TOBACCO. 195 



The texture of the soil exerts a marked influence on the 

 yield and quality of tobacco produced. Sandy soils of coarse 

 texture usually return poor yields of leaf, light in body and 

 colour, lacking in fineness, inclined to be brittle, lifeless and 

 chaffy. Fine sands should produce yields of silky, elastic leaf, 

 having good body and bright uniform leaf. Clay loams gener- 

 ally produce heavy yields of tobacco, which is inclined to be 

 heavy in body, coarse in texture, and medium to dark in colour. 

 The exception to this is the black turf soil, which produces 

 bright tobacco. In other countries these black turf soils would 

 be avoided. However, in South Africa (where they contain a 

 high percentage of lime), if well drained, although productive 

 they do not produce large, coarse tobacco, but the plants grow 

 quickly, mature early, take on a yellow colour in the field, and 

 the leaf usually cures bright in colour. If brak, they are use- 

 less, as the tobacco then has poor burning qualities. 



Eed clay loams in the Union give tobacco of a red to dark 

 brown colour when cured, suitable for pipe or snuff purposes. 

 Eed sandy loams produce light red to yellow leaf. If heavily 

 fertilised, particularly with nitrogenous fertilisers, the tobacco 

 is inclined to be heavy and dark. 



Soil Preparation. — The land should be deeply ploughed, 

 usually twice, and the soil then worked down to a fine 

 condition for transplanting". 



Fertilisers for Virginia Tobacco. — In growing tobacco 

 a steady growth must be maintained, and the available plant 

 food must be sufficient throughout the growing period. The 

 monetary return per acre, as compared with other crops, is 

 high, therefore larger applications of fertilisers can be employed 

 than with crops like maize. The nitrogen requirements can 

 usually be most cheaply met by the use of a leguminous green 

 manure. 



Excessive nitrogen, in the absence of phosphates, gives a 

 coarse, dark tobacco, late in maturing, with a tendency to 

 damage by " red fire," or dead spots, here and there on the 

 leaves. A lack of nitrogen gives small and papery leaves, 

 although these may be bright. 



Potash in the form of nitrate or carbonate gives body to the 

 leaf and improves the burning quality. 



On light sandy soils, poor in nitrogen, phosphates must be 

 used with discretion, as excessive applications tend to cause 

 premature ripening or " firing," especially during dry weather. 



