304 CURIOUS OR USEFUL PLANTS. 



twenty inches long, but decreasing in size as they ascend, till they 

 come to be only ten inches long, and about half as broad. The 

 face of the leaves is much corrugated, like those of spinach when 

 full ripe. Before they come to maturity, when they are about five 

 or six inches long, the leaves are generally of a full green, and 

 rather smooth ; but as they increase in size, they become rougher, 

 and acquire a yellowish cast. The stem and branches are termi- 

 nated by large bunches of flowers, collected into clusters, of a 

 delicate red ; the edges, when full blown, inclining to a pale pur- 

 ple. They continue in succession till the end of the summer; 

 when they are succeeded by seeds of a brown colour, and kidney- 

 shaped. These are very small, each capsule containing about 

 1000 ; and the whole produce of a single plant is reckoned at 

 about 350,000. The seeds ripen in the month of September. 



Mr. Carver informs us, that the Oronokoe, or, as it is called, 

 the long Virginian tobacco, is the kind best suited for bearing the 

 rigour of a northern climate ; the strength, as well as the scent, 

 of the leaves, being greater than that of the other. The sweet- 

 scented sort flourishes most in a sandy soil, and in a warm climate, 

 where it greatly exceeds the former in the celerity of its growth ; 

 and is likewise, as its name intimates, much more mild and plea- 

 sant. 



Culture. Tobacco thrives best in a warm, kindly, rich soil, 

 that is not subject to be overrun by weeds. In Virginia the soil 

 in which it thrives best is warm, light, and inclining to be sandy ; 

 and therefore if the plant is to be cultivated in Britain, it ought to 

 be planted in a soil as nearly of the same kind as possible. Other 

 kinds of soil might probably be brought to suit it, by a mixture of 

 proper manure ; but we must remember, that whatever manure is 

 made use of must be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. The 

 best situation for a tobacco. plantation is the southern declivity of 

 a hill, rather gradual than abrupt, or a spot that is sheltered from 

 the north winds: but at the same time it is necessary that the 

 plants enjoy a free air ; for without that they will not prosper. 



Having sown the seed, on the least apprehension of a frost after 

 the plants appear, it will be necessary to spread mats over the 

 beds, a little elevated from the ground by poles laid across, that 

 they may not be crushed. When the tobacco has risen to the 

 height of more than two feet, it commonly begins to put forth the 



