138 AGRICULTURE 



Tobacco, like cotton and corn, requires a rich soil and 

 a careful rotation of crops. A free use of fertilizer, es- 

 pecially nitrogen and 'potash, is necessary for the best re- 

 sults. From ten to twenty tons of stable manure to the acre 

 should be plowed under, preferably in the fall and the 

 ground well cultivated in the spring before planting. Com- 

 mercial fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and po- 

 tassium are often profitably used in addition to manure. 

 Most tobacco soils also require the application of lime, not 

 alone to improve the growth of the plant, but also to bet- 

 ter its quality. 



Many tobacco growers find it profitable to burn the seed 

 bed before planting the crop. This is usually done either 

 (1) by shoveling the top two or three inches of soil into a 

 specially constructed sheet-iron box heated by a wood fire 

 and moved over the field; or (2) by the application of 

 steam heat directed to the surface of the field by means 

 of apparatus devised for the purpose. The object of this 

 heating of the soil is to kill the weeds and other tobacco 

 enemies and thereby give the plants a better chance for 

 free growth. 



Seed selection. The seed from the tobacco plant 

 should be as carefully selected from the mother stalk as is 

 the cotton or seed corn. Seed should be taken from the 

 healthy plants with well-shaped leaves free from suckers. 

 The proper standard of a plant for quality and high pro- 

 duction should be considered. 



Planting and cultivation. Tobacco plants are grown 

 from seed planted in hotbeds or cold-frames. The plants 

 are transplanted to the field in rows about three and one-half 

 feet apart. The transplanting may be done by hand or with 

 a horse machine. Cultivation should begin as soon as the 

 plants have started to grow and continue as long as the size 

 of plants will permit. The first cultivation should be deep, 



