51 



ihe quicker the tobacco grows the better will be the quality of the 

 cured product. Tobacco grown in a poor gravelly soil at a hot dry 

 time of the year is so rank and heavy with narcotic gum that it is 

 almost unsmokable ; it makes however, a first cla*s insecticide. 



Situation of Plantation.— Tobacco should not be planted in distriots 

 where there are no well defined wet and dry seasons ; it matters not 

 how well the plants are grown, how carefully they are tended, if the 

 two or three weeks continuous sunshine and dry atmosphere be not 

 forthcoming when the plants reach the ripening stage. 



Preparation of Land. — The land on which it is intended to grow to- 

 bacco should be cleared of all trees and other objects that are likely to 

 shade the plants ; it is not necessary to grub the stumps out except 

 for convenience in ploughing ; the rubbish should be burned in heaps 

 and the ashes scattered over the soil to be ploughed in. Where to- 

 bacco is grown every year on the same land the growth of cow-peas 

 or other leguminous plant between the crops is highly beneficial ; the 

 "Velvet Bean" seems to be the best for this purpose, for besides stor- 

 ing nitrogen in the soil, it climbs over and kills out any weeds that 

 attempt to grow, and goes down itself quite easily before the disc har- 

 row at ploughing time, reducing the cost of preparation very consider- 

 ably. The seeds may be sown at any time doring June and July, two 

 or three in shallow holes three feet apart more or less. Tobacco land 

 should be broken up and cultivated as thoroughly as possible ; the 

 least that can be done is to plough, cross-plough, harrow, and cross- 

 harrow ; as the rows have to run north and south it is as well to 

 plough in this direction first, finishing up with the cross- harrowing 

 from east to west ; this small matter makes it more convenient to ar- 

 range the lines when planting out. 



Planting. — Two days before planting is to be commenced the 

 nursery beds should receive a thorough soaking with water ; the 

 plants can then be got out without damaging the roots. Planting 

 boxes, each capable of holding about 1,000 plants, should be prepared 

 beforehand : these may be made out of any light wood, the most con- 

 venient shape being that of a square coal-scuttle or sugar scoop : 15 

 inches by 2ft. 3in. on the longest side ; the " suckers" are stacked into 

 the boxes just as they come from the bed and are not disturbed until 

 they are planted in the field ; each planter should havj a box, and 

 there should be several spare ones so that the planters may be kept 

 supplied with newly filled boxes from the nursery as the others get 

 empty ; the idea is to prevent the roots being exposed or damaged in 

 any way. 



The " suckers" are ready for planting out when they have three 

 or four leaves about four inches long and a hard stem from two to 

 three inches long ; care should be taken when lifting them from the 

 beds not to break off the tap root as such a sucker often results in a 

 curly leaved plant. The best time of the day for planting is from 

 three o'clock in the afternoon until dark ; but this is because the 

 plants are enabled to lay hold of the soil b if ore they have to face the 

 strong sunlight ; so that advantage should be taken of cloudy days to 

 push ahead with the planting as rapidly as possible. If the plants 

 lose their first leaves by exposure to bright sun, they usually take 

 some time to recover, and make fresh ones before they can start into 



