Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1852-01-28

fear that this manure cannot be depended
upon. ANY other strong, well rolted ma
nure, free from grass-seed, may be used.-
Plant beds should be burned as soon after
Christmas as the weather and condition oi
,he land will admit. 1t is difficult to con-
yey an idea Of what amount Of burning Is
necessary. If it be done in the month OF
J January j, is almost impossible, the land
being in proper condition, to burn too hard.
We have however, known this to happen at
a later period. So much depends upon the
condition of the land and the character Of
the wood used, .ha. every planter must be
his own judge as TO the amount OF burning
necessary-of course it must be sufficien.
to destroy the grass-seeds and roofs which
are near the surface Of the bed. Our plan
is TO lay down skids of hickory or oak
| (green) abou, the size of a mans arm, and
pile thereon layer Of wood about four feet
wide, set fire and burn until the skids are
consumed; then move the fires to the next
section (laking care TO leave no belts Of nn-
burned land belw cen The sections,) and SO
proceed until the entire bed has been COW
cred. We prefer this TO the mode some
times adopted of covering and burning the
entire bed at one time, as we believe it can
be done more regularly by moving the fires.
AS soon as the bed cools off suffi ciently,
chop i, up with grubbing hoes until The soil
is reduced 10 fine til.h, removing all roots,
&c., and taking care not TO chop below the
mould or surface soil-,hen rake until you
level the surface. lf,his be as early as JAM
uary, sow one-half an even tablespoonful
of seed to one hundred square yards, mixing
it with plaster, ashes or sand, to facilitate
evenness of sowing, and tread it with the
foot. Then about the last of February sow
another half spoonful, and tread in as be-
fore: or if it be as late as the 18Th Of Feb
ruary SOW the whole spoonful of seed.-
When the bed is sown as directed, it should
be covered with fine, strai ght brush, so laid
on as 10 pro!ec, agains. frost, while 1t ad-
mis some sunshine to strike The bed. This
brush may be left on dry beds until tho
plants are as large as dollar, and upon
wet ones until they are halfthai size. lfit
be necessary 10 force plants, plaster may be
used. Of course i! is indispensable ,ha. the
bed should be cleansed Of grass, weeds, &C.,
whenever they appear. 1t is good policy
TO edge plant beds with mustard as pro-
lection against fly. We know of no other
remedy, and this is only partial. Never
burn two successive years in the same neigh
borhood, as the fly deposited abou! the old
bed is almost sure to destroy the new one.
1t is well to destroy, by burning all The foul
growth around the bed, as this is often a
harbor for fly during the winter. /. is, per-
haps, hardly necessary 10 say that bitches
should be opened around plant beds 10 pre-
vent any flow of water over them.
Preparation of Soil The land selected
for tobacco should depend somewhat upon
the prospective price Of the article. II We
have reason TO suppose it will command
high price, We pitch The crop upon our best
lands, and either increase the number of
hills, or a! any rate by applying the manure
to rich land, increasing the weight Of the
plants. Blu. if we apprehend low prices we
put it on poor land, and 6nd the enrichment
of the land no inconsiderable par. of the
profits on the crop. But Of this we will
have more to say hereafter. We like to
break up tobacco land early, particularly
red land, so as to lie! it be thoroughly pull
verized by the action of the winters FROST
| If possible, would like to do this when the
weather is just above The freezing point, in
order to destroy the insec. deposit. IN the
soil, and with the same end in view, 10 har-
row in The cold weather Of February We
plough with ,hree-horse plough followed
by subsoil coulter. During March, April
and May, haul out and scatter the manure
intended for the crop-sow one bushel oS
plaster per acre, and plough in with one.
or two-horse plough. Such red land as has
no sand in it, after the frs, ploughng, should
no. be ploughed the second lime, excep.
with coulter-or shovel, so as to break il
to the proper depth, wI,hou, tErning under
the pulverized soil on the surface. For this
purpose coulter is TO be preferred. When
the land is properly reduced by harrow
ing, lay off with shovel plough three fee,
four inches each way, and throw up large
hill. This hiIling should, if possible, be
done early, while there is season in The land,
SO as to be ready to receive the plant when
the time of planting arrives.
This brings ns to the end Of the subject
embraced in our first division, which we
beg leave, with all apology for the imper-
feet manner in which j, is gotten up, respec,-
fully to submit. Your friends
WILLIAM GARTH,
r. w. N. NoLAND.
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