THE SOUTHE 



RN PLANTER. 



ie middle of June. The beds ought to be 

 -dressed several times before any plants 

 drawn, and after every drawing. Fine, 

 11-rotied stable manure, mixed with the 



/eepings of tobaeeo-house floors, may be 



sed. But I prefer a compost made in the 

 .tables, by littering them with tobacco stalks, 

 and sowing a little plaster on the litter occa- 

 sionally. This should be made in the spring, 

 before any grass seed ripen; and the horses 

 should be fed on corn fodder while the stalks 

 are in the stable. When taken out it ought 

 to be heaped under a shed, and when wanted 

 for use a little beating and picking will make 

 It very fine. 



When the above process has been faithfully 

 applied to my beds they have not failed, even 

 in the most difficult seasons, to yield from 10 

 to 15 or 20,000 plants per 100 yards; and since 

 i adopted it I have had an abundance of plants, 

 and many to spare every year but one. 



The land for tobacco, if it be an old lot, and 

 particularly a clover lot, should be broken up 

 close and tolerably deep in autumn. If the 

 subsoil be a cold, wet or^tenacious clay, only 

 the surface should^be inverted by the ploughs— 

 and a subsoil plough ought to be run in the 

 furrow of the turning plough. But if it be a 

 dry, red clay a few inches may be thrown up by 

 the turning plough without injury. In any case, 

 the land ought to be re-ploughed about mid- 

 winter, say in January, for the better ameliora- 

 tion of the soil, and still more for the destruc- 

 tion of the cut-worm. I have not often been 

 troubled by this pest except when this plough- 

 ing has been omitted. The best time to apply 

 manure is at this ploughing— but if not applied 

 then let it be put on by all means before the 

 corn' crop is planted— and plough it in as fast 

 as it is hauled to the ground. A heavy drag 

 ought to be run over the land just before it is 

 bedded, and the beds thrown up with one-horse 

 ploughs. When ready to plant, send a steady 

 fellow, with a three-foot stick in his hand, 

 walking along the beds and testing his stride 

 occasionally by the stick. Chop in his foot- 

 prints with hill hoes, clap and plant thus in 

 the beds. If the land has been prepared as 

 early as indicated there will be season enough 

 in it to plant any time in May, without a rain, 

 and the plants will live better than when 

 planted just after a rain; and if the weather 

 continue dry after planting, there will be less 

 danger of injury to the tobacco from the for- 

 mation of hard lumps around the roots. If 

 proper attention has been given to the plant 

 beds, the plants will be ready by the middle 

 of May. But if it should be necessary to 

 ~»r to re-plant much in that 

 ^actice to put a good 

 - the plant as 

 is better 

 as I 



thus all "missing" hills will be easily recog- 

 nized in re-planting. 



Instead of "ridging down," or "scraping 

 down," it is far better to put a little fresh earth 

 to the plants at the first working. Run three- 

 tooth cultivators twice in the row, and deep 

 as one horse can draw them; and then lee 

 every hoe hand take one bed and work it as 

 in weeding corn. As soon as the tobacco 

 starts, or as soon as the grass begins to spring 

 up, or whenever a crust forms on the surface, 

 it will need a second working. I am disposed 

 to think that the growth of the crop depends 

 mainly upon this working. At any rate I 

 have never seen a good crop made that had 

 been slighted at this time: it is now that the 

 plants take a set, either running up with slender 

 stalk and narrow, short leaf; or spreading out, 

 broad and leafy. It ought to be thoroughly 

 stirred now, and this will be done best by run- 

 ing broadfoot coulters close to the plants, two 

 or four times in a row. Follow the coulters 

 with small dagons, throwing the earth to the 

 plants. Then with hoes dig deep in the step, 

 and finish by putting up moderate hills. An 

 old and skilful planter of my acquaintance 

 says that fire may be prevented, in a great de- 

 gree, by making small hills. He says facts led 

 him to this belief, and he shows his faith by 

 his works. The explanation is, that a large 

 hill absorbs more water and retains it longer 

 than a small one. It is probable that very 

 deep ploughing is a better preventive. It is 

 chiefly upon light soils underlaid by tenacious 

 clays that the worst fire appears, and deep 

 ploughing is certainly the preventive in such 

 lands; but the two may be combined. 



After the second working, one or two slight 

 scrapings up will complete the cultivation. 



These remarks, Mr. Editor, about the culti- 

 vation of tobacco, are based upon either ex- 

 perience or observation, and indicate the mode 

 I intend to practise in future rather than that 

 I have pursued. I have either tested in my 

 own crop or seen in others the value of every 

 part of the process, except the subsoiling. 



As to the proper time of cutting tobacco 

 and housing it, or the best mode of curing and 

 ordering it, I shall say nothing. These are 

 matters, in my opinion, which every one must 

 learn for himself by actual experiment. Gen- 

 eral instructions indeed may be of some ser- 

 vice, but would mislead as often as not. 



Yours, A Planter. 



Prince Edward, January, 1853. 



F/re Kindler.— Take a quart of tar, three 

 pounds of rosin, melt them, bring them to a 

 cooling temperature, mix with as much saw- 

 dust, with a little charcoal added, as can be 

 worked in; spread out while hot upon a board; 

 when cold break it into lumps of the size of 

 a large hickory nut. The composition will 



<nly ignite from a match, and burn with a 

 blaze, long enough to start any fire. 



