42 TOBACCO CULTURE. 



Sumatra and Cuban tobacco, when grown expressly for 

 wrapper purposes, requiring very thick planting, transplant- 

 ing machines should be used. Fully five-sixths of the crop 

 is set out by hand with a peg. Where the plants are to 

 stand nearer than 16 inches in the row, the machine cannot 

 be used and hand planting is unavoidable. The best kind 

 of machine for this purpose, (drawn by, two horses and 

 driven by a man) waters the ground previous to the drop- 

 ping of the plants, two rows at a time being planted; two 

 boys riding upon the machine and dropping the plants as 

 fast as required. For hand planting, cloudy weather, or 

 time just preceding or following showers, should, if possi- 

 ble, be selected. 



Hand-transplanting is done by the same method used 

 for other plants, that is, either a peg bluntly sharpened, or 

 the fingers are used for making the hole into which the 

 plant is placed, and the soil is then pressed around the root- 

 lets by a single effort of the peg or fingers. The selection 

 of a particular time is hardly practicable where large 

 acreages are to be planted, though planting late in the day 

 is preferable. However, watering just after setting is usu- 

 ally necessary, and if the planting is followed by hot 

 weather, the tender plants should be shaded. 



A very little water used upon the soil before setting out 

 the plant is much more effective than large quantities ap- 

 plied after the transplanting. An economical and effective 

 method is the running of a furrow along the row into which 

 the water is easily turned, and in the bottom of this wet fur- 



