242 FARM CROPS 



TOBACCO. — A plant native to this country and 

 consisting of many varieties, each of which requires 

 special soil preparation and culture. Being a highly 

 specialized crop, the utmost care and attention is 

 necessary in selecting soil and in cultivating the 

 crop. Until recent years, the small details of culture 

 have been left unattended, thereby lessening th€ re- 

 turns in production. When tobacco sells at a normal 

 price, on the same basis as other crops of the farm, 

 none gives a larger profit to the acre, especially 

 when the details of culture and of curing are not 

 neglected. 



Unlike other farm crops, tobacco requires much 

 devotion at first to get the crop started. A seed 

 bed is necessary in which to start the plants from 

 which they are later removed and transplanted in 

 the field. The old method in the South was to cut 

 a clearing in the woods near a small stream; a 

 southern exposure is preferred. This land is spaded 

 in the fall, wood is burned over it so as to put it in 

 good condition and to fertilize the bed. Many 

 growers cover the selected seed bed during the win- 

 ter with leaves and manure so as to keep it from 

 freezing. In the spring this top dressing is re- 

 moved, a liberal application of cottonseed meal 

 or some nitrogenous fertilizer is applied and raked 

 in, leaving the soil in mellow, fine and compact 

 condition — ^just the condition that the tiny seeds 

 require for their best germination and growth. It 

 takes from the time of planting in the seed bed, 

 until ready for transplanting, many weeks. To 

 shorten this period many farmers germinate the 

 seed before sowing in the seed bed. They moisten 

 the seed and place it in a medium like apple tree 

 punk or cocoanut fiber made soft with warm water. 



