258 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



January, or later, which is done by simply applying a torch. By this method a standing plant-bed can be annually 

 prepared which, if heavily manured, will become better each succeeding year. 



In Pennsylvania, New York, the New England states, and in Ohio, burning is rarely practiced, and then only 

 so far as may be thought necessary to destroy weed arid grass seeds in the upper surface soil. The same seed-bed 

 is used for successive years, kept clear of grass and weeds throughout the year and heavily enriched by an addition 

 of fresh loam from the woodlands, composts of stable manures thoroughly rotted, and so handled that no foreign 

 seeds capable of germination are left therein, and frequently top-dressings of good commercial fertilizers are used. 

 The most successful growers in Ohio and in New York use manures from the hog-pen, as not only the richest, but 

 as most likely to be free from noxious seeds. In the New England states seed-beds are enriched with guano, castor 

 pomace, well-rotted stable manure, the refuse of the fish-oil factories, or some one of the numerous manufactured 

 fertilizers. In most of the northern states it is a very common practice to sprout the tobacco seed before sowing. 

 The seeds are mixed with dark, rich loam, or, what is better, as in Wisconsin, with finely-pulverized rotten wood 

 from the hollow of an old stump or log, and placed in a pan or dish in a warm place and kept moderately damp 

 by frequent sprinkling with tepid water. The seeds germinate under such conditions in about two weeks, and are 

 sown as soon as danger of frost is passed. Another plan is to spread the seeds very thinly upon a piece of 

 dampened cotton cloth and cover them with another cloth, but of wool ; the two are made into a loose roll, the 

 woolen cloth outside. This roll is kept in a warm place, dipped in tepid water every day, and the white germs 

 appear in from four to six days. In northern Illinois similar cloths are kept moist and warm in a pan of earth, of 

 which there is a layer above as well as below the cloths. Great care is necessary in all these forcing processes. 

 Sometimes the soil of the plant-bed is too wet, or otherwise not in proper condition when the seeds are ready, and 

 when a delay of a day or two may fender the sprouted seeds useless. The prudent man provides against such 

 danger by preparing several lots of seed at intervals of several days. 



The most common error in sowing tobacco seed, both north and south, is in using too much seed. Tobacco 

 seeds are exceedingly small, an ounce containing about 340,000 seeds. One large, well-developed tobacco plant will 

 produce seed enough to grow plants to set 10 acres certainly, and, should all of them germinate and grow, enough 

 to set out 100 acres. Crowded plants must struggle for existence, are never strong and vigorous, and bear 

 transplanting badly; those that have room euough to grow thriftily will have a thick tuft of roots, a low, stocky 

 top, and a vigorous constitution, growing off quickly when transplanted. It is far better economy to increase the 

 size of the bed than to attempt to produce a large number of plants by thick seeding. 



A bed of 100 square yards will usually furnish plants enough to set 6 or 7 acres ; sometimes a bed of this size 

 will produce enough to set- 10 acres. No tobacco-grower ever regrets having a surplus of plants, for in that case 

 he can select the best and set out his whole crop early. On new land very small plants may be set, and at any 

 time immediately after the late frosts without risk. For old lands plants should be a little more advanced than 

 such as can be safely planted upon new lands, but as the season advances larger plants are required for both old 

 and new lands. 



INSECT ENEMIES OF THE TOBACCO PLANT. 



From the first appearance of the minute seed-leaves in the plant-bed until the tobacco is cut and hung in 

 the barn the patience and watchfulness of the farmer are taxed to guard against the depredations of insects. 



Among the earliest to appear, often attacking the plants and destroying them so early as to make the planter 

 doubt whether the seed had even germinated, are the "garden fleas", sometimes called "snow fleas" and "spring- 

 tails" (Smynthurus hortensis). When viewed from the upper side (dorsal view), the most conspicuous divisions are 

 a large head and an abdomen perfectly smooth and plump, without any segmental cross-lines. The thorax seems 

 confluent with the abdomen. Beneath are some transverse wrinkles, indicating segmental divisions. The antennae 

 are three-fourths as long as the body, elbowed about the middle, and are composed of nine joints, six very short and 

 three very long. Projecting from the posterior of the abdomen is a cone-shaped process, composed of three distinctly 

 marked segmeutal lines, that appear to be a caudal termination of the body. On the lower side of the abdomen, 

 and near its end, is a forked member (a spring-tail), which lies folded up against the under side and reaches as far 

 forward as the head, in which lies its leaping power. Its feet, six in number, are united apparently to the front of 

 the abdomen, which, from a ventral view, exhibits a rudimental sternum, compensating for the absence of the thorax 

 usual in insects. This insect has neither wings nor wing covers, and from a top view might be mistaken for a small, 

 black spider by a novice if he did not know that a spider has eight feet, and that the head and thorax are confluent, 

 instead of the thorax and abdomen. These insects are capable of bearing a low temperature, and are frequently 

 found upon the surface of the snow, from whence comes the name of "snow flea". Tobacco-growers complain of 

 these pests under the name of " black fly ", " black spider ," etc. Their larval and pupal histories seem to be unknown. 

 They are found in all the states of the Atlantic coast, but have not been observed in the interior. They appear 

 as far north as Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, during the months of May and June, but by the first of July they 

 have disappeared, and nothing more is seen of them until the following spring. As a remedy flour of sulphur 

 has been highly recommended. These insects are very delicate in their structure, and cannot be taken between 

 the fingers without crushing them. As it is evident that the first stages of their development must be passed 

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