10 



It is far better to make the mistake of using too small a quantity 

 of seedj for in the latter instance the plants will be large, healthy and 

 stocky, and may be transplanted to the field when there is but little 

 moisture in the soil, without danger of losing them. 



In other tobacco-producing countries a seed bed containing 50 square 

 meters, properly sown with about 30 grams of good seed (about ^ of 1 

 chupa), will produce from 10,000 to 30,000 plants, but the Filipino 

 planter, in order to secure this number of plants, generally sows an 

 area of 150 square meters, using from 1.5 to 2.5 kilos of seed. Thirty 

 grams of tobacco seed contain from 300,000 to 400,000 seeds. A large 

 percentage of these, however, will not germinate; yet, allowing for the 

 imperfect seeds, from 40,000 to 50,000 plants should be secured from 30 

 grams of good seed. Many of these plants, however, will be weak 

 and unhealthy and should not be transplanted. It is advisable to sow 

 two or three beds at intervals of eight or ten days, in order that there 

 may be plenty of good, healthy plants to select from, and if one bed 

 should be destroyed by' a flood or insects the other beds will supply an 

 abimdance of plants for the crop. 



SHADING THE SEED BEDS. 



The main objects in shading the plant bed are, to protect the young 

 plants from the strong rays of the sun, and to conserve the moisture 

 on the surface of the bed. 



In America, Cuba, and Sumatra, a special cloth is manufactured for 

 shading tobacco seed beds; and, if properly arranged, it not only gives 

 the desired shade, but also protects the young plants from the attack of 

 insects. The young tobacco plants are very shallow rooted and when the 

 bed is not protected by a shade, two or three days' strong sun is sufficient 

 to dry out the surface of the ground below the depth to which the roots 

 have penetrated. 



In the Visayan Islands the tobacco planters generally use the leaves of 

 the nipa palm for constructing shades for their plant beds. In the 

 Cagayan Valley shading is not practiced, and the plants, exposed to 

 the direct rays of the sun, are frequently killed. In case of a prolongeil 

 drouth the grower loses all of his plants and must either depend upon 

 his more fortunate neighbors, or else forego the privilege of gi'owing ii 

 crop of tobacco for that year. In using the leaves of the nipa palm for 

 shading seed beds, forked sticks should be driven in the ground on both 

 sides of the bed, at intervals of every two or three meters, leaving about 

 one meter of the stick projecting above the surface. Good strong poles 

 should then be cut and placed across the bed with the ends resting 

 in the forks, and the leaves placed on these poles. In the absence of nipa. 



