26 



ingly careful in breaking these leaves to see that the broken end is 

 covered up immediately, so as not to expose the injured parts to the 

 sun. At this second cultivation the plants are carefully examined and 

 all suckers are removed. These are broken off and buried around the 

 stem of the plaut in the same way as the leaves, so as to protect the 

 stem. 



The third and last cultivation takes place when the plants are about 

 2 feet high. The rows by this time stand in rather high ridges, so that 

 they are well protected from the heavy rains. 



DISEASES OF THE PLANTS. 



The tobacco plants are subject to injury in a number of ways. Fre- 

 quently a worm settles in the stem of a plant or in the stem of a leaf 

 and feeds upon the plant until it becomes sickly. These sick plants 

 are recognized by the appearance of the leaves, some of them becom- 

 ing contracted. The only remedy is to imll up the plant and work the 

 ground over. Sometimes the plants put in the ground in the same 

 place are again troubled in the same way. The coolie, who does not 

 wish to lose the plant, will often try to doctor it by cutting the stem 

 open and taking the worm out, but the plant so treated will never 

 amount to much and it is best to pull it up and destroy it. 



Another injury causes the so-called gilas or corkscrew plants. The 

 plant at a certain height suddenly becomes bent in a crooked way and 

 the leaves are strangely curled. The only thing to be done in this case 

 is to cut the stem off where the twist commences, but even this will not 

 always remedy the fault, and then the plant has to be taken out. 



There is also the '^phesem" or "white-heart," which causes the 

 tobacco to suddenly become very light in color. This frequently occurs 

 after heavy rains. There are also so-called " lightning" plants, which 

 have white specks and frequently a white aiDpearance throughout. 

 These also have to be thrown out. Frequently, also, the plants have 

 rotten, empty stems and leaves that commence to die before the plants 

 are half ripe. 



Eesetting to replace such losses is practiced during the time just 

 after a rain and as soon as possible after the planting. This is the 

 only chance for these plants to catch up with the main crop. If the 

 resetting is done too late the small plants never amount to much. 



FERTILIZERS. 



Fertilizers are very seldom used in Deli, and never on new land. In 

 the grass lands it is sometimes necessary to use fertilizers. In this case 

 about 300 pounds of guano are used to a field after first mixing it with 

 tlie same amount of wood ashes. It is applied either dry or in liquid 

 form. When applied as a liquid it is well mixed with water, about one 

 quart of the guano to an ordinary bucket of water. It is then applied 



