The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-04-18

(Communicated.)
How 90 Raise sasobaccos

Editor Lake Charles Echo
!. As | have had many inquiries aa Ii
the manner Of raising and curing 10
bacco, have concluded TO give you
for the benefit Of those among yonI
readers who may dosire information
on this subject, some Of my expert
ence.
4 The first thing to be done IL raising
a crop Of tobacco il to secure plants.
i This may be done BY sowing the seed
| in bed on which has been burned a
brush-heap, or trash Of any kind that
will give q liberal supply Of ashes,
which is necessary to the health and
growth Of the young plants. This
sowing should be done earIy--say in
February, or March at latest--as the
plants will have to be tFansplanted.
which should be done before the dry,
hot weather comes on. Prepare yonr
land for tobacco as You would for corn;
in beds OF ridges four feet apart.
Should your land not Be naturally
rich, fertilize with cotton seed or cot
ton seed meal. Do not nsc fresh,
strong stable manure if you want
good article Of tobacco.
TRAEsPLANTINe.
Transplanting should be done as
early as possible. BY the time the
leaves Of your plants are AZ large as
fifty cent piece, set them three feet
apart III the rows, which will give
you about $500 stalks to the acre.
After you have secured stand, which
you will not be likely to do at the first
setting, as some may die, and others
be cut down BY cut-worms, you
should give the little plants working
as soon as they have taken root sufii-
cient to be handled without injury.
This should be done with the hoe by
scraping away the dirt with what grass
and weeds may be growing near the
plants. 6a.
The tobocco will grow rapidly af-
ter being worked, and as it grows keep
pulling off the under leaves until the
bottom leaf is quite six inches from
the ground. This is called epinning,"
and is done to prevent the bottom
leaves, which are always the best to-
bacco, from lying on the ground and
rotting. When you have il pinned
high enough take out the bud, or, in
other words, top il, aud never have
more than ten or twelve leaves to the
stalk remember this, as it is a very
important, item in the cultivation Of
tobacco not to have too many leaves
to the stalk, if you wish your crop 10
mature properly.
Be careful alwaysto keep the worms
off or they will defeat your attempt to
raise tobacco, This may be done BY
the children, or where there are no
children it may be done BY the farmer
himself, before breakfast or at other
odd times. Should you have yonr
tobacco "patch" near your fowl house
they will assist You materially in this
part Of the work. You will find after
you have topped your plants they put
out suckers" at every leaf, these
should be pulled off regularly, else
they will sap the stalk to such an OK
tent as to entirely stop tho growth Of
the leaves you have left to grow. This
putting out suckers is nothing but an
effort Of nature in the plant to propi-
gate itself. HA i@l 6ilt@ -
WHEN TO cur ToBAoco. #.'4'e.'
This very important time ia to be
determined by the color Of the leaf,
and as It ripens at different times YOU
will have occasion TO notice carefully
every two or three days. When You
ice large yellow spots come on the
eaf, something like the leaf of the
hickory tree in the fall of the year,
you may cut that stalk, which should
Do done early in the morning while
The dew ID on, Use a good, strong
knife, splitting the stalk from tho top
iown 10 within a few inches Of the
ground, and cut off below where it is
iplltin order to straddle it over a stick q
y hanging to, dry, Hang in an open q
ihed until the stems are thoroughly
cured, when you may s'strip" the
caves from the stalk and put them in
hands" and pack down ia close
'ox, where 1t will remain "in casep for
! long time.
Gut this out, farmers, and put 1t
lway for reference, and my word for
t, ifypp follow instructions. you will
aise moro tobacco from one-sixteenth
i an acre than yon can smoke in
welVo months.
Saving seed should never be done
rom "suckersn Leave one or two
talks with the bud to grow according
Q the natural inclination af the plant,
nd from these save your seed.
I lst tg fs.lFilkH EMauup N