CULTURE AND CURING IN NEW ENGLAND. 245 



the application of stable manure with stimulating fertilizers the laud is furrowed out 3 or 3i feet apart and 300 

 pounds of guauo or 500 pounds o( superphosphates are strewn in the furrow. On this two other furrows are thrown, 

 to make a bed, which, after being smoothed off, is marked for hills. The guano or superphosphates are sometimes 

 sown broadcast over the laud and harrowed in before it is marked off. The effect of fertilizers upon the crop is 

 tersely expressed iu one schedule as the " difference between a crop and no crop". 



Dr, Eiggs gives an account in the report of the Connecticut board of agriculture for 1871 in reference to the 

 preparation of soil for his tobacco crop. After the tobacco is cut and housed in the fall the land is plowed lightly, 

 and 1^ bushels of rye are sown to the acre. This gets a good start before winter, and in the spring, when he wishes 

 to plow for tobacco, it is 4 or 5 inches high. He then takes what he calls a " smoothing-iron ", 4 feet square, made 

 with 2-inch plank, spiked with railroad spikes to joists 3 by 4 inches, the front end and sides of the implement 

 beveled so as not to carry the earth along with it. Two or three weeks before planting this is drawn over the rye 

 to level it. The soil is fertilized with 300 pounds of guano, which, with the rye, is turned under to the depth of 12 

 inches. In this condition the land lies until it is nearly time to prepare it for the plants, when he applies about 

 one-third of the quantity of barn-yard manure that would have been put on but for the rye and guano. This manure, 

 with 400 pounds of additional guano, is spread over the land and harrowed in thoroughly. The " smoothing-iron " 

 is then used until the whole field is as smooth as a floor. The land lies in this condition for a few days, until the 

 guano and manure have become absorbed and incorporated into the soil; then the field is marked off into rows, and 

 two furrows are thrown on each mark, making ridges which are 3 feet apart. Hills are made on the ridges from 

 22 to 24 inches apart, and are planted after a shower of rain with plants the leaves of which are as large as the palm 

 of the hand. The yield of his crop varied from 2,200 to 2,400 pounds per acre, although he applied two-thirds less 

 stable manure than he would have done but for the rye which he plowed under. 



In New Haven county, and probably in other counties, the rows for Connecticut Seed Leaf are sometimes made 4 

 feet apart, while the plants are set out 2 to 2 feet in the row, the greater width being rendered necessary in seasons 

 of vigorous growth to prevent breaking the leaves iu passing through to destroy the worms and to pull off the 

 suckers. It is also believed that wide spaces are favorable to a more thorough development of the leaves, air and 

 light being necessary to insure a uniform growth and a uniform ripening of all the leaves. 



The small area planted in tobacco by each farmer in New England enables him to plant his crop whenever the 

 plants are large enough to transplant. This is done from the 1st to the 20th of June, sometimes earlier, whether 

 timely rains make the ground moist or drying winds exhaust the moisture. In the former case, the plants are set 

 rapidly ; in the latter, every hill is moistened by artificial means, and each plant is protected from the scorching rays 

 of the sun at midday by tufts of grass or in some other manner. It is considered very important to get a good 

 " stand " at first planting, so that all the plants may grow evenly ; otherwise the fields have a ragged look, some 

 plants being small, while others tower above them. The topping and cutting are also made irregular, the first plants 

 requiring to be topped and cut several days or weeks before those replanted, and in some years fully 25 per cent, of the 

 first planting is cut off and destroyed by cut- worms. The younger or replanted stalks are often topped to a less 

 number of leaves, in order that they may ripen with the first ; but in this case there is a disparity in growth, and often 

 a deterioration in the quality. Under very favorable circumstances the transplanting may be continued until July 

 4. After the plants have been in their places four or five days they begin to grow, when the earth should be loosened 

 about them and the surface of the ground kept soft and fine. At least three plowings and as many hoeings are 

 given the plants before they are ready to be topped, which is within from forty-five to fifty days after they are 

 transplanted. 



TOPPING, PEIMING, SUCKEEING, AND WOEMING TOBACCO. 



In reference to topping there is the usual diversity of views. All, however, agree that the plants should be 

 topped as soon as the flower buds generally appear over the field. If the soil has been well pulverized, the blossom 

 bud will not show itself until the plant has developed a large number of leaves; but in dry weather it appears 

 when the plant has comparatively lew leaves. In topping on rich soils, from twelve to sixteen leaves are left on 

 each plant, and on the Havana Seed variety a much larger numberof leaves is left, sometimes as many as twenty or 

 twenty-five; but on thin soils, or on soils not well manured, in very dry weather, only ten or twelve leaves are left on 

 each plant. It is the experience of all good planters that a larger proportion of good wrappers is obtained by 

 topping low, so that every leaf may becomo of a uniform size. When too many leaves are left to the stalk the 

 top leaves rarely ever attain their full growth, and all will be deficient iu gum aud elasticity. No priming is 

 done. Dr. Eiggs maintains that " priming", or pulling off a few lower leaves, is a great advantage to the plant. 

 The lower leaves are always classed with the inferior grades, being generally ragged, earth-burned, worm-eaten, and 

 bespattered with dirt or sand. Beside, their presence on the stalk prevents the working of the soil near the plant, 

 which is necessary to obtain the best results. Dr. Eiggs' practice, which is a very successful one iu results, is to top 

 down to a good healthy leaf, and to top low enough so that the top leaves will attain an equal size with the best of 

 the others. From eight to ten leaves in the most fertile fields, and less iu a crop that does not grow so heavily, 

 is the rule of guidance which he lays down. Nevertheless, but few planters adopt this suggestion, and the general 

 average is from twelve to sixteen leaves for Connecticut Seed Leaf, and from sixteen to twenty four for Havana 



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