PROFITABLE FARMING. 



ten-penny nails, eighteen inches apart, all around the outside of the boarding, 

 and from five to six inches from the top edge. Also drive nailg in the middle 

 board, eighteen inches apart. Make the covering in two pieces, each the size of* 

 half the bed — say ,ten by ten yards — and sew on the outer edge, all around each 

 cover, loops of cloth, made of common domestic, eighteen inches apart, to receive, 

 a cord or twine, which runs through loops all around and tie, and the cover is 

 ready to be placed over the bed and fastened by pulling the twine or cord over the 

 nails all around, letting the two covers meet in the middle over the six-inch board. 

 By this arrangement the cover is kept fast over the bed at the right distance above, 

 the plants, and may be removed and placed over it at will in less time than by. 

 any other known contrivance. 



A Standing Plant-^ed. — ^Every planter ought to have a standing plant-bed, 

 which may be secured in the following way: Some time in July or August select 

 one of the best of the old plant-beds, and with hoes shave down the green plants 

 over its entire surface, and cover over thickly with straw or leayes, then place- 

 green brush thickly over the bed and weight down with wood. When the whole 

 is dry, some time in the late fall or early winter, set on fire, and thus reburn over 

 the bed. Then chop and rake fine, sow and trench as when first prepared. 

 Repeat the! same operation every year, and, if the bed is manured properly, it will 

 improve and prove a stand-by for many years. 



' Unburned Beds. — Plants may be raised by going into the forest, selecting a moist 

 rich plat, and after raking oif the leaves, coultering or chopping the surface fine, 

 manuring heavily, and sowing the seed. But such beds rarely hold out well if 

 the season be dry. They never "repeat" well after the first " drawing" like burnt 

 beds, which are more reliable for a successive supply of plants as the seasoa 

 advances. 



Time of Sowin Seed. — The time for sowing varies with the latitude, variety, 

 and season. Between the parallels of 35 and 40 degrees north latitude, compass- 

 ing the great tobacco belt, beds may be sown any time between the 1st of January 

 and 20th of March, and the sooner the better for bright grades, which ought to be 

 planted early to mature, ripen and yellow, preparatory to being cured early in the- 

 fall, when the most successful curings are usually made. Yellow tobacco ought 

 to be planted out, in May, but June plantings usually do best in heavy dark grades. 

 The planter will consult his interest by sowing at a proper time to suit the grade 

 he desires to raise. Plants set out after the 10th of July rarely pay for growing, 

 and handling, and if not planted by that time, it will be wise to plant the hills in 

 peas, potatoes, or something else. 



Hastening the Growth of Plants. — As soon as the plants become "square" i.e., 



have four leaves — ^you may begin to force their growth, if necessary. Nothing is 

 better at this stage of their growth than to apply dry stable manure, rubbed fine, 

 and sowed over the bed, applying at the rate of five bushels to every one hundred 

 square yards. Be sure to have it dry and fine, and apply when the plants are dry. 

 This is a favorable time to #pply a good fertilizer, and the best time to apply it is 

 during a shower, or when it is apparent that one is impending. Every planter 

 should compost in time stable manure free from grass seeds along with prepared 

 chemicals suited to tobacco, using just enough moist rich earth to promote fer- 

 mentation. Nothing is better than this compost for a top dressing on plants to- 

 promote rapid, vigorous, stocky growth, defying the ravages of the 'flea-beetle and 

 hastening their preparation for transplant! no;. 



