10 



used, such as cotton seed and stable or barn manure, it sliould be 

 thrown broadcast over the surface and plowed in. This should be done 

 about six weeks before the time of setting out the plants. About one 

 week before setting the plants the laud is laid off in rows 4 feet apart, 

 listed with 2 furrows, thus making a ridge on which to set the i^lauts. 

 On the morning before setting out the plants the top of this ridge is 

 made flat and smooth by means of a hoe or by a board attached to a 

 plow drawn over the ridge. This leaves the top of the ridge flat and 

 smooth aud ready to receive the plants, which should immediately be 

 set about 14 inches apart in the drill. As it is always desirable to get 

 a uniform growth, great care should be exercised to have each plant 

 live. Replanting should be done as quickly as it is possible to deter- 

 mine where fresh plants are needed. If the ground is moist and showers 

 frequent, watering the plants is unnecessary, but if the ground is dry 

 they should be watered immediately after setting and each day there- 

 after as long as the plants require it. The quantity of water used is 

 in all cases governed by the condition and nature of the soil. After 

 setting, the plants should not be disturbed for at least six days. If 

 the soil becomes packed and hard, a furrow should be run on each side 

 of the row, using a small straight plow and letting it run well down. 

 This should be followed immediately by two sweep furrows, which will 

 put the plants on a smooth ridge. The hoe is then used, carefully stir- 

 ring the soil about the j)lants. From this point on the cultivation 

 should be rapid and shallow. When the plants begin to "button'^ 

 cultivation should stop. Early or low topping is not desirable, as it 

 throws too much growth in the leaves, making them large and coarse. 

 There should be 14 to 16 leaves to the stalk after a plant is topped. 

 After the plants are topped, suckers will start at each leaf. These 

 must be broken off at least twice each week. Of course in plowing 

 and hoeing great care is exercised to preserve the soundness of the 

 leaves. 



The battle with the worm begins in the seed bed and does not end 

 until the tobacco is harvested. As soon as tbe plant begins to grow 

 after being transplanted, a preparation is made of Paris green and 

 meal, mixed well together, at the rate of one tablespoonful of Paris 

 green to one gallon of meal. TLiis is sprinkled directly in the bud of 

 the iflant, and its use is continued until the plant is topped. By apply- 

 ing this with great care twice a week the bud worm, which is the greatest 

 enemy of the crop, is kept off. The horn worm is also a great pest. 

 Poisoning is resorted to in order to get rid of it, using cobalt aud 

 strychnine mixed with honey. One drop of this mixture is put in each 

 blossom of the Jamestown weed. The blossoms are distributed over the 

 fields in little stands pre])ared for this i)urpose, the stands being about 

 6 feet high, so as to enable the blossoms to be seen above the tobacco 

 plants. The horn-fly is attracted to the blossom, and one sip of its 

 poisoned contents proves deadly. In this way many of the horn 



