234 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. 1, 1902. 
tM&t general class of leaf required iu Australia for 
pipe-smoking— classed in America fis " uiatiufaotnriug 
levf." "VVell-hantiled leaf Irom such soils will contain a 
a ffijiency of nicotine, will be of niecliumly line tex- 
tare, will burn with freedom and with gojd ll-ivour and 
aroma. 
AVjID COMPACTED CLAYS 
A hard, compacted, or liglit, waxy clay subsoil 
B^oald be avoided, especially if the top-soil or soil pro- 
per is ehallow. Examine the roots of plants grown in 
Bioh a soil, and it will he found th it they have not 
reaohed any considerable depth, but hive bra che ! 
0;it literally or hsvo rebounded, so to speak, an 1 
appear crimpled and crumpled, with but little growth 
Tvuere they nave come into contact with the impene- 
trable clay subsoil. It will be found also th'.t such 
soils quickly dry out down to "hardpan"ia seasons 
O" drought. The hard subsoil may nuiiutain a mini- 
mam of moisture, sufiiuient to keep the jnlants alive, 
bat there wi 1 ba poor gro^vth, and the product small, 
short, ribby leaves. The reverse ' will hi the case i£ 
the crop is grown in a flue, Ce -p sand, or sandy lo.un 
and for reasons that are at once obvi.jus to the prac- 
tical farmer. Such soils hold moisture wiih greater 
tenacity. Water ris^s to the surface by Ciipil avy force 
much more slowly iu such soils. Consequently, thvi'e 
is less evaporation from them. Such soils c tne nearer 
than any others to maintaining ju-t the proper quatiti y 
or percentage of moisture that plants require. In 
seasons of drought they hold moisture longer th; n 
Hue, impalpable clays cr silts, and in season of ex- 
cessive rain they tiuickly drain themselves to the 
proper limit, wbicli is very inipoitant to the tobajco 
crop in the matter of tcxti.re of tlie leaf. Tobacco w 1 
uji; biana an excess of moisture to be of good texture 
a id fl ivonr. It will crow coarse, and heavy, !;iid ex- 
cessively gummy in a saturated soil, or one neaily so, 
S:ir. MOISTURE, AND SYMJtETrjCAL GR WXH 
It is easy to sec that iu loose, friiible soils, with sub- 
soils of like texture, the roots of the plants easily 
roichto considerable depths and to the level of pei - 
rament moisture without encountering tco niuc'.i of 
it. Now just here we come to a question of supreme 
liuportance in growing good leaf, and tl.at is the 
matter of continued uninterrupted growth, in tlje 
production of le.if of the best and uniform texture the 
g'owth of the plants cnist go on unchecked. Iu that 
cise there is regularity and symmetry io cell growth 
. iiiiid constant, measured exparsion. Tlie soil that is 
cipableof storing and holding persistently a mo lerate 
peroenlage of water is the soil that will promote and 
miii.tain the regular growth just described. Jn such 
soli, with f ail ly good seasons, the soil being ni t 
Vjry rich in nitiogen, but having a pleiitiful con'.ent 
of potash and lime, the it at will reach a satisfactory 
wLath una length. la a'l capes, once a tobacco crop 
is planted, everything feasible should be done to ac- 
omplidb the greatest possible expansion of the leaf. 
It may be noted here iliut the ribs and veins of a 
tobacco leaf never increase in number from the time 
it is liist unfolded in the tiny plant iu the bed, no 
matter to what size and length it may grow. Count 
t'lein when the leaf is the size of a shilling coin, and 
ugain when it ia 2ft, or 3ft. long, and it will bj found 
that they are the same in number. Now tire greater 
the expansion of the entire leaf the wider the spaces 
beiwee-u the ribs, and the greater the proportion of 
parenchymatous matter — or ribless uiid vein ess to- 
bicco, J u cigar tobacco, if of the proper texture, 
t ie greater will be the proportion of wrapper.'-, es 
cigar wr/.ppers must come from tlie web of the leaf 
occupying tl'e space between two lateial ribs. This 
lUMximum cxpanision is best promoted by a soil that 
mnintaius a proper percentage of moisture — about 40 
per cent, of its water holding capacity— and no soil 
Herves this purpose better than a line, deep sand, 
or B sandy loam, with a fiii.ble, woktble sub.-oi". In 
the Ainenian states the so. Is generally adopted by the 
most successful growers of liue tobacco are thoee 
above described, oontainiMg from 6U to 90 per cent. 
