January 2, 1888.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
ON PULVEEIZING SOILS, AS A MEANS OF 
IMPROVING THEM. 
Farmer's Cottage, Bandaragama, October 7th, 1887. 
The fertility of adhesive or sticky soils becomes 
greatly increased by exposing them to the action of 
'tho atmospheric agents, by which means they become 
so much pulverized as to encourage the growth of tho 
fibres of plauts. The atmospheric agents promote 
the decomposition of any sour and acrid matter 
present in the soil, changing it into good wholesome 
plant food, rendering some of the dormant matter 
into an active form and making the soil loose and 
free for tho growth of seed. One cause of the 
unproductiveness of the adhesive soils is, that air 
cannot penetrate to the seeds of plants ; preventing 
the germination of the former, and the future well 
being of the other. In such cases the roots of plants 
can receive no advantage from the carbonaceous 
matter which exists in the atmosphore from the 
decomposition of animal and vegetable substances on 
the earth's surface. Another causo of unproductive- 
ness is that such soils canuot retain moisture, but 
are saturated upon the surface at one time and 
burnt as hard as a brick at another. In the former 
case tho fibres of plauts are generally rotted, whilst 
in the latter thoy are torn in pieces by the cracks in 
the ground. The moisture will neither sink freely 
nor rise freely, when the sun has evaporated the 
moisture; on the surface. Again in such soils the 
full advantage of manure canuot be realized as it 
must be within the reach of the atmosphere, before 
those chauges can be effected, by which alone it 
can become tho nourishment of plauts. Hence the 
importance of ploughing, ridging, and frequent digging, 
by which a larger portion of the soil is exposed to 
tho atmosphere and rendered more friable and open 
in its texture. The more complete the division of 
the soil, the mure easily will tho roots penetrate through- 
out the land, and thereby the iucreased supplies of 
food are more easily made use of by the growing 
crop. Tho depth will depend upon tho nature of 
the soil and subsoil : strong soils can scarcely bo dug 
or ploughed too deep; nor, indeed, can any soil, unless 
the aubsoil contains somotbing noxious to vegetation. 
Tho more soil is stirred amoug crops of any description, 
the more fibres will plauts produce, aud this increase 
of strength to the plants will more than pay the 
labour. Believing pulverization to bo of great import- 
ance for loosening tho texture of strong soils, en- 
abling the fibres of plants to run in all directions in 
search of food, imbibing aud imparting a sufficiency 
of moisture, without receiving it too much or retain- 
ing it too long, and aUo as tondiug to oradicate 
deleterious properties in tho soil, I should wish to 
sou it more generally adopted, aud extended to the 
cultivation of many of our field crops. — J. A. Gno. 
Konwoo, A. I. 
+. 
TOBACCO CULTIVATION IN SOUTHERN 
INDIA. 
Tho following letter from Mr. II. Caino, Tobacco 
Ourer, to tho Commissioner of Revenuo Settlement, 
Land Records and Agriculture, dated Madras, 1 Ith 
September 1887, has been publishod by the Madras 
t I'overnment : — 
I havo tho honour to submit the following report 
on the prospects of tobacco in tho Kurnool, Trichioo- 
poly, Dindigul, Madura, and Ooimbatoro districts, 
visited bj Mr. Benson and myself. 
I arrived ut Dlnme in tin' Kurnool district accord- 
ing to appointment, where 1 met Mr. Benson, Assistant 
Commissioner of Agriculture, from Dhon» we travelled 
to Kurnool, inspecting tho tobacco villages ou our 
way. 
I'roin information received from tho tobacco culti- 
valors in one of the village* mimed It imalhik .t, it 
appears that tho tobacco seed is sown down in flat 
beds about the ond of June, fourteen days after the 
first rum, tin- land having been ploughed four to five 
times beforehand. 
