36 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



Christinas, wlieu you fiad the surface of the ground 

 without frost or snow, and dry enough to work. In 

 the edge of the timber, on the south side of a piece of 

 woodland, select a spot where but little or no grass 

 has grown ; cut down the trees and open around it so 

 that the sun will have full power in the bed most of 

 the day ; a spot (about fifty feet square for each ten 

 acres of ground to be planted) should then be cleared 

 entirely of roots, stones, and trash of every description 

 — raked off thoroughly ; when this is done, haul on 

 dry brush, tree-tops, small dry logs, any thing that 

 vtIII burn freely, and make a brush-heap all over it, 

 set it on fire, and as it burns, by means of long poles, 

 move the fire and logs about until you have burned 

 the whole surface of the ground of your bed to the 

 depth of one or two inches. This destroys all the 

 roots and seeds of grass, weeds, etc., which may be in 

 the soil, and which would, if suffered to grow, inter- 

 fere with the young plants. When your bed is tho- 

 roughly burned over, and as soon as it is done, rake 

 off the brands, ashes, etc., so as to leave it perfectly 

 smooth, and with a mattock or hoe dig up the surface 

 only an inch or two in depth, with a view to pulverize 

 the soil finely to that depth, which may be done with 

 a garden-rake. "When you have prepared the ground, 

 take a table-spoonful of seed for each twenty-five feet 

 square and mix with a pint of dry sifted ashes — a 

 small tin pan is convenient to hold the seed — and 

 having laid your bed off into "lands" about three feet 

 wide, to guide you in sowing, sow your seed by taking 

 a " pinch" at a time and go carefully over the bed ; 

 sow the mixture so as to have a surplus rather than a 

 deficiency. The surplus may be scattered afterward, 

 but a deficiency would indicate the seed sown too 

 tliick, while a part of the bed would remain without 

 seed. Rake the bed, after sowing, with a garden-rake, 

 and then with your feet, or a small, heavy roller, go 

 over it and tramp or roll the earth down hard ; build 

 a fence around it to protect it from stock, and if there 

 should be lack of rain, water it. The seeds will come 

 up in about six weeks from the time of planting, if the 

 weather is open and warm. The bed should be kept 

 covered with brush, after the plants come up, while 

 there is danger of frost. 



The Preparation of Sticks should engage atten- 

 tion in the spring, before plowing-time comes. They 

 should be riven out of ash, hickory, or white-oak tim- 

 ber, perfectly straight, about three fourths by one inch, 

 and four feet long; the corners should be trimmed off. 

 Tou will need about four hundred sticks for each acre 

 of tobacco. The best and most convenient 



Tobacco-Barn for the farmer is a square barn, built 

 twenty feet high from the ground with round logs, and 

 roofed ; then a shed built all around it as wide as may 

 be allowable to give the roof enough " pitch" to shed 

 rain, with " stories" of plates three feet apart through- 

 out, upon which scaffolds may be arranged with poles 

 oa which to hang the tobacco. The outside of the 



shed should be inclosed from the top, say half-way 

 down; this will insure a free circulation of air and 

 prevent the rain driving in and injuring the tobacco. 



The Ground. — In hemp-growing countries tobacco 

 is almost invariably planted in Tievj ground, which is 

 cleared each year, so as to be added in due time to 

 the hemp-fields. The late summer culture and the 

 thorough weeding effectually kills all the weeds. Good 

 bottom grass or other rich sod-ground, or such other 

 ground as it is intended to plant, should be broken up 

 early enough so that the sod shall have time to rot. 

 When your plants begin to grow, and the leaves are 

 as large as five-cent pieces, you should cross-plow your 

 . ground and prepare for setting out your crop. In this, 

 as in all other crops, a good preparation of soil is de- 

 sirable, and any mode that will pulverize the soil and 

 tear the sods to pieces will answer your purpose. 

 When this is done, take a two-horse plow and throw 

 three furrows together, so that the summit of the 

 ridges shall be three feet apart, or three and a half if 

 you prefer to plant it wider. These summits should 

 be as near straight as possible — perfectly straight rows 

 of tobacco are much easier cultivated ; the rows should 

 then be checked across, for which purpose I have found 

 it practicable to attach a light log-chain to a small 

 rope, and tie the rope around the waist of a man ; set 

 a row of small stakes across the field and let him walk 

 across, dragging the chain behind him, in exact range 

 of the stakes, and as he comes to each one, let him set 

 it over by a measure he carries in his hand, so that as 

 he returns, the stakes will all be in range in the new 

 row. This will check the summit of the ridges and 

 leave them in good condition for setting out the youug 

 plants. The old Yirginia tobacco-planters mark off 

 the ground each way and make a hill with a hoe, very 

 carefully preserving their lines, and making every 

 thing smooth. The laying off of the ground should 

 be done as nearly as possible immediately previous to 

 setting out the plants, so that during the time the 

 plants are getting started after transplanting, the weeds 

 shall not get the start of them. After the ridges are 

 made, the cross-checking may be delayed until you 

 commence transplanting. 



Setting out the Crop should commence from the 

 fifteenth to twentieth of May, if your plants have done 

 well — at least it is not best to risk the loss of a good 

 season at that time unless there is danger of frost. As 

 soon, therefore, after May 20th as it is safe to do so, and 

 when the ground is well saturated with rain, commence 

 drawing the largest plants from your bed and setting 

 them out. The leaves on the plants should be as large 

 as a quarter of a dollar, or larger. Let one take a 

 basket of plants, and, crossing the ridges, drop a plant 

 at each check ; another, with a pointed stick to make 

 holes with in one hand and a plant in the other, fol- 

 low the dropper. As he reaches a hill his stick and 

 plant are both ready, and the plant is quickly set, and 

 as he raises up he picks up the plant dropped at that 



