8 



The culture of Tobacco may bo divided into five periods, viz., Nursery, Planting, After-cultivation-, 

 Curing and Packing, each of which will be treated of in its respective order in the following pages ; 

 but first a few words on Climate and Soil. 



Climate. 



Climate is an important point in the cultivation of Tobacco, but a3 this cannot be modified by 

 artificial means we should seek a district where the temparature and m ns'tUre of tho locality is similar 

 to that of Cuba, warm and humid. In a country where tho Seasons differ from those of that Island the 

 periods of cultivating must be accordingly varied. 



So IT,. 



The soil as well as the weather affects the plant to a considerable extent, for plants grown under 

 the very same climate, but on slightly different soils, produce Tobaccos altogether distinct in quality. 

 For instance, i:i CuVi two neighbouring field', wnich are of courso unier tho same climatic influences, 

 produce Tobacco which differ in many particulars. Therefore, not only must the seasons be carefully 

 selected, bti t the soil also requires to bs chosen with great care, a light sandy loam, mixed with a fair 

 proportion of ve^etabl i debris, being preferred to any other. Clay lands are very unsuitable. Sandy', 

 loOse-gruined soil, abs dute'ly free from clay, will produce Tobacco of far batter quality in every respect 

 than any other kind of soil. 



• CHAPTER II. 

 CULTURAL INSTRUCTIONS. 



NuKSEliY. 



In the selection of the land for milking the Nursery attention must be piid to the existing con- 

 ditions of the soil, and a tion taken in accordance therewith. Wo will therefore describd ia a concise 

 mann'er the most convenient and the best methods of preparing it. 



Tho best soil for making the Nursery is to hi found on virgin or unfilled laud, and it is more easily , 

 prepared. On the other hand, in cleared and cultivated land the seedlings grow better und safer, but 

 give more trouble than in virgin soil. Old, abandoned dung-hills, the sides along old wooden fences,, 

 bog-sties anrl similar places, are very good soils for making Nurseries on. The Nursery may bo f jrmed 

 into nr.us or left level land, as appears most suitable. 



1. Virgin lar.d is prepared by cutting down every tree on the portion intended for tho Nursery, 

 leaving only a certain number of small trees whose branches will afford sufficient shade to the tender 

 plants (these will have to be removed later on). The land should be prepared long and narrow and. 

 with a North-easterly or South-easterly exposure. The land should now be swept with a broom mile of 

 the thin branches of trees or boughs so as to remove away all rubbish, etc., from it. The soil should be 

 slightly hoed, and the nibbish arising from this hoeing swept and thrown away also. The soil is now 

 ready for sowing the seed. 



2. On cultivated soil it is preferable to select, the plot, as level as possible, but if it should be too 

 much on the incline it. must be drained by means of trenches dug at the sides of the Nursery to prevent 

 rain water from running into it and carrying away the seed. This should also be done td Nurseries H 

 oh newly-cleared land. The seedlings will thrive much better if it should be that the land has been 

 used the year previous as a horse or shcep-pen, pig-stie, or dung-hill. The soil is prepared for sowing' 

 the seed just the same as on virgin soil. 



Whether on virgin or on cultivated soil the seed may be sown in beds. The method of proce- 

 dure is as follows : —In the month of May tho soil is ploughed and immediately after it is hbod, and ' 

 then coveted with a layer of vegetable rubbish, such as dry grass, etc. A few days after, when weeds' 

 have sprung up, the rubbish is burnt for t ne purpose of destroying all insects and grubs which infest' 

 decaying vegetable matter, and left in this state till weeds again spring up. Another layer of vegeta- 

 ble rubbish is put on and burnt as before, and a couple of days after this last burning the soil is hoed 

 and the beds made. They should be above four feet in breadth and of any desired length, though for ; 

 convenience in walking through the Nursery they may be made about ten feet in length, the path- 

 ways along and across the beds being about half a yard in width. The height of the beds should not' 

 be more than one inch above the level, having long wattles placed at the edges or borders of the beds 

 sustained by pegs driven down at their extremities so as to support the earth. Com is then planted ill " 

 the middle of the beds, two grains per hole, and each hole two feet apart. Near the time of sowing the 

 seed the soil is chopped with a cutlass without injuring the corn. Corn preserves the moisture of the 

 soil and protects the young plant from the rays of the sun. If when the seedlings spring up tho corn 

 has ears, tney should be picked off, fonhcy damage the seedlings. 



4. A Nuisery can be made so as to be at the same time a Tobacco field. It is done as follows:— 

 The land is cleared of trees, the boughs and rubbish burnt and corn immediately planted oh the land. 

 Previous to sowing the seed, the eaith is chopped and prepared as expliiuel for beds. The soed is' 

 sown as usual, but when the plants are fit for transplanting they should be thihned out where tw'o many 

 grow together, and those taken out planted where there are few or none at a regular distance from bach 

 other as on a fiold. The Tobacco grown by this method yields more leaves than by being transplanted 

 to a field, possessing besides the advantage of their being finer in texture and of a better colour. The 

 after-cultivation and curing is identical to that planted otherwise. The Cuban planter calls the To- 

 bacco so grown " Criollo" (Creole). This is generally done in tho Nurseries after planting in the field 

 is finished, but is never adopted as a regular 3} stem of culture, because there is no uniformity ia the 

 quality of the leaf and the quantity produced per acre. 



The Seed. 



I. Among the most important points in Tobacco culture is the selection of the seed. It should be 

 taken off the most healthy and perfect plants, and when properly ripe, that is, when the seed pod , 