Vunun.— Tw-nty cart-load* of cuttle mauuro are 
then carted ou the land and loft for the raiu to 
07 
moisten ; when well rotted it is ploughed in. Sheep 
and goats are also penued on the laud for two or three 
days on every 50 feet square of land throughout the 
year. The manure is previously collected in pits during 
tho year, and when the rains commence it is thrown ou 
the land. When the soil has been well ploughed over, it 
is got. ready for transplanting by having a sort of 
harrow with teeth placed conveniently apart drawn 
over the laud to mark out the furrows where the 
seedlings have to be planted. The land is then left 
alone till the seedlings are big enough to bear 
transplanting. 
Seed-beds. — The seed-beds are prepared by being 
ploughed up and levelled ; the soil for these beds is 
not raised as in Upper India, but made flat; the seed 
is sown broadcast in proportion to half sand to half 
seed, at the rate of 28 tolas of seed per acre. The 
beds are then watered by hand-sprinkling from chatties 
both morning and evening daily. The seed germinates 
in seven days and the seedlings are large enough to 
transplant in thirty to forty-five days. 
Transplanting. — Transplanting is done throughout the 
day wheu cloudy, the evening preferred ; the largest 
sized seedlings are preferable to the small ones, al- 
though both may be able to bear transplanting ; seed- 
lings which have leaves 3 to 4 inches long are selected. 
When transplanted tho plants are left pretty much 
to themselves ; if after a fall of rain tho surface 
cakes and hardens, a guntaka is run between the 
rows to break the top soil. About three weeks after 
transplanting, the soil is worked round the plants 
with an iron instrument. The plants are planted 2i' x 
2!/ apart aud are topped (i.e., flower-bud pulled off) 
when the plant is 2 feet high. 
Outturn. — The outturn per acre is said to be COO to 
750 lb. — leaves large, 2 feet long by 5 inches broad. 
Tho tobacco is said to be ripe when brown spots 
appear ou the leaf, and also when portions of the leaf 
crack when doubled up between the finger and 
thumb. Grass-hoppers and caterpillars do not appear 
to cause much damage. The moat destructive pest 
seems to be a kind of worm which works up inside 
the stalk of the youug plauts (presumably the wire- 
worm). 
Curing. — When the tobacco plant is ripe, the stem 
is cut off close to the grouud, gathered together in 
rows, and left exposed for threo days ; after this 
period the plants are heaped up two plants high one 
on the top of the other. The most favourable weather 
for curing is said to be heavy dews at night witfe a 
hot sun during the day. The plauts remain five days 
thus heaped up, wheu they are turned over and 
remain another five days. The plants are theu re- 
moved under shelter, the stalks being still green, 
but the midribs dry. The size of the bulks (heaps) 
depends ou the quantity of tobacco available; about 
10 feet high by 5 foet broad seems to be the usual 
size. The heaps are covered round the sides and 
top with rice straw aud palmyra leaves, tho top 
being weighted down as much as possible so as to 
press tho tobacco. After four days the heaps are 
opened aud the plauts shaken and cooled, theu heaped 
up again, and so on whouover the heaps get hot ; this 
continues for fifteeu days. The tobacco is supposed 
to be properly fermented when the leaves turn rod, 
which color appears the most desired. After fifteou 
days the leaves are stripped from the stalk and tied 
up with anything available, plantain loaves, &c. About 
ten leaves go to make one bundle. Tho leaves are 
then heaped up for oue month, opening wheu hot 
and cooling till disposed of. Tho cultivators informed 
me that tobacco was grown once iu four or five years 
on the an mo laud, graiu crops bciug grown iu the 
meantime. 
Soil. — Tho soil iu this village is of a black clayed 
tenacious character, difficult to work properly, much 
too retentive of moisture to grow tobacco of a light 
quality. 
I was shown some tobacco of the former year's 
crop which hid been cured a- above stated, but it was 
poor stuff, uneven io color, and no texture, torn, 
mouldy, and streaky, only suitable for the native 
market. I also saw aomo leaf which had beou shade- 
