TOBACCO. 191 



etc., should be carted to produce the required soil. The site 

 should be changed from year to year to obviate diseases, and 

 because the heavy waterings and annual sterilising make the 

 soil unsuitable. 



Soil Preparation. — Heavy application of well-rotted and 

 pulverised kraal manure should be applied and mixed thor- 

 oughly with the soil by digging. This should be done in time 

 to ensure thorough decomposition before the seed is sown. The 

 beds must be scrupulously weeded. Finally, the land must be 

 divided into beds four to five feet in width, having pathways 

 in between. After being laid out the beds must be sterilised. 

 In South Africa the open fire gives satisfactory results. 



Sterilising the Beds. — Sufficient brushwood, maize cobs, 

 or other material, should be placed on the soil, so that when 

 burned the sterilisation will be effected to a depth of three 

 inches. Tobacco stalks should not be used, as their excessive 

 potash content affects germination adversely. Besides being 

 friable, the soil when properly sterilised will present a light, 

 dull-red appearance. To prevent baking, the soil should be 

 fairly dry — optimum conditions for tillage are the best for steri- 

 lising. 



This method kills weed seeds and insects in the soil. The 

 ash acts as a fertiliser (potassium carbonate being the best 

 form in which to apply potash to tobacco), and, according to 

 Rothamstead investigations, a rapid increase in nitrogen is 

 obtained. 



After burning, the unburnt wood and large nieces of char- 

 coal are removed, and then the beds are enclosed with boards, 

 brick, or sheets of iron. The following mixed fertiliser is then 

 applied to each ten square yards of bed, viz., one pound of 

 sodium nitrate, one pound of potassium sulphate, and two 

 pounds of superphosphate. After this the bed is dug over to 

 the depth to which it has been sterilised. It is then raked to 

 a fine tilth and accurately levelled each way. 



Sowing. — The seed, in order to remove the light seed and 

 chaff, should be passed through a tobacco seed separator. This 

 is done free of charge by the Tobacco and Cotton Division. 

 To combat Wild Fire disease it should be disinfected as well. 

 The seed is extraordinarily small, one ounce containing 300,000 

 seeds, and is sufficient for 120 square yards of seed bed. If 

 the seed is mixed with wood ash or mealie meal, no difficulty 

 will be experienced in getting it evenly distributed over the 

 seed-bed. After sowing, the surface of the soil should be firmed 



