EXPERIENCE OF PBACTICAL GROWERS. 



keeping the buts even. After one or two rounds are 

 laid, get on the bulk on the knees, and as you lay a 

 hand put your knee on it, and thus pack as close and 

 compact as possible. When not bulking down have 

 boards. laid on the tobacco and weights put on to keep 

 the tobacco level. Keep the ground leaf separate from 

 the prime. 



Boxing. — Boxes should bo made 30 inches square 

 by 42 inches in length outside ; saw the end-boards 28 

 inches long, nail them to two li inch square slats 

 so that the head will be 2S inches square ; when two 

 heads are made, nail the sides of the box to the heads 

 so as to come even with the outside of the head, the 

 sides being 28 inches wide ; then nail the bottom on 

 firmly ; the top can be nailed slightly until after the 

 tobacco is packed, when it can be nailed firm. Set 

 your box by the side of the bulk, and let one hand get> 

 in the box and another pass the tobacco to him, one 

 hand at a time, taking care not to shake it out, but put 

 in the box as it comes from bulk, with the but of the 

 hand next the end of the box. Place close and press 



with the knee firmly ; lay alternate courses at each 

 end, and if the tobacco is not long enough to lap suf- 

 ficiently to fill the center, put a few hands crosswise 

 in the center. When the box is full, place it under a 

 lever ; have a follower, which is a cover made of inch 

 boards, nailed to two pieces of scantling and made to 

 fit inside of the box ; lay this on the tobacco, and build 

 with blocks of scantling on it of a sufficient bight for 

 the lever to be clear of the box when pressed. Press 

 down firmly with a strong lever, and, while kneeing in 

 another box full, let the lever remain, so that the tOr 

 bacco gets set in the box. When ready take the lever 

 off and fill up as before, about six inches higher than 

 the box ; press it below the top of the box, take off 

 your lever and nail on the top as quickly as possible. 

 Some use tobacco-presses for packing, which are per- 

 haps more convenient ; they are of various patterns, 

 but a lever saves the expense of a press and is in 

 the reach of all. If tobacco is sold at the shed, it 

 should be sold before packing, being easier examined 

 in bulk than box. 



Ko. II.-BY W. W. W. BOWIE, PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., MD. 



Seed-Beds. — A rich loam is the soil for tobacco 

 plants. The spot for a bed should be the south side 

 sf a gentle elevation, as well protected as possible by 

 woods or shrubbery. After a thorough burning of 

 brush, dig deep, and continue to dig, rake, and chop 

 until every clod, root, and stone be removed ; then 

 level and pulverize nicely with a rake. As to the 

 variety to plant, I think the Cuba is a very good kind 

 for our climate. The Connecticut soed-leaf is the 

 best, but culture has more than any thing else to do 

 with the quality. Mix one gill of seed for every ten 

 square yards with a quart of plaster or sifted ashes, 

 and sow it regularly in the same manner that garden- 

 ers sow small seeds, only with a heavier hand ; roll with 

 a hand-roller or tramp it with the feet. If the bed is 

 sown early, it ought to be covered with brush free 

 from leaves ; but it is not necessary to cover it after 

 the middle of March. Tobacco-beds may be sown at 

 any time during the winter if the ground be not too 

 wet or frozen. The best time for sowing is from the 

 10th to the 20th of March, though it is safest to sow at 

 intervals, whenever the land is in fine order for work- 

 ing. Never sow unless the land is in good order, for 

 the work will be thrown away if the land be too moist 

 or be not perfectly prepared. The beds must be kept 

 free from grass or weeds, which must be picked out 

 one at a time by the fingers. It is a tedious and 

 troublesome operation, therefore you should be very 

 careful not to use any manures on your beds which 

 have grass or weed-seeds in them. After the plants 

 are up, they should receive a slight top-dressing of 

 manure once a week, sown broadcast by the hand. 

 This manure should be composed of half a bushel of 



unleached ashes, (or one bushel of burnt turf,) one 

 bushel of fresh virgin woods-earth, one gallon of plas- 

 ter, half a gallon of soot, one quart of salt dissolved in 

 two gallons of liquid from barnyard, and four pounds 

 of pulverized sulphur, the whole well intermixed. 

 Let a large quantity be got together early in the 

 spring, or winter rather, and put away in barrels for 

 use when wanted. This, and other such mixtures, 

 have been found efficacious in arresting the ravages 

 of the fly — both from the frequent dusting of the 

 plants and the increased vigor which it imparts to 

 them, thereby enabling the plant the sooner to get out 

 of the tender state in which the fly is most destructive 

 to it. The fly is a small black insect, somewhat like 

 the flea, and delights in cold, dry, harsh weather, but 

 disappears with the mild showers and hot suns of 

 opening summer. If possible, the plants should stand 

 in the bed from half an inch to one inch apart, and if 

 they are too thick they must be raked when they have 

 generally become as large as five or ten-cent pieces. 

 The rake proper for the purpose should be a small 

 common rake, with iron teeth three inches long, curved 

 at the points, teeth flat, and three eighths of an inch 

 wide, and sot half an inch apart. 



After-Culture. — The soil best adapted to the 

 growth of tobacco is light, friable soil, or what is 

 commonly called a sandy loam, not too flat, but roll- 

 ing, undulating land — not liable to drown in excessive 

 rains. New land is far better than old. Ashes are 

 decidedly superior to any other fertilizer for tobacco. 

 Theory and practice unite in sustaining this assertion. 

 The land intended for tobacco should be well plowed 

 in April, taking care to turn the turf completely un- 



