Soils and fertilization. The choice of soil and its fertilization varies 
greatly with the kind of leaf that is 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. 
Fertilization is the basic factor in producing the specific kind of leaf 
desired. The farmer must know the proper 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 susceptibility to bacterial 
leaf spot diseases, and also improves the "burning quality'' of the tobacco. 
The use of chlorides in any form impairs the burning quality. Barnyard ma- 
nures, when available, are used to cansiderable 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 materially 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 the 
first week in 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 re- 
peated disking and rolling or harrowing, and smoothing and furrowing the sur- 
face 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. 
Three methods are in general use in transplanting the tobacco seedlings 
into the field: (1) by use of a horse- or power-driven machine; (2) by use 
of a hand transplanter, and (3) by handsetting. 
(1) The power-drawn transplanting machine is probably the most 
widely-used method for planting today, especially on the larger 
farms (fig. 9). It is operated by a driver, and carries two 
"setters,'' who ride in low back seats and alternate in placing 
the plants 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 as they are held in 
position by the setters. 
(2) The hand transplanter is also commonly used, but mostly on the 
smaller farms. It is a device of lightweight metal, about 3% 
feet in length, cone-shaped at the bottom, and with a handle at 
the top (fig. 10). It carries a water supply, and has an open- 
ing 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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