December, 1909,1 



499 Drugs and Medicinal Products. 



a sufficient length of time to allow the 

 seed to germinate. The percentage of 

 seeds that have germinated in a certain 

 number of days (six to ten days) can then 

 be noted. 



Separating Seed. — It is a well-known 

 fact that the use of poor seed is largely 

 the cause of the lack of uniformity in 

 tobacco fields. Before sowing, seed 

 should be separated so as to remove the 

 light and immature seeds, A very simple 

 way to do this is to pour the required 

 amount of seed into a glass of water and 

 allow it to stand for a while ; a part of 

 ic will sink to the bottom and the other 

 part will remain on the surface. After 

 removing the seeds from the surface, 

 and having emptied the glass, the sunk 

 seed on the bottom should be collected 

 and spread on a piece of paper in order 

 to dry. 



Another method of separating the 

 heavy and light seed is by means of a 

 tobacco seed grader, which consists of 

 a glass tube connected to a foot bellows 

 by a rubber tube. About one ounce of 

 seed is placed in the glass tube connected 

 to a foot glass tube and a current of air is 

 injected by means of the foot bellows. 

 The strength of this current must be 

 regulated by a valve, so that only the 

 dirt and light seeds will be blown out 

 of the top of the tube. It is advisable 

 to screen out all the large particles of 

 hulls and trash before putting the seed 

 in the tube- One of these tobacco seed 

 graders has been constructed in our 

 office, and is gladly placed at the disposal 

 of tobacco planters who wish us to 

 separate their seed for them. In the 

 near future specimens of these graders 

 will be placed in different districts for 

 the use of planters. 



Soaking Seed. — To provide a quicker 

 germination it is often advisable before 

 sowing to soak the seed in water for 

 about twenty -four hours. This will 

 soften the seed coat and quicken germi- 

 nation. 



Mixing of Seed.—Ii such small seed 

 were simply to be sown broadcast over 

 the bed, it would be impossible to obtain 

 uniformity with regard to the distance 

 between the seedlings ; and as has been 

 seen, it is most important that the 

 seeds should be sown rather thinly so 

 as to give each seedling at least a square 

 inch of soil for development. It is there- 

 fore recommended to take the required 

 amount of seed weighed off for a given 

 area of seed bed and mix it thoroughly 

 with about one hundred times its weight 

 of fine ashes, fine dry earth, or mealie 

 meal. Mealie meal is probably the best 

 on account of its white colour, as the 



spots where the seed has fallen can be 

 better controlled ; it is also useful for 

 its fertilising properties. 



Sowing Seed.— The required amount 

 of seed being thoroughly mixed, say one 

 ounce of seed with 100 ounces of mealie 

 meal, which amount is required for 100 

 square yards, it would be best to divide 

 this mixture of seed and mealie meal into 

 ten parts, and sow one-tenth part as uni- 

 formly as possible on ten square yards. 

 If the whole amount has been sown at one 

 time it will be found more difficult to 

 obtain the required uniformity. Be 

 careful to see that the bed is uniformly 

 covered, thus ensuring the uniform dis- 

 tribution of the seed. 



After sowing, the seed should be 

 lightly pressed into the soil with a 

 light roller, or by slightly pressing 

 the earth down with wooden plank. 

 A little pure sand should be spread 

 over the beds to prevent the caking 

 of the top soil and to keep moisture 

 better within reach of the seed. 



Watering.— The bed should be watered 

 at this stage. The water must be gently 

 applied with a watering can, having a 

 very fine nozzle to prevent the seeds or 

 young seedlings from being washed out 

 of the soil. As explained before, water 

 should not be led over the beds. 



If the beds are shaded, watering may 

 be infrequent, but if not shaded the 

 surface of the bed tequires frequent 

 slight watering to keep the tiny seeds 

 from drying out before the plants are 

 well rooted. The surface of the soil 

 should never be allowed to become dry- 

 Frequent drying will weaken or totally 

 destroy either seed or plants. As the 

 plants increase in size the watering 

 should become less frequent and more 

 thorough, and it is then beneficial for 

 the surface of the soil to become dry 

 occasionally. When the plants begin 

 to cover the ground a larger nozzle 

 may be used, and the aim should now 

 be to keep the soil moist and the plants 

 dry, i.e., when thoroughly watered the 

 plants, being exposed to the sun, will 

 dry off quickly and the soil being shaded 

 by the plants will remain moist. Wet 

 plants and an atmosphere surcharged 

 with moisture induce the development 

 of "damping-off " fungus and other dis- 

 eases. In the Transvaal, with its dry 

 and sunny weather during the growth 

 of the seedlings, there is little danger 

 if water is applied by means of a water- 

 ing can as described. 



Shading.— The beds must be kept 

 covered with grass or reed-mats at night 

 so as to keep them warm, and also 

 during the daytime in order to keep 



