REGISTER— TOBACCO CULTURE. 



751 



I think, he settled by capitalists. Tlie amount 

 Avhich would buy and stock a snuij fiirni in Vir<i;i- 

 nia, capable of yieldinja; a good support to an in- 

 dustrious and economical owner, would, if invest- 

 ed in stock of any kind, scarcely yield enoug!) di- 

 vidend to pay house rent, servant hire, &c. and 

 the princi[)u] itself he in constant danger, particu- 

 larly at the present time. 



We have been alarmin<ily injured for some 

 years in Gloucester, by the cater[)illar ; is th.eie 

 no way of <;^etting rid of them ? 1 have been hotter 

 reconciled to the distressing; rains we have had 

 lately, with the hope that the fly, efjc^, or what- 

 ever produces them, may be destroyecl. 



TOBACCO CULTURE THK CULTIVATION OF 



THE CROP. 



No. II. 



[Continued from page 579.] 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Having given my views, in a previous nund>cr, 

 on the preparation necessary for tiie tobacco crop, 

 I come now to the second branch of the subject, 

 proposed to be treated of, in tlie series laid down in 

 my (irst essay, to wit: the cultivation of the crop. 

 As this part of the business is much the most sim- 

 ple, and consequently, more generally underslocx! 

 and correctly practised by tiie mass of planters, 

 I deem it unnecessary to treat it much in detail — 

 and shall therefore content myself with a concise 

 view of the most prominent points. 



The first working of the plants should be com- 

 menced as soon as they have taken root sufliicient- 

 ly to hear close cultivation with the hoe, which 

 should be applied closely, but lightly, about them, 

 SO as to loosen the earth, and remove all tiie grass 

 from the young plants, which will give them a 

 good start to grow. It is generally unnecessary 

 to plough the land the first working, as the earth 

 is usually loose, from the recent ])reparation for 

 planting. Should it, however, lie hard, or Ijaked, 

 the surifiice should then l;e thoroughly stirred with 

 the hoes and ploughs. The harrow, with fine 

 teeth, is usually the most approved instrument 

 in such cases, as it is only necessary to stir the 

 surface in the first working. This operation is 

 commonly called " weeding out," or " trimming 

 4o>yn." 



About this period the planter should guard 

 strictly against the ravages of the cut-worms, 

 which usually harass the young plants very much 

 ;ahout the time they are taking r(X)t ; and if not 

 destroyed, will cause a great deal of trouble in 

 getting the crop to stand ; and at last, will prove 

 the means of making the crop very uneven, and 

 irregular in ripening. This worm, about an inch 

 in length, and of dark color, burrows around the 

 roots of the plants, and if not speedil}' destroyed 

 by the vigilant planter, will cut off an immense 

 numher of plants just below the surface of the 

 earth, and cause the roots to perish. Thej' can 

 only be effectually caught early in the morning, 

 or a cloudy day, as they retreat into the ground 

 beyond the influence of the sun, as the heat of the 

 day comes on. This worm can be best extracted 

 with a small stick, or with the finger, according 

 as the ground is hard or soft. These worms aie 

 always most numerous and destructive in old lands 

 that have much litter or coarse manure in them — 

 more especially after a clover fallow. They coa- 



sequently rarely appear in lands recently cleared. 

 'Vhe second working should he commenced as 

 soon as the land gets foul or hard, without regard 

 to the si/e of the plants. This should le a deep 

 and thorough working, as the roots have not yet 

 exfentled in the way of the pkaigh ; and it is now 

 time to preparellie land for (heir spreading w ith fa- 

 cility. Plougli deep, Ihereibre, between (he rows, 

 with the coulter, and follow it with (he hoe, add- 

 ing ear(h to the plants according to (heir size. 



By this time, if the season has been favorable, 

 the plants will have attained sufficient size to com- 

 mence topping, which is generally the case in al;out 

 six weeks after planting. This opera! ion should 

 not be commenced too early, as I am satisfied, from 

 long oliservation, that the size of the plant is very 

 much diminished by [jremature topping. As a 

 general rule, until the last of August, the plant 

 should be at least eighteen inches high, before it is 

 topped. After (hat time, it may be topped lower, 

 according to (he advance of the season. 



I am fully satisfied, (after a fair trial of every 

 mode practiseil in this country, of priming and 

 to[)ping,) the ])lant comes to greater perfection in 

 our climate and soil, jjrimed six inches, and topped 

 to eight leaves. Many planters do not prime at 

 all, helieviiig that they can make more tobacco in 

 weigh(, ami of as good quality, by simi)iy topping 

 to twelve leaves, four leaves usually being taken 

 off in priming. They contend (and I confess with 

 some p!ausihili(y,) (hat the lower leaves serve to 

 shade the hill, and keep it moist, and conse- 

 quently promote the growth of the plant ; and, 

 that taking these off in priming, bleeds the plant, 

 and retards i(sgrow(h. 



I am satisfied, however, (hat these results are 

 not realized in the quality and weight of the plant, 

 when it comes to perfection. For i( is clearly as- 

 cer(aincd, and almost universally admitted, that 

 the plant, primed and (0|)ped (o eight leaves, comes 

 (o grea(er perfec(ion in weigh( and quality, than 

 wi(h any other number. If this he (rue, (hen it 

 follows as a consequence, that the non-priming 

 system only increases the number of leaves, wi(h^ 

 out any addition of quali(y or weight. And \ 

 think it will accord with the experience of every 

 planter who has tried the non-priming plan, that 

 the additional number of leaves proves a great 

 nuisance to him, in every stage, of the prepara^ 

 tion of the crop for market, after it has been cut. 

 For, in (he first place, the greater the number of 

 leaves on a plant (he harder it is to cure, and still 

 more difficult to cure uniformly. And in the se- 

 cond place, these extra leaves growing very near 

 (he ground, spread an mimensedeal of dir( (hrough 

 the whole crop, when it comes to be " bulked 

 down" for stripping, Irom which it would other- 

 wise be comparatively free. But I have dwelt 

 longer on this head than I intended ; though not 

 longer, I trust, than its importance deserves. 



'Fhe third working should also be deep, as it is 

 (he last (ime (he land can he judicioush' ploughed, 

 for fear of breaking (he roots, which is evidendy 

 a great disadvan(age, especially if the weather be 

 at all dry. This ploughing should be done with 

 the shovel plough, or small Dagoii, and followed 

 with the hoe enlarging (he hills. About this time 

 the tobacco is usually visited with a green worm, 

 called the " horn-worm," which feecls on the ten- 

 der leaves, and sometimes will almost destroy a 

 plant in a few days, if the worm is not destroyed. 



