532 SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



519. Preparation of land. — For tobacco the land should 

 be thoroughly prepared a number of weeks or even months 

 before the plants are to be set in the field. The first 

 plowing is level or broadcast. Rows are opened at the 

 desired chstance apart, the fertilizer is drilled in these and 

 mixed by the use of some cultivating implement. Then 

 a ridge or " list " is thrown up above the fertihzer. The 

 details of preparation vary greatlj' in different regions, 

 the tobacco being sometimes planted on ridges and else- 

 where practicallj' on a level, the " list " which covered 

 the fertilizer having been first pulled down with a harrow 

 or board. 



520. Distance between plants. — Practice varies greatly 

 with different types of tobacco and in different regions. 

 In the dark tobacco district of Virginia and Tennessee, 

 the rows are usually 3j feet apart and the plants about 

 3 feet apart in the rows. On the other hand, "Wliite 

 Burlejr tobacco in Kentuckj^ stands nearly t^^^ce as thick 

 as this in the row ; while under shade in Florida, Culian 

 tobacco is set 14 inches apart and Sumatra tobacco only 

 about 12 inches apart in rows 3\ to 4 feet apart. 



521. Setting or transplanting. — After the plants are 

 of sufficient size, all danger of frost past, and the soil 

 thoroughly warmed, the young plants are set in the field 

 at the desired distance apart. In Florida, setting of Cuban 

 tobacco should be finished by the middle of May and the 

 transplanting of Sumatra tobacco should Ijc completed 

 by the middle of June, the bulk of each crop being set 

 considerably earher. 



In Virginia the period for setting plants extends from 

 the middle of May to the latter part of June Here early 



