must depend upon nature for his ultimate success. Indeed 

 from the time the seed bed is sown until the end of the season 

 the only time that the grower is sure of his success is when he 

 gets the money for his crop. Yet he is optimistic; he "nur- 

 tures hope," he raises his crop, doing all he knows how, and if 

 appearances count for anything he is getting along perhaps as 

 well or better than the average business man. 



There is no ironclad rule to be laid down for raising tobacco. 

 The best growers often change their methods and are constantly 

 on the lookout to learn of new ideas that will prove beneficial, 

 so that the story of tobacco growing as told in this article will 

 not attempt to tell of any best way, but will describe the 

 methods as practiced by the most progressive growers. 



The Seed Bed. 



Tobacco is raised on the same land year after year. Most 

 growers plow or harrow the land immediately after the harvest, 

 thus avoiding a useless second crop of suckers that grow from 

 the stump and remove a good deal of plant food from the soil. 

 Many believe that if the field is kept fallow during the late fall 

 and winter it will not attract the moth that lays the egg of 

 the cutworm, a pest that is the cause of much trouble. The 

 land is left fallow until the next year's crop is set out. This 

 period is a convenient one in which to apply lime. 



Each year finds the grower paying more and more attention 

 to the seed bed, there being perhaps no one thing that gives 

 him as much satisfaction in the spring as a good bed. Opera- 

 tions begin in the fall, the grower selecting a place for his bed 

 sheltered from the cold north and west winds. Sometimes it 

 may be necessary to build a board fence for this purpose. INIany 

 apply the fertilizer at this time and harrow it in. This is con- 

 sidered the better way if cottonseed meal is used, and some 

 of the best growers say that there is nothing better. In the 

 spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to work the beds 

 are "made." This operation consists of fitting the land, 

 putting up a frame and sowing the seed. Beds used to be 

 covered with brush, but this material has been superseded by 

 cloth and glass, glass being by far the better. The sash are 

 3 by 6, 3 by 9 or 3 by 11 feet, to suit the grower. These 

 glass beds have enabled the grower of to-day to transplant or 



