December i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
405 
No other animals but hogs should be allowed to 
feed on the land intended for planting from the month 
of May. Wee Is and shrubs are allowed to grow freely 
till July, when it is ploughed lengthwise and cross- 
wise with all the bush. Fifteen or twenty days after, 
about which lime the weeds, etc., ought to be thorough- 
ly rotten, the land should be frequently ploughed, 
with a few day's interval between each ploughing, if 
the soil be not too wet, so that by the month of Sep- 
tember it sball have beeu ploughed about eight or 
ten times and the whole of the vegetable rubbish be 
perfectly rotten. All the slicks, roots of small trees 
which have not rotted should be picked up and thrown 
away and the land raked if not wet. It is convenient 
to have hogs feeding on the land during this time, 
as th' y help to mix up the soil. It is unnecessary 
to say that when about to begin planting they should 
be kept out of the field, for they would destroy the 
Tobacco plants. When there is no fear of floods and 
planting time has arrived, if there be any weeds 
growing on the land, it should be ploughed, attach- 
ing this time to the plough a log, about four feet 
in length, in such a manner as to break up the lumps 
of earth and at the same time collect the rubbish. 
To Plant. — The land is ploughed in a direction from 
North to 8outb, leaving at least a yard between each 
iurrow, but if the soil be very fertile four feet should 
be left. The .-esdlings, after being up-rooted as before 
mentioned, are distributed along the furrows at a 
distance of eighteen inches from eich other. Plant- 
ing should be commenced not earlier than three 
o'clock in the afternoon on sunny days, but on a 
cloudy light showery day, planting may be carried on 
the whole day. Planting may also be begun before 
daybreak, so that the planting be finished by eight 
o'clock in the morning. The seedling is held with the 
left hand and the earth taken out of the hole with the 
right, and placing the seedling into the hole, throw 
some earth on the roots and slightly press it down, 
being very careful not to injure the tender stem of the 
seedling, and then fill up the hole with the loose soil. 
The depth at which the seedlings should be placed in 
the holes depends on its siz", for which reason no exact 
rule can be given, but generdly speaking, in ordinary 
size seedlings the root and a small portion of the stem 
only should be buried. Tall seedlings can be p'aeed a 
few inches deeper, according to the size, but in no case 
should any seedlings be buried so deeply that the. lower 
leaves touch the earth. One should also be careful not 
to ALLOW ANY EARTH TO FALL ON THE TOP OF THE YOUNG 
plant. Wet weather is most suitable for planting, and if 
the soil be very wet, the seedlings should be planted 
lightly, that is, avoiding all pressure on their roots. If 
the planting be done in furrows, the seedling should 
be p;aui d on that side of the furrow called by the 
veyueros^ " oreja," which is the side on the west. 
Seedlings jrom a distance. — When on any account 
planting has to be done with seedlings biought from 
a far distance, the greatest care should be observed in 
transporting and preserving them, for otherwise many 
will die when tiansplanted. The best manner is to 
take out the seedlings early in the morning and place 
them on the river bank (if there be any near) and 
UDder the shade of a tree so as to keep thsm altogether 
out of reach of the rays of the sun. After six in the 
evening- of the same day or before dawn of the next 
they should be put up in small bundles, and before 
starting for their destination they should be sprinkled 
with cold water. As soon as they arrive at their destina- 
tion they should be placed in the cool, under the shade 
of a tree. Every bundle should be undone and the 
seedlings separated widely apart and water again sprin- 
kled on all so that when planting time arrives they are 
quite CjoI. If planted whilst warm very few seedlings 
will live. 
If there is no rain when planting begins and the soil 
is very dry, suflicient water must be poured into each 
hole and, planting ought not to be performed till the 
following day, when the soil is moist. The newly- 
planted seedlings should be watered twice daily, before 
sun-rise and after sunset, for two or more days succes- 
sively until it is seen that they have taken root. After 
the youug plants are transplanted in the field those 
which have died must be replaced, and the operation 
repeated if necessary to insure a good crop. 
Planting on Virgin Lund. — For planting no trees or 
shade of any kind should be used, and therefore every 
one should be taken away on the land intended for a 
Tobacco field. Newly cleared land cannot be ploughed 
on account of the stumps and roots of the trees cut 
down. The roots could, of course, be dug out, but the 
expense attending this operation would be great. They 
may, however, be gradually dug out until in a few 
years none be left on the land. 
When the soil suited for planting has been newly 
cleared and cannot for the reasons give i be ploughed, 
holing muat be adopted, which is done by means of a 
pointed pole or au iron implement made in the shape of 
a lance. After driving the instrument used with some 
fore ■ into the soil, turn it in seveial directions so as to 
break up the earth thoroughly, keeping a distance of 
eighteen inches from each hole and three feet from 
each row of holes. To give a regular and symmetrical 
appearance to the field we use a long, strong, single 
cord with pieces of coloured rags, or any other material 
fasteueu in at the distance apart which has been men- 
tioned, namely, eighteen inches. The cord is kept 
stretched out by means of a stake driven in the ground 
at each end of the cord. In forming the rows of holes 
with this line the stakes tied at the. end of it are placed 
at a distance of three feet from the precediug row, 
Chapter IV. — After Cultivation. 
About eight or ten days after planting, if the soil is 
not too wet, the furrows are closed up by hoeing up the 
earth carefully around the plants and again performing 
the same operation at intervals of about filtten days. 
This operation should be done if it does not rain. As 
a general rule it may be said that this operation of 
hoeing, or us it is eommouly called, " Moulding " should 
be performed as often as necessary to keep the soil 
loose and free from weeds. Moulding exerts a beneficial 
effect on Tobacco, aiding its growth and proper develop- 
ment beat ly the same as rain does. 
When the plants are still young two little narrow 
leaves (called " barbas " in Cuba) appear at the junction 
of the stem with the two lowest leaves, and they must 
be picked off as soon as they become visible, for if 
left they develop into long, narrow leaves, which 
greatly injure the plant. A process called "pruning" 
consists in taking off the two lower leaves of each 
plant as soon as they ripen. Care must be taken nob 
to strip a piece of the bark of the stalk when remov- 
ing them. When cured they produce a fairly good 
Smoking Tobacco. Particular care must at a l times be 
taken to kuep the plants free from grubs or caterpillars, 
and for this purpose hand-picking should be done at 
least twice daily, otherwise many of the best leaves 
will be perforated and rendered useless for wrapping 
purposes. 
Topping (desbotonar) . — The Tobacco plant grows 
more or less high, according to the fertility of the 
soil and the state of the weather during its growth. 
"Topping" is an operation which consists in plucking off 
the shoot button or bud (which encloses the flower), 
at the top of the plant. It should be taken off with 
the finger and thumb as being the safest way. The 
time when it should be plucked off is when the two 
little leaves which enclose the bud open out. Not 
more than twelve leaves should be allowed to remain 
on each plant, and the surplus leaves should be taken 
off along with the bud from the top of the plant. One 
must be very careful not to allow too much time to 
elapse and the flower to make its appearance, for 
then the leaves of the plants will be small in size and 
of an inferior quality. Eight days, or thereabout, 
after the '' button " or bud has been removed, the 
suckers begin to appear, every one of which should be 
removed as soon as seen, and the operation must be 
performed as frequently as necessary in order that 
the plants may grow strong and vigoious. This op ra- 
tion is called (" deshijaar ") suckering, the suckers being 
all those leaves which spring up at the junction of the 
stem and the leaves of the plant, as well as those that 
