90 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



time than either of the first mentioned dates. 

 The plant requires in an average season about 

 100 daj's from its removal from the seed bed 

 to grow and mature fully. If set out too 

 early, and the weather proves unfavorable, it 

 is likely to become stunted, mature premature- 

 ly without attaining the fullest development 

 of leaf, and, besides, be deprived of the Au- 

 gust and September dews, which are well 

 known to be vei7 beneficial to it. If, on the 

 other hand, it is set out too late, there is 

 danger that the early frosts of fall may come 

 lipfore the crop is ripe, and the hard labor of 

 the season rendered jwtitless iu a single night. 

 Early in June is, perhaps, as good a time as 

 any, although the tendency here in Lancaster 

 county is to plant as early as the season and 

 the plants will admit. 



The Weather an Important Factor. 

 Then, too, the weather must be carefully 

 looked after at this season. Some growers 

 pretend they are indifferent to the weather 

 and plant the moment their plants are large 

 enough. Experienced growers are not in- 

 dift'erent, however. To set out the plants in 

 ground that is very dry is not only to make 

 yourself a great deal of trouble, but to bring 

 .vour plants to a standstill for an uucertain 

 length of time. It is better to wait a week or 

 even ten days for showers that will put the 

 ground in proper order. You gain time by 

 this practice ; the plants continue to grow in 

 the plant bed, and if the. soil is sufHcieutly 

 damp afterwards they will grow right along 

 and make a better "stand" thad if set out a 

 week previous in the dusty earth. We are 

 well aware plants can be made to grow in a 

 dry season ; but those who have been com- 

 pelled to haul water for a large tobacco field 

 need not be told the trouble, labor and ex- 

 pense of that opearation. A few warm 

 showers may save all this annoyance, and, be- 

 sides, no one needs to be told that nature's 

 plan of irrigation is far more beneficial than 

 that of man. We say, then, do not be too 

 much in a hurry. Wait on the hoped-for rain 

 at least a few days. If it does not come iu 

 time the farmer will still have an opportunity 

 of resorting to the slow and tedious process 

 of hand-watering. Remember, the longer the 

 plants remain at a standstill in their dusty 

 beds, the longer the dreaded cut-worm will 

 continue to work its ravages. If the soil is 

 in good condition and the plants make an 

 early start they are soon beyond the reach of 

 this ever present enemy. Replanting, of 

 course, is unavoidable,, but the less of it the 

 planter lias to do the better he is satisfied, and 

 when plants are scarce, as they sometimes 

 are, it is a matter of money as well as of time 

 and trouble. To set out the plants in ground 

 that is so wet as to be muddy is nearly as bad 

 as to plant them in a ridge from which the 

 sun and winds have extracted all the moist 

 ture. The one extreme is about as bad as 

 the other. The dirt clings so tightly to the 

 tender rootlets as to impede the natural 

 growth of the plants. 



Setting Out the Plants. 

 The season being favorable the planter's 

 troubles are far fewer and his prospects much 

 brighter. Such being the case, when his field 

 has been properly laid off in rows 3^ feet 

 apart and his plants in the seed bed show 

 leaves as large or larger than a Bland dollar, 



[June, 



(we are almost tempted to say the larger the 

 better), he is ready for the work of trans- 

 planting. If this seed bed has been thinly 

 sown and well cared for, he will have an 

 ample supply of strong stocky plants. It is 

 well to select them as nearly alike in size as 

 possible. This insures a more even looking 

 field, and the crop is more likely to mature 

 evenly, which is preferable to having to cut 

 a few score or a few hundred stalks daily, as 

 the case may be, during a period of several 

 weeks. 



Few of the operations iu tobacco farm- 

 ing require greater care and nicety than 

 setting out the plants. Cariessness tells as- 

 quickly at this point as at any later stage. 

 The seed bed ought to . be moist enough to 

 allow the plants to be jmlled up without break- 

 the roots. It can be easily put into this con- 

 dition by careful watering. Each plant should 

 be removed by itself, and care must be exer- 

 cised not to tear the roots or bruise the leaves. 

 A small-pronged implement like a fork will 

 facilitate the work of reiuoval. The plants 

 should be carefully drawn, as on this depends 

 much of the after- value of the plant bed.- 

 Only a single plant should be drawn at a 

 time. If the removal of more is attempted, 

 small ones are often taken with the large ones, 

 giving the field an unequal stand. Small 

 plants ought not to be set out except in case 

 of necessity. The best plants are, of course, 

 those with a low, bunchy top, as they are cer- 

 tain to have plenty of large, strong roots. 

 Slender, spindling oneshave far less vitality and 

 easily succumb to the cut-worm, drouth, dry 

 winds and other enemies of the tobacco field. 