ill fine eaud. Xhe^ aie, in many cases, v\hat geolo. 
gists term transported soils or drift soils. Where 
the land is really foo poor to produce leaf of suffi;ient 
size for the type w.mted, i aniyard or s-tible m iunre 
well rotted, is sparingly used, or, iu its stead, com- 
merei\.l fertilisers, contnining rather high proportions 
ofth:; mineral elements such as potash and phosphate 
of lime. Is is perhaps rare iu Australia to liud soils 
Coo poor in plant foo I to grow exoelleiit tobacco. At 
least, 1 have found this to be the case in New South 
^Vales, where 1 have had several years' experieuce in 
growing the weed, 
dai:k rich soils un.uitable. 
The main objections to dark, rich soils, such as the 
silty, humio fi as along the river.-; and creeks, is thit iu 
s lason i of genei ally satisfactory rainfall they overdo 
what th J intelligent, ambitious tobacco-grower requires 
They pi oduce what may bs termed " too mucii of a 
good tiling coarse, heayy leaf, with enormous ribs 
and vsins, with too much gum, too much nicotine, 
rink, strong stjff, that is devoid of that delicacy of 
fiivoar and aroma that pleases the average smoker ; 
and such tobacco has to be very considerably steamed 
ani mmiptiLited to get it to burn w.ll in pipo or cigar 
if, indeed, it can ba used at all for the later lorm 
o? smoking goods. These dark, r cli soils coutaia teo 
much nitrogenous matter and tliat kind of plant foods 
tends to cotroeness to large giowtli w.iicu however 
desirable in maiza and some other farm ctop', is 
modifledly the reverse of what is wanted iu a crop of 
tobAoco. 
REARING T0BAC0 5 PLANTS. 
As the se ;son is at hand lor sowing seed, perhaps a 
ficting conclusion to this contribution would be soma 
suggestions on the production of plants, Tobicco 
6,6(1 should be sprouted before sowing, fold the 
seed up iu a dark woUeu cloth, about three-pl3', t.e 
compactly with twine, and so.iii the packet iu warm 
water for 12 or lo hours. Sprout a well-rounded 
tnaspoouful of saect for every ten square yards of b^d 
which shorld produce a suflijient number of plants 
for two acres. When the packed of seed bus been 
soaked in warm water for tlie time s'ated, put it iu a 
closed tin or other similar vessel, and place in a 
warm situation, as near the kitchen btove, and keep 
warm and moist until the seeds show general sprout- 
ing. The bulk of seed should show qui e a speckled 
or grey appeaiance with germinated seed before 
sowing, llave the bed reaay— a rich, black soil is 
bedt for producing plants. To prepare the bed, dig 
and pulverise to the fluest tiltli to the depth of IJ in. 
to lb in. use no manure. After the h^d is fined aucl 
1. veiled, pile wood upon it plentifully, and burn it 
well, so that the soil is wo 1 cooked to the depth of 12ii i, 
or 3 in. This process destroys all vestiges of insects, 
and the seeds of nosiousgta^s and weeds and improves 
the texture of the soil. Again rake the bed well, auj 
clean it of rubbish. The seed being ready, as above 
described, mix thoroughly wiih about half a bushel 
of moderately dry tine, sif ed soil, aiding sutiicieac 
aihes or corumeal, or other white mateiial to give the 
miss a bright appearance, s>thtt it can be seen iu 
con rast with the soil of the bed. M ike sure that the 
seed and soil are very thoroughly mixed, by sifting 
through a fine sieve a uunibiir of limes. Sow by hand 
lightly and evenly, never allowing handfuls to fail in 
a place. Mike three or four sowings instead of sowing 
a'l at one goii g over. la this way an even and regular 
distribution ot the seed will be accomplished. Sweep 
the bed very lightly with an ordinary house broom, 
drag'^ing the broom rather thau brushing. Water tfit» 
bed freely at once with a fine-rosed sprinkler, slowly 
S3 that the water does not run on the surface and 
float the seed into heaps. Now cover the bed with the 
cloth called bessian, the cheaper, open quality, laying 
tlie cloth, flat upon the bed in contact with its entiie 
surface, and pin it down securely on all sides. All 
future waterings, until the plants are w.ll up, must 
be done upon this cloth, which takes the watar readily 
and prevents it from fljwing on the bed's surface and 
washing the seeds out of place. The seeds will 
t' ocme up '' l^etter un^J^r this vloth, and more eveuly, 
