128 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



March 



of money, at one time, than do farmers who 

 engapce in a mixed husbandry. But then, just 

 look for one moment at the life we have to 

 lead. 



Many of us plough our lands in the fall, 

 preparatory for the crop, and in the spring, as 

 soon as we can, our seed-beds have to be got 

 in readiness and sowed. In doing this great 

 care must be taken to properly enrich the soil, 

 and to thoroughly pulverize and mix with it 

 the fertilizers. Our course is to manure with 

 stable manure soon after we get through trans- 

 planting in the summer, and plough under 

 what plants and weeds are remaining upon the 

 bed. Then plough once a month or so through 

 the season to keep down the weeds, applying 

 manure once more, and then in spring simp'y 

 sow about one and a half pecks of Russell Coe's 

 superphosphate of lime, or one peck of guano 

 to the rod, and rake it in thoroughly, after 

 loosening the bed with a manure fork. Then 

 in a short time your work begins in earnest. 

 For, let me tell you, if it isn't earnest work 

 to sit or lay down on the soft side of a plank, 

 and pull weeds all day, then I wouldn't say 

 so. Oh, my back aches now, only thinking of 

 it. 



Now, active labor has been begun in the 

 field, — ploughing, harrowing, carting manure, 

 spreading it, and ploughing and digging it in ; 

 using for this purpose either the common 

 plough, the gang plough, or Shares' harrow, 

 working the soil thoroughly, and at the same 

 time working in the guano, that we have been 

 pounding rainy days. Then comes the fitting 

 the hills, preparatory to setting or transplant- 

 ing the young tobacco plants ; and this job — 

 transplanting the young plants — is apt to make 

 a man recollect that he has a back, or if he 

 goes on his knees they will get sore, too. We 

 love to have this work done in a damp day, or 

 before a rain. But as we can't do everything 

 just as we would like to, we often work all 

 day in the rain. If we don't have a damp 

 time, then we have to set and water from one 

 to three times, for we must keep it alive some 

 way after it is set. 



Then we have to hunt the cut worms and 

 kill them, and I have known a pint of them 

 dug out and given to the hens by a single 

 hand, all gathered in going over a single acre. 

 Well, the rascals may have eaten up and de- 

 stroyed nearly one-half of the plants on the 

 piece, and the first rainy day it has got to be 

 stocked over, and perhaps two or three times 

 before we get a good stand. Hoeing in the 

 meantime has been going on in all suitable 

 weather, and it has to be hoed from three to 

 five times, — about four is the usual number of 

 times to hoe it. By this time the depreda- 

 tions of the green worm commences, and we 

 have to look sharp for these fellows, as it is 

 very desirable to put them in chancery before 

 they have eaten very large holes into the 

 leaves. 



Then it has to be topped, and then comes 



suckering, — a job that is about as undesirable 

 as anything that can be done about it. Think 

 of stooping over a plant to pull the suckers 

 from top to bottom, not less than fifteen to a 

 plant — gummy, nasty and disagreeable work, 

 at best, only occasionally varied by catching 

 and killing a big green tobacco worm, as big 

 as your finger, that has been overlooked in 

 your daily hunts after them. This is done by 

 taking them by the head with the thumb and 

 fore linger, giving a sort of rolling twist, and 

 at the same time throwing them on to the 

 ground. Don't hesitate to take hold of them 

 even if they grate their teeth as loudly as a 

 full grown woodchuck would do. It's a short 

 job, if it isn't so pleasant. You have the sat- 

 isfaction of knowing that he won't be able to 

 eat any more of your tobacco. 



Then comes cutting and hanging, and if the 

 nights are a little cool, the anxious watching, 

 and careful noting of every change of wind 

 and weather, so as to be able to get it housed 

 before Jack Frost has had a chance to destro)', 

 in one night, the labors of the season. How 

 earnestly we look at the thermometer, and 

 how apt we are to step over to neighbor B.'s 

 to see if he thinks it will be safe to risk it out. 

 If not, with axe in hand, go to work, cut and 

 pile up until it is frozen, or the wind shifts, or 

 clouds arise, or the mercury indicates warmer 

 weather. 



When It is all housed begins our anxious 

 care in curing it so as to have it all right. 

 When cured we must take it down, and very 

 often this has to be done in the night time, for 

 it has to be done when it is damp and in a soft 

 and pliable condition, after a rain or a fcggy 

 time. Then the leaves have to be stripped off 

 the stalks, only tying up the fillers ; then sort 

 it all over again, putting the wrappers by them- 

 selves, and the seconds by themselves, tying 

 up into hands from i to | of a pound in a 

 hand. We then pack it in piles, butts out, 

 and allow it to remain from two to four weeks 

 to cure off the butts and then put it into box- 

 es containing about 400 pounds each, the 

 wrappers, the seconds and the fillers each in 

 separate cases, and by this time we have nearly 

 or quite used up the year and are ready to go 

 the same rounds over again. 



The fact is, there is no end of the work in 

 caring for tobacco, and it has got to be done 

 in the right time, to the exclusion of all other 

 work. The haying has to be done when you 

 can get the time. Tobacco first ; haying, har- 

 vesting, corn, and potatoes, must be attended 

 to when we can get to them. 



Every moment of spare time must be de- 

 voted to getting together fertilizing material 

 to enlarge the manure pile for this one crop. 

 Care must be taken to keep it under sheds, or 

 build cellars under our barns to enable us to 

 increase the quantity and improve the quality. 



So completely does this crop occupy our 

 minds that you would think that there was no 

 other topic of conversation in some regions. 



