i90 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



the soil well about the roots ; and thirdly, 

 to avoid bruising the plant either with the 

 stick in pressing, or the fingers in holding 

 it. Then fold the leaves gently to the 

 north, and place a clod or stone on the 

 south side so as to shade the plant from 

 the sun. This clodding is necessary ex- 

 cept in long continued rains, when the 

 roots will take hold before the sun, kills 

 the bud. A thunder shower is not suffi- 

 cient to dispense with clodding ; on the 

 contrary the hill being heated by the sun, 

 a sudden shower will scald the plant, un- 

 less protected, as recommended. The 

 clods should be left on until the roots have 

 taken hold, which is usually in from four 

 to,seven days, and then removed in the 

 evening. 



If planting be done late, plaster should 

 be applied to the bud as soon as the clods 

 are removed, but if the crop be forward, 

 this operation may be deferred until the 

 first of June. Plaster is indispensable to 

 the tobacco crop — increasing its weight 

 twenty-five per cent. When applied to 

 the bud, a very small quantity is necessa- 

 ry — say from one half to a thimbleful. It 

 is hardly necessary to say that missing 

 hills should be re-planted. This, however, 

 should be done as soon as possible, so as 

 to insure an even crop, and it is better to 

 get a perfect stand upon one land before 

 you commence on another. 



The amount and kind of cultivation de-. 

 pend so much upon circumstances, that it 

 is difficult to lay down any general rules 

 for working this crop. It is all important 

 that tobacco land should be kept at all 

 stages of the crop thoroughly light and 

 clean. Ordinary seasons, as a first work- 

 ing, we break the land, if free of grass, by 

 striking three licks to the row with a new 

 ground coulter — or if there be much grass, 

 running twice with the coulters and split- 

 ting the list with a shovel plough, and 

 then with hilling hoes scrape down the 

 hills, covering up what grass the ploughs 

 have left, and breaking the crust around 

 the plant. In dry weather it is well to 

 draw a little loose dirt about the root. 



The njext working we give with the 

 shovel ploughs and, breaking the land and 

 covering up the grass, and follow with the 

 hoes, drawing the dirt to the hill, or "hijl- 

 ing up," and if the plant be of sufficient 

 size, " priming off" the lower leaves and 

 putting fresh dirt, about the roots. This 



will suffice for new ground, but old land 

 will require another working, which is 

 given with the plough and hoes, if the 

 size of the tobacco admit of it — otherwise 

 with the hoe alone. 



The height at which tobacco should be 

 "primed" depends upon the variety culti- 

 vated. We prime the Ruffle to about six 

 inches. When the plant has attained suf- 

 ficient size to give the proper number of 

 leaves above the priming, it should be at 

 once topped. This is done by breaking out 

 the bud with such care, as not to injure 

 the top leaves, which are very delicate 

 and easily injured by rough handling. 

 Experience soon renders a hand expert at 

 this operation, and it is well to leave it to 

 a few hands who have acquired this expe- 

 rience. Like every other operation in to- 

 bacco topping should be done in time, as 

 the smaller the bud the slighter the wound 

 inflicted upon the stalk by breaking it. 



Early plants on rich land may be topped 

 to nine leaves, but we aim to bring the 

 crop generally to eight, to which number 

 we top -until the 10th August, when we 

 fall one leaf for each week. 



About the 10th August it becomes ne- 

 cessary to " worm and sucker" the crop 

 once a week. Suckers should, under no 

 circumstances, be allowed to grow longer 

 than a man's finger, as their growth great- 

 ly exhausts the plant. Every planter 

 should wage, constant war upon the tobac- 

 co fly, and to this end we advise the cul- 

 tivation about the house of the sweet or 

 monthly honeysuckle, of which the fly is 

 very fond. One of our neighbors, from a 

 few bushes, destroyed several thousand 

 flies last season. 



As the tobacco plant ripens it thickens 

 up, becomes brittle, (breaking when gent- 

 ly pressed between the finger and thumb,) 

 and loses that peculiar fuzzy appearance 

 it has when green. Experience is required 

 in judging when a plant is ready for the 

 knife. More persons err in cutting too 

 green than in letting the crop stand too 

 long. As a plant is cut it should be in- 

 verted over its own stuble and allowed to 

 stand until the sun timbers it sufficiently lo 

 admit of its being handled without break- 

 ing the leaves, then collecting the plants, 

 stack and cover with bushes, &c, so as to 

 protect against sun-burning. It is well to 

 freshen up land on which tobacco is 

 stacked to prevent codling. The plants 



