Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-01-29
ESSAY
ON THE
CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF TO-
BAOOO.

ON TIE
K CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF To-
$ BAOO0.
BY GEO. D. MERRIwErHKR, OF PIKE CO., MO.
| From the Journal of Agriculture, May, l. =,
). Tobacco can be cultivated success.
fully and with profit to the producer
IN almost every portion Of Missouri,
o Illinois aud Kansas, except on cold,
sour land, or Oh high, rolling prairies,
y where the leaves will be bruised or
broken by the winds. Still, the profit
to tie producer depends very much
, on the adaptability of the soil, situ-
, alton and cultivation to the varieties
, grown. The Orinoco, Yellow Orin-
, oco. Golden Pemberton aud like var
letics are peculiarly adapted to the
light rolling new lands upon which,
with q thorough preparation aud q
!. moderate cultivation, it has q small
hber, sweet, oily, silky leaf, yellow
lug on the hill when ripe, and easy to
cure to bright yellow, SO desirabls
and preferable to the producer; Weld
ing from eight hundred to thousand
pounds to the acre. The yellow aud
blue Prior aud like varieties are pc
culiarly adapted to tbs rich, black
new lands, manured lots and clover
Lands, aud with y thorough prepara-
ton aud cultivation will yield from
twelve to eighteen hundred pounds to
the acre of rich, heavy staple, suiting
export demand, and is thought by
many to be the most profitable staple
to the producer when properly hand
led. The Yellow Orinoco is not q
distinct species, but is mixed varie-
ty, possessing an oily aud silky ap-
pearance, with the sweet chewing
property of the Orinoco, while its
leaf is increased in width over the
Orinoco, by being mixed with the
Yellow Prior. By judlclous mixing or
crossing other varieties eau likewise
be improved.
BURNING, PREPARING AND SOWING
| SEED BEDS.
The seed bed may be burnt from
the first of December to the tenth of
April, in rich alluvial new ground,
cleared of timber aud brush, and
when in order the leaves raked off
and burned sufficiently to prevent
! any obnoxious seed from germinat.
ing. 1t should be plowed or hoed, |
the roots grubbed and picked up aud
the ground thoroughly pulverized
with hoe and rake. Then mark of
with lines, parallel, four or five feat
apart both ways,so as to form squares
with the lines opposite each other,
four or five feet apart. Tho seed |
should be measured, and sown At tho |
rate OF one tablespoonful to the hun.
dred square yards, aud well mixed |
in dry ashes clear Of Jumps or char.
coal, and sown twice over the bed
when it is calm and still. 1t is better
to tramp the bed, if burnt lste in the
spring; then cover thickly with
brush, laying the heavy ends of the
flrst cover on the edge Of the bed aud
the heavy ends of the next cover on
the boughs of those, aud 80 on until
1T is covered the bed should be un-
covered when the leaves Of the plant
are as large as a quarter of q dollar.
and the bed cleared of leaves and OBJ
noxious weeds.
PREPARATION FOR SETTING OR
PLANTING.
The ground should be thorouphly
prepared; if new laud Of light, shai-
laW soil, .adsnta9 to the araw3hya Of
en- up, not exceeding three or four
inches. then narrowed and reploWed
then narrowed the second time. and
all roots picked up and burned. To
prevent tearing the leaves off the
plants. in the course of cultivation,
the ground should be marked off
with straight furrows, three feet
apart, with q shallow plow.
The deep rich soil should be pre-.
pared i'll like manner, except the
breaking up, which should be deep.
er, and the burrows should be laid off
three feet three inches apart. Rich
old land and manured lots should be
ploWed up deep, late in the fall, or
during the winter, or early in the
spring; then narrowed, aud after.
wards re-plowed aud narrowed again:
then lay il off three feet three inches
one way and three feet the other. that |
it may be worked both ways with the
plOw.
TRANSPLANTINa OR SETTING.
Should be done from the twentieth
OF May to the twentieth of June. Al,
very small plant with good roots will !.
iiVe ana grow we'll IL new land, while -.
it requires large aud thrifty plant
Ior Old land or manured lots. The
plant should be set on the side Of a
turrow to the depth of the bud, and {
the earth hrmly pressed around the
roots, when there ia but little mois.
ture III the soil, but when the soil is !.
quite moist or wet the setting should
be at less depth, and earth pressed !
more lightly around the roots of the
plant.
CIITTJv AnroN
When the soil and situation il
adapted to the growth of the fine q
varieties, it should have but one light !;
blowing, and that should be given =
hen the plant is small or about the h
lime 1t commences to spread; it should :
men % hilled mp aud the weeds kept a
chopped out with the hoe. The less =
WORK gwen the plant after hilling up, d
me hner the fiber and texture will 4
oe' and the easier aud more certain is b
L TO cure q beautiful color. The n
coarse and heavy varieties should he -
more thoroughly cultivated, plowed y
vice and hiIled up 80 as to brace the y
stalks against the winds. :,
PRUNING AND TOPPING. 9,
Pruning should be done at tho time il
If topping; il the crop is forward O
md thrifty, the first pruning should
De done at six inches. that is, all the r,
caves should be broken from the ir
talk for six inches above the hill and II
he bud taken out, leaving ten leaves II
IN the stalk. The next topping, " hich ~
Usually occurs a week from the first. r,
'rune or break off the leaves five II
inches from the hill !; take out the n
,ud, leaving ten leaves on the stalk. W
The next topping. prune in like man. tc
Ter; take out the bud, leaving nine d,
caves Oh the stalk. The next topping at
'rune in like manner; take out the "
,ud, leaving sight leaves on the stalk. n,
The plant is frequently topped to m
welve and fourteen leaves, which 10
makes the leaves light and chaffy and =,
he top leaves narrow and imperfect. ar
.opping should be done as soon as m
he plant attains sufficient size to n,
inch or break out the bud without a,
ishsuring tho tender leaves, and a. ce
,ays before the plant buttons or as
looms. 10 top to ten leaves with. bI
ut counting is done by putting the sh
We OH the first leaf OH the stalk after a
running; then break the bud to that or
saf, leaving the top or bud leaf fo
ointing or hanging Immediately dl
yer the SECOND leaf ut the bottom Of CO