Soils and fertilization . The choice of soil and its fertilization var- 

 ies greatly with the class of tobacco to be grown. Much of the tobacco pro- 

 duced in the United States, including flue-cured Maryland, and the cigar 

 binder and wrapper types, is grown on sandy to clay loam with a sandy or sandy 

 clay subsoil. Cigar filler, burley, and fire-cured are grown on silt loam and 

 clay loam soils, with clay subsoils. 



Proper fertilization is an important factor in producing the specific 

 kind of leaf desired. The farmer must know the exact kinds and amounts of 

 fertilizers for his particular kind of soil. For instance, the quantity of 

 nitrogen, which stimulates rapid growth, is of critical importance for flue- 

 cured, but is not so important for burley and Maryland. A liberal supply of 

 potash, in the form of sulfate, carbonate, or nitrate, reduces the suscepti- 

 bility to bacterial leaf spot diseases, and also improves the "burning qual- 

 ity" of the tobacco. The excessive use of chlorides in any form impairs the 

 burning quality. Barnyard manures, when available, are used to considerable 

 extent in some types, such as burley and Wisconsin, but very sparingly in the 

 flue-cured and some other areas. The development of the plant is seriously 

 affected if any one of the chemical elements necessary for its growth is 

 lacking in the soil. 



Transplanting . Dates for transplanting range from about March 20 to 

 early May in Georgia and Florida, South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina, 

 and from May 1 through June in the other growing areas . Just before the 

 plants are to be set, the final preparation of the field is made by repeated 

 disking and rolling or harrowing, and smoothing and furrowing the surface 

 soil. Sometimes the field is left level, and sometimes it is ridged and the 

 plants set on the ridges. Ridging is the prevailing practice in flue-cured 

 and, to some extent, in the dark types, and level culture is chiefly used in 

 the cigar types, burley, and Maryland. 



Two methods are used in transplanting the tobacco seedlings into the 

 field: (1) by power driven machine; (2) by use of a hand transplanter. 



(1) The power-drawn transplanting machine is the most widely- 

 used method for planting today, especially on the larger 

 farms (fig. 7). It is operated by a driver, and carries 

 two, four, or eight "setters," who ride in low back seats 

 and alternate in placing the plants on a wheel mechanism 

 which spaces them at the proper intervals in the row. 

 The machine opens the furrow, dumps a measured quantity 

 of water, and draws the soil about the roots of the 

 plants. 



(2) The hand transplanter is still used, but mostly on the 

 smaller farms. It is a device of lightweight metal, 

 about 3-1/2 feet in length, cone-shaped at the bottom, 

 and with a handle at the top. It carries a 

 water supply, and has an opening through which the plant 

 is dropped. It makes a hole in the soil, and with one 

 operation of the handle, drops the plant, and releases 

 the proper quantity of water. The worker sets the plant 

 by pressing the soil around it with his foot. 



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