Edible Products 



238 



[Sept. 190(5. 



PREPARA OF THE SEED BEDS. 



No special plan was adopted in the preparation of the seed beds, the 

 methods in common use being adopted. It is very important that in the preparation 

 of the seed beds an ample supply of seed should be sown, provision being made 

 by successive sowings every seven or ten day^, so that when the planting season 

 comes round the supply of plants suitable for transplanting will be ample for 

 the purpose, and the supply should be maintained throughout the period in 

 which the plantiug is to be done. After the seeds are sown, the beds should 

 be watered, and kept continuously moist, but not too wet, until the seedlings are 

 planted out. 



On a commercial scale an ounce of seed is used for an acre of land. 

 This ensures an abundance of plants, and in favourable seasons there will be more 

 than enough. But it is poor economy to have scant seed beds and to wait 

 for plants. 



LAND BEST ADAPTED FOR WRAPPER LEAF. 



There is no longer any question but that a sandy loam is the best, the 

 subsoil, either clay or sand, the latter being preferable for growing leaf of the finest 

 texture; also the climate must be warm and humid, for wrapper leaf requires a 

 humid atmosphere from the seed to the cigar, and the reverse is deleterious. With- 

 out a proper soil, suitable climatic conditions and environments, the best results 

 need not be expected ; fine, thin wrapper leaf only is desirable, climate is essential 

 to the growing of wrapper leaf, and as this cannot be modified by artificial means, 

 we must seek a district where the temperature and moisture are similar to that of 

 Sumatra— warm and humid. We have such districts in Jamaica, in Temple Hall and 

 Upper Clarendon, where it is safe to advocate the cultivation of this valuable crop. 



TIME FOR PLANTING. 

 Sumatra wrapper tobacco should be grown in the ordinary tobacco season, 

 November and December to March and April. At Hope the seeds were sown 

 on September 2, 190}, under cloth, the seedlings planted out under the tent from 

 November 1, were moulded from November 18, and reached a height of 9 feet in fifty- 

 eight days. The first ripe leaves were picked on January 11, 1905,131 days from 

 date of sowing, the average maximum temperature in the tent during the growth of 

 the plants was 90, taken daily at 3 p.m., the minimum temperature taken at 7 a.m. 

 daily was 66. Planting shouid commence not earlier than 3o'clock in the afternoon on 

 sunny days, but on a cloudy, light-showery day, planting should be carried on during 

 the whole day. If there is no rain when planting begins, sufficient water must 

 be poured into each hole, and the newly-planted seedlings should be watered every 

 day after sunset. The plants are set out at a distance of 15 inches apart in 

 rows 3 feet apart, running from north to south. At distances of 3 feet by 15 inches, 

 an acre should contain 11,060 plants. 



CULTIVATION. 



Plants require five or six days to take root, after which cultivation should 

 be begun and continued frequently until the plants get so large that further culti- 

 vation is liable to damage the leaves. In order to ensure rapid growth, the 

 ground should be constantly stirred. Cultivation will stop about the time the 

 plants begin to button. At this stage the soil is so shaded that it will not become 

 baked and hinder the feeding of the surface roots. 



HARVESTING. 



When the plants are not topped they grow to the height of the tent, and the 

 blossoms often push up the shade cloth at a height of 9 feet from the ground ; 

 muckers should be removed so as to throw the strength into the main plant. Wrapper 



