•JAMAICA. 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT. 



MAY, 1902. Part 5. 



TOBACCO : CULTIVATION AND CURING. II.* 



By T. J. Harris, Superintendent of the Experiment Station, 

 Hope. 



After Cultivation. 



About two or three weeks after planting, accDrding to the state of 

 the weather, the young plants will have put out some fresh leaves; 

 and it will be noticed that each new leaf will be larger, when 

 developed, than the one immediately below. 



If the weather has been dry, " suckers" will very quickly make 

 their appearance at the junction of the stem with the leaves. These 

 should be removed at once. If, on the other hand, nice moist grow- 

 ing weather has prevailed, suckers will not become troublesome until 

 the plant reaches a height of 2 feet to 3 feet ; until in fact it is top- 

 ped. Care should be taken from the first to keep down weeds, but 

 avoid, if possible, trampling on the soil when it is wet ; it is better by 

 far to allow the weeds to remain until the surface of the soil is dry 

 than to trample it. into mud. During dry weather the surface of the 

 soil should be kept loose by the use of the hoe, or a small cultivator 

 drawn by a steer, to prevent the escape of the soil moisture. 



Moulding. — When the plants are about a foot high, there is some 

 danger of their fa'lingover; advantage should betaken of the first 

 spell of dry weather to give them alight moulding; this will also 

 cover up the roots that come out during wet weather on the surface 

 near the base of the plant, and protect them from the sun and dry 

 wind. The easiest and best way to mould is to hoe a little soil out 

 from the centre of the three foot space between the rows and scatter 

 it evenly over the distance from there up to the plants ; the workman 

 walking in the three foot space and using the hoe left and right 

 handed alternately. This method should be insisted upon as by 

 moulding each row of plants separately there is danger of breaking 

 the leaves and of cutting the roots that are extending towards the 

 middle of the three foot space. 



Avoid, when moulding, making a high sharp ridge; for it is a 

 veritable death trap to the plants. For they will grow well only as 

 long as there is a large amount of moisture in the atmosphere, but 



* Continued from Btfletin, April, page 52. 



Vol. IX. 