 Thin sowing will generally do away with 

 much aunoyance on these points. 



They may be carefully placed in a basket 

 and in this way carried to the field. Here the 

 planting should be done as rapidly as possible. 

 A boy with the basket in hand passes between 

 two rows and drops a plant on every spot 

 marked, as we have already explained in a 

 previous article. He will be able to drop the 

 plants quite as fast as two men can plant them. 

 A variety of methods and devices are in use 

 for this purpose. Some use a light trowel, 

 which is thrust into the ground, pressed to 

 one side, and in the opening thus formed the 

 roots of the plant are inserted, when the 

 trowel is withdrawn and the earth closely 

 pressed around them. This at least has the 

 merit of speed, but we do not advise its prac- 

 tice. The more nearly the roots are placed in 

 the position they were while in the seed bed 

 the more likely and more quickly the young 

 plants are to grow. A better way is to use a 

 planting peg, about six inches long by one and 

 a quarter in diameter, round, the lower end 

 tapering with a rounded point. This the 

 planter must thrust about two inches into the 

 hill, then withdraw it, and into the opening 

 made the roots of the plant must be put and 

 the dirt carefidlj' pressed about the roots. If 

 there is time and the field is not large the 

 hands can be used with better results than 

 either the trowel or peg. The necessiTi'y open- 

 ing in the ground can be scooped out'and the 

 roots of the plants put into their natural posi- 

 tion and the ground drawn over them. T!;is 

 is a slow process, but it is the best. Few care 

 to practice it, not being willing to encounter 

 the labor it entails. The ground around the 



plant must not he left higher than the plant 

 itself or a, heavy rain may cover the latter 

 with dirt. If possible, a slight, shallow dish 

 may be left around the plant, the better to 

 "cajch the rain. If rapid planting is desired 

 the i)eg system gives the best results. Let the 

 planter start in on his row with a plant in his 

 hand, so held that the moment the hole 

 is punched into the hill the plant is ready to 

 be inserted ; a moment is sufficient to give the 

 required compression, after which, before 

 rising, let him take up the one dropped on the 

 hill, adjust it while moving to the next hill, 

 and be ready to jilace it in the hole as soon as 

 he gets there. If not too stiff" in the back- 

 bone one man can set out from .^,000 to 5,000 

 plants in a single day. Here again the skill 

 of the grower will manifest itself. If the plants 

 are of good size and strong, and have been 

 carefully planted, nearly all will grow,' while 

 weak, tender ones, badly planted, will compel 

 you to do much of your work over. 

 Planting in Dry Weather. 

 When the ground is too dry and the plants 

 are getting too large in the seed bed, the far- 

 mer will be compelled to do the best he can 

 under the circumstances. Watering the 

 plants on the ground becomes a necessity. 

 There are several ways of doing this, and 

 each one has its advocates. Commonly, 

 water is hauled to the field in barrels and a 

 small quantity is applied to every plant set in 

 the ground ; this has a tendency to bring the 

 ground closer to the roots as well as to supply 

 the required moisture. Tliis operation must, 

 of course, be repeated on the succeeding days 

 until the plant has commenced to grow, or 

 until timely rains render it unnecessary. It 

 has also the the tendency to bake or harden 

 the soil around the plant and thus impede its 

 rapid growth. 



A few farmers, however, pour the water in 

 a shallow hole a few minutes previous to set- 

 ting out the plants, and on the ground thus 

 moistened set the roots of the plant and draw 

 the earth around them. A grower of much 

 experience assures us he has had better re- 

 sults from this plan of planting in dry 

 weather than any other. The moisture does 

 not dry out so rapidly, neither does the sur- 

 face groimd bake nor become hard. He in- 

 forms us that he does not find a second 

 watering necessary, but ins plants come 

 along without further trouble. Of coarse, 

 when the ground is wet, or the necessary 

 rains put in their appearance, all this tedious 

 watering is not required, and the planter is 

 spared a world of trouble. 



Some Other Points, 

 We do not think it a good plan to plant an 

 entire crop in a day or two, especially when 

 it is a large one, and the labor is at hand to 

 do it. It will, in such a case, ripen nearly at 

 the same trme, wliicli is often an inconveni- 

 ence, and, besides, if a spell of bad weather 

 should intervene at cutting time, much of it 

 might become over-ripe and tlie value of the 

 crop injured. This also gives the grower a 

 better lot of plants. A week or ten days 

 longer in the seed-bed will bring on the plants 

 left after the first drawing wonderfully, and 

 make the stand in the field more uniform. 

 There is also less hurry when this course is 

 taken, and the plants are likely to be set out 



