Edible Products, 



52 



Particular interest attaches to the announcement made in Appendix II to 

 the effect that an attempt is being made to introduce the use of Jamaica tobacco in 

 the navy. Should this tobacco find favour with the sailors, it is probable that a 

 considerable impetus will be given to the tobacco industry in this part of the world. 

 Every effort will have to be made so that a regular and constant supply be forth- 

 coming to meet the demand that would arise from this source. This is a matter to 

 which careful attention must be paid by both tobacco growers and merchants in 

 order to establish the industry on successful lines. 



D. MORRIS, 



Commissioner of Agriculture for 

 Barbados, November 29, 1905. the West Indies. 



The Tobacco Nursery. 



Selection of Site.— Select an open space quite devoid of shade of any 

 description, and with a south or south-eastern aspect if possible; bill off the 

 bush and spread same out to dry ; when dry, rake up and put on one side. 



Preparation of Beds.— Hoe off and clear away the grass, roots, etc. from 

 the space thus cleared, and then proceed lightly to fork up the land, taking care not 

 to turn up the sub-soil ; when this is done peg out and line off the beds, allowing 

 3 feet for the bed and 4 feet for the path ; now with a spade or shovel lift the 

 loose soil from the 2 feet of the middle of the path, to the depth of four or five 

 inches, and place it upon the bed and level down with a rake ; the paths will then be 

 2 feet wide and 3-feet beds will have a long slope on either side- 



Burning. — If the soil be light (sandy or loamy) and not likely to cake down 

 after rain, it will be necessary only to burn, say, 5 or 6 inches of rubbish over the 

 bed, just sufficient burning to destroy caterpillars, etc.; but if the soil is of a heavy, 

 clayey nature the beds must be burned twice, each time spreading about 2 feet 

 of rubbish on the beds ; the ashes to be mixed with the surface soil after the 

 first burning, and in either case before the seeds are sown. A seed bed ten 

 yards long will yield ample seedlings for one acre of land. 



Time of Sowing.— The best time to sow is about the middle of August ; 

 the suckers would then be ready for planting out during October. After this 

 main sowing it is. however, very necessary to sow a few beds every fortnight, 

 for the purpose of keeping up a supply of plants in the event of .continued 

 heavy rains interfering with the planting out of those that are just the size for 

 planting ; in which case they overgrow and become useless. 



Sowing.— Mix the seeds with twice their bulk of fine sand or wood ashes 

 and scatter evenly over the bed (including the long sloping sides) when the air is 

 still ; water with a fine-rose watering can, and keep the bed moist until the 

 ' seedlings' are ready for hardening off before planting. 



Shading.— Immediately after sowing, cut some forked sticks and rig up 

 a skeleton arbour about 4 or 5 feet high and lay some long Guinea grass or coconut 

 leaves over it, with the stalks pointing to the north ; this will secure the points of 

 the grass or coconut leaves trailing over on the southern or sunny side. This 

 covering serves two purposes — it protects the germinating seeds from the sun, and 

 breaks the force of the rain during a heavy shower. 



As soon as sufficient seedlings have made their appearance, remove most of 

 the shade from the arbour ; this stops the germination of seeds that can very well 

 wait for a time ; the visible seedlings should now be an inch or so apart. When 

 these have begun to develop their third leaf, remove the whole of the shade. 



