Clearing 23 1 



Still the very best tobacco is not the earliest. 

 Early planting is ready to cut in August. It 

 is the hot days and cool drenching dews of 

 September which make the rich, heavy ship- 

 ping leaf, full of gum and oil and aromatic 

 strength. Still it is Seldom worth while to 

 set a field after the middle of June, though 

 with a good season — that is, plenty of rain 

 for setting out — in new ground even Fourth- 

 of-July planting may result in a fine crop. 

 Late or early, stocky "rose plants " with leaves 

 coming out all round, go a long way toward 

 making a good crop — wherefore Major Baker 

 aimed always to have rose plants and a great 

 plenty of them. 



There were twenty acres in the new ground ; 

 yet after all the trees were down, and before 

 working up the timber began, you could run 

 nearly all over it, and never touch earth, by 

 simply jumping from one log or stump to an- 

 other. It was a long, north-looking hill slope. 

 North slopes are always richest and best worth 

 clearing — possibly because even summer sun- 

 shine strikes over, rather than upon them, and 

 thus the dead leaves stay moist and rot, like- 

 wise the dead twigs and fallen trunks. Neither 

 is the earth underneath the leaves baked and 

 made lifeless, as happens upon slopes facing 

 south. While a real cracking drought does 

 land nearly as much good as a deep hard freeze, 



