PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 295 



roots, or the plant will surely die. Should the sun come out hot soon after 

 setting, the plants must be covered with plantain leaves or a wisp of green 

 grass, and it may be necessary to water them, which should always be 

 done at night, as at that time nothing is lost by evaporation. As few 

 plants, comparatively, can be set at a time, it is not a great amount of 

 labor to water, cover and uncover them. 



I will now state that one of the best pieces of tobacco which I saw last 

 season was raised upon sward land, upon which the manure was carted 

 and turned under. After a short time the land was harrowed down smooth- 

 ly, and then remained in that state till just before the time of setting, when 

 a top-dressing of fine manure was applied, and the ground again well har- 

 rowed, so that the manure was thoroughly mixed with the soil, and the 

 plants set out as above indicated. 



ANOTHER MODE OF CULTURE. 



Some prefer the following mode of culture: When the plants are large 

 enough to hoe, the labor is materially lessened by going between the rows 

 two or three times with a horse and cultivator. Care must be taken not 

 to injure the plants; the dirt which has become hard about the roots may 

 be carefully removed, and its place supplied by fresh, fine soil. The hoe- 

 ing, which must be done three or four times, as the case may require, is 

 about the same process as that required for corn. It must be kept free 

 from weeds, for if permitted to grow, they will spoil the lower leaves of 

 the plants. At this stage of the crop, the great pest is the tobacco worm, 

 which must be exterminated, because he eats through the leaves, thus 

 spoiling them for wrappers. And it is proper here to remark, that the 

 leading idea in cultivating tobacco, is to get as many wrappers and as few 

 fillers as possible. Take care of the wrappers, and the fillers will take care 

 . of themselves. The plants must be topped at a height of about three feet, 

 and the suckers must be removed so as to throw all the growth into the 

 leaves. In order to prevent the mischief and damage of the worms, and 

 remove the suckers, it will be necessary to go through the tobacco fields 

 every morning, or as often as can be conveniently done. 



The crop is ready for cutting during the last days of August and the 

 first days of September. When it is ripe and ready to cut, the suckers 

 will grow at the bottom leaves nearest to the ground, and a faint yellow 

 spot will be seen upon the leaf. It should not stand long after these 

 appear. 



CUTTING AND CURING. 



We now come to the most important part of the cultivation; that of 

 cutting and curing. If your ground was rich and well prepared, if your 

 plants were healthy and well set, if the season has been favorable, if you 

 have cultivated well, if you have kept the suckers cleaned out, and if you 

 have kept it free from worms, you have a reasonable prospect of the most 

 profitable crop which you ever raised. We must now attend to the cut- 

 ting and hanging, the curing and stripping and packing for market. ^ The 

 cutting should be commenced when the dew is off (never cut when it is on) 

 or about eleven o'clock. An old hand-saw is the most convenient instru- 

 ment for this purpose, sawing close to the ground, and laying the plants 



