38 TOBACCO CULTURE IN THE WEST INDIES 
improve the quality of the tobacco and an additional 200 
pounds of acid phosphate will no doubt increase the yield 
without decreasing the quality. 
COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 
The main requirements for a tobacco fertilizer are as 
follows: (a) The potash must be present in a form not con- 
taining chlorine. High grade sulphate of potash being one 
of the most preferable forms. (b) The nitrogen must be in 
a form readily available but nitrate of soda should be used 
in minimum quantities only. (¢) The phosphoric acid must 
be present in an available form, such as acid phosphate. 
The relative amounts of the three elements may vary 
according to the soil and the class of tobacco desired. In 
the West Indies, for a ‘high grade filler in which aroma and 
burning quality determines the price, potash is the princi- 
pal element and a fertilizer should contain the plant food 
in approximately the following order: nitrogen 1,phospho- 
ric acid 2 and potash 314, that is a fertilizer containing 
8% nitrogen should contain 6% phosphoric acid and from 
10% to 12% potash. 
For wrapper tobacco, that is where the profit is to be 
made out of wrappers mainly, without regard to the quality 
of the leaves fit for filler only, the formula would be 
about 1 nitrogen, 214 phosphoric acid and 3 potash. That 
is a fertilizer containing 3 % nitrogen should have 7% to’ ~ 
8 So phosphoric acid and 9 % potash. 
HOW TO APPLY FERTILIZERS 
The best way is to apply the fertilizer in the furrow and 
mix it well with the soil from three to four weeks before 
