l8 TOBACCO CULTURE. 



of these two objects is important enough to warrant the 

 considerable cost involved, and this plan is being gradually 

 abandoned by tobacco growers in the north. Burning is 

 still practiced in Kentucky and Tennessee, where nearly 

 half of the tobacco crop of the United States is raised. The 

 growers there still think burning the land a necessity. Burn- 

 ing the soil is supposed to aid in breaking it up. A small 

 quantity of wood charcoal from the incomplete burning of 

 the wood is added to the soil, and also considerable quanti- 

 ties of available potash are supplied by the ash of the burnt 

 wood. The land is burned until it has a reddish cast. 



A great many growers in selecting a place for the seed 

 bed, plan to have it near water, and, if possible, so located 

 that the beds can be irrigated. In Florida especially, a very 

 dry spell of weather often occurs at the most critical period 

 of the plants' growth, late in April, and through May. Irri- 

 gating the beds is the surest way to success in growing 

 plants. This irrigation differs somewhat from the ordinary 

 methods, in that the water furrow or trench is made along 

 on the outside of the bed. No water is allowed on the bed, 

 and the plant simply gets the water through the natural 

 drainage of the soil, as care is taken that this water trench 

 is on a higher level than the bed. 



PREPARATION OF THE BED. The location having been 

 decided on the first step in preparing the bed for the seed 

 depends somewhat on the size and shape of the bed. Long 

 narrow beds are the best shape. The width should not ex- 

 ceed four feet, and the length will depend on the amount of 



