538 SOUTIlEltN FIELD CROPS 



This brings toljacco immecliatelj^ after cowpeas, after 

 which the rotation is repeated. 



In the limestone region of Kentuckj' the best position for 

 tobacco is beUeved to be after a l^lue-grass sod, which supplies 

 the necessary vegetable matter. Tobacco is then grown two 

 years. It is followed by wheat, in which is sown a mixture of 

 the seeds of clover, timothy, and blue-grass, with a \-iew to again 

 getting the field, after a few years, into blue-grass. For the 

 same region the following four-year rotation has been suggested, 

 where it is not practicable for tobacco to follow blue-grass : — 



First year : tobacco. 



Second year ; wheat with grass seed. 



Third year : clover and timothy. 



Fourth year : clover and timothy. 



In the bright-tobaoco districts of North Carolina a good 

 plant to furnish the necessary vegetable matter and nitrogen is 

 crimson clover, which may enter the rotation as a catch crop 

 after cotton or corn and either immediatelj' before, or a year 

 preceding, the time when tobacco is to occupy the field. 



Harvesting and Curing 



527. Indications of maturity. — Tobacco will usually 

 be ready for harvesting in three to three and a half 

 months after the plants are set, or somewhat more than 

 a month after the date of topping. The ripening of to- 

 bacco is shown by the follo^^^ng symptoms : (1) The 

 leaves change from a deep green to a lighter shade of green, 

 wdth a faint tendency to yello^Aing or to yello^\^sh mottling. 



(2) The leaf tends to crumple, especially along the edge. 



(3) The leaf veins become quite l.irittle, so that when the 

 leaf is folded between the fingers, a clear, distinct lireak 

 is made. (4) The leaf becomes hea^^er and somewhat 

 less smooth to the touch. 



