THE CULTURE OF FLUE-CURED TOBACCO. D 
there is an accumulation of readily available plant food; the tobacco 
grows quickly, matures and ripens early, and cures well. In the Old 
Belt, therefore, where much of the soil tends to be too strong and 
clayey, a given soil, perhaps, will produce a crop of good color and 
quality when it is “ fresh,” but will not do so after it has been under 
cultivation for a number of years. But in the case of the light soils 
in the Coastal Plain section, those which have-been longer under 
cultivation are preferable because the “fresh” land will make the 
leaves too thin and lifeless and the bottom leaves will begin to waste 
away prematurely. 
CROP ROTATION SYSTEMS. 
Aside from the natural character of the soil itself, there 1s no more 
important matter for the tobacco grower to consider than the man- 
agement of his fields, so that in regular order they will be in the 
best shape for tobacco at the proper time. Indeed, the character of 
the tobacco: produced will depend quite as much on how the fields 
have been handled in rotation between the successive tobacco crops 
as upon the fertilizer used or the cultivation given directly to the 
tobacco crop itself. 
IMPORTANCE OF HUMUS IN THE SOIL. 
Tobacco land should be so handled as to be kept in good life. A 
liberal supply of vegetable matter in an advanced stage of decay is 
highly desirable, but it should be of a kind not excessively rich in 
ammonia. For this reason the clovers, cowpeas, and other legumes, 
except in a limited way, generally can not be used with satisfac- 
tion preceding tobacco unless removed some two or three years from 
the tobacco, and on the stronger lands of the Old Belt section it 
would probably be best in most cases to omit them from the rotation 
altogether. Large quantities of slow-acting organic ammoniates tend 
decidedly against fineness, sweetness, and color. 
It is well known that the organic matter of freshly cleared or 
broom-straw fields is of a kind well suited to tobacco. It consists 
principally of dead leaves, twigs, roots, pine tags, or broom straw and 
roots. Such vegetable matter, while poor in ammonia, by its ample 
volume makes the soil very mellow and friable and of good water- 
holding capacity. The weed growth that comes in spontaneously on 
the so-called rested fields is also generally of a kind suited to turn 
under as a source of vegetable matter for tobacco soils. 
Supplying the necessary humus in this way perhaps may be con- 
sidered satisfactory from the standpoint of the tobacco itself. In 
several other respects, however, it is very unsatisfactory. The rested 
field system of farming, if it may be called a system, means that a 
