40 TOBACCO CULTURE IN THE WEST INDIES 
Comparing this with the standard of one arroba per 
1000 plants furnishing 50 lbs. of potash per acre, we find 
that we will have only enough potash to produce 535 Ibs. 
of tobacco. That is provided the plants absorb all of the 
fertilizer applied, which they never do. Of course the 
soil contains certain amounts of potash, but as it is often 
in a very slowly available form the plants cannot utilize 
much of it and in order to produce a tobacco of real fine 
burning quality enough potash should be applied to satis- 
fy the need of a full crop. At least three arrobas (75 lbs.) 
per 1000 plants of a fertilizer containing 10 % potash, 6 % 
phosphoric acid and 3% nitrogen, would undoubtedly be 
needed in most localities. 
PLANTING AND CULTIVATING 
Tobacco is planted by hand, both in Cuba and Porto 
Rico. This is not entirely because of the hilly condition of 
the land, at least not in Cuba, but planting machines have 
not so far been introduced. The ordinary planting ma- 
chine would have to be propelled by oxen at a very slow 
gait, because the plants are set very close together. Under 
shade the plants are set 8 to 12 inches apart in rows three 
feet apart. In the open, the distance is about ten inches 
between the plants according to the locality and grade of 
tobacco, but the distance between the rows is usually less 
than three feet and very seldom more than that. In plant- 
ing, a furrow is opened with a native plow and the plants 
set in the bottom of the furrow. The plants are pulled 
from the seed-bed one by one and tied in bundles of one 
hundred. No attempt is made to save the root system nor 
to protect the seedlings from drying out. The bundles are 
