Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-10-01
gflistellaueuus &eadiug.
HOW TO GROW TOBACCO.
PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS BY Il VETERAN
PLANTER.
[Correspondence of the News and Courier.l

PLANTER.
Correspondence of the News and Courier.]
RALEIGH, N. c., September 16, 1885,
There are two kinds of soil favored by to-
bacco farmers. One is the rich black or
dark brown soil, with a deep subsoil of
gray; the other light top soil with sub
soil of clay. South Carolina affords both
these conditions. The former soil suits the
adapted to the now famous yellow or bright
tobacco, which has brought so much wealth
to North Carolina, and has actually revolu-
tionized her agriculture in ten years. In
South Carolina and North Georgia tobacco
can be grown successfully, and it is ques-
tion of time only, and perhaps very short
time, when that culture will be an impor-
tant part of agricultural enterprise. 1t is
doubtless the case that the bright tobacco
will be grown in your State, and as the di-
rections for it's cultivation apply with prac-
tically equal force to the dark tobacco they
are given. These directions are given by
veteran tobacco grower in Granville, the
most famous tobacco producing county i'll
the world.
PREPARATION OF SEED BEDS.
Select fine, gray moist spot, with sunny
exposure, along the hollows or near little
drains in the woods. Rake off the leaves
and lay down small poles-about three
inches in diameter-four or five feet apart,
all over the size you wish the bed. Through
the middle on a width of eight or ten feet,
cover with wood eighteen or twenty inches
deep. Chink in with dry wood and brush
sufficient to burn till the ''skids" or poles
beneath are consumed. Now with hooks
or hoes fastened to long handles, pull the
remaining wood and chunks in opposite
directions over space of six or eight feet;
throw on enough wood to burn as before.
and so continue till all the space is gone
over. Now clear off the chunks and Goals,
depth of about three inches, taking care to
loosen the soil without bringing the clay to
the surface. Now make a liberal applica-
tion of hog pen or hen manure previously
prepared by chopping fine. This is then
chopped in with hilling or wedding hoes
and the soil made perfectly fine by repeated
rakings.
If the location is flat lay off in beds six
feet wide, with small shallow trenches be-
tween for drains. II rolling, none will be
needed. The bed is now ready for the seed.
Mix we'll in about peck of ashes, one
tablespoonful of seed to each forty square
yards. Mark off with hoe or rake handle
in widths of about four feet, and sow over,
using about half the seed then mark across
and SOW the other half. This is done to
patch over with the feet or compress the
soil with small roller, cover thickly with
brush, fence in and ditch around to keep off
surface water.
TIME OF PREPARATION OF BEDS.
The beds can he thus prepared at any
time, when the soil is sufficiently dry, from
the 18th of November to the 1st of March
and no further attention will be needed till
the plants are we'll up and square or have
four leaves. At this stage the "nursing'
must begin. Sprinkle over at midday, or
early in the afternoon, some fine concen-
trated fertilizer at the rate of half a peck
per fifty square yards, once or twice week,
and increase the quantity as the plants
grow. Fresh stable or hen manure, dried
in the sun and finely pulverized, and ap-
piled at the rate of half bushel-more or
less according to strength-to the fifty square
yards is about the best substitute for con-
centrated fertilizer. The point is to bring
the plants on early, in time to transplant,
from the 10th to the Goth of May.
After the plants begin to cover the ground
remove the brush, pick out the grass and
weeds, continuing to manure as before di-
rected. Not less than forty square yards
should be burned and seeded for every acre
allotted for the crop.
THE SOIL FOR THE CROP.
A light gray sandy soil, with yellow clay
subsoil is the favorite, but tobacco of equal
ly fine texture and flavor is made on fine
white houry land with similar subsoil. On
any light, thin soil with a growth of huck-
leberry, sourWood, chinquepin, persimmon,
post oak, black jack or either Of them, the
fine yellow will grow. Some of the best
planters select old fields grown up in pines
or broom-sedge. These produce the very
brightest wrappers of fine silky texture,
but generally the virgin woodland gives the
desired texture, with more weight and elas-
ticity.
FERTILIZERS.
A liberal application of fertilizers is an
important requisite. In the choice Of fer
tilizers there is difference of opinion.
There are a dozen or more good varieties.
Your rich phosphates, with the special
treatment, will give as good and satisfacto-
ry fertilizer, perhaps, as the world AFFORDS.
Homemade fertilizers, rich compost, &C.,
are of special value also.
PREPARING THE GROUND FOR THE PLANTS.
New woodland, or "piney" old field, re-
uuire the same preparation in winter or
early spring as for corn or cotton.
In March and April the soil should be
made fine by repeated dragging and ploW-
ing. Now, with shovel plough, lay off the
rows from three to three and half feet
apart, the stronger soil requiring the wider
rows.
If home made manure is to be uSed-Sta-
Bile and COW pen-Let it be mixed and scat
tered thinly in the drill furrow, SO as to
90 over the whole crop area, and follow
with the concentrated fertilizer at the rate
of 200 to 24O pounds per acre. If none of
the former is used, apply the latter at the
rate of 300 to $50 pounds according to
strength of soil. The land is then bedded
with an ordinary turning plough, and with
a hoe made into hills three feet apart from
they present fiat surface Of ID or 20 inches
in diameter and "pat" Tor strike gently
with the flat side) in the centre with the
hoe. Now they are ready for setting the
plants when the proper season arrives.
The making of hills with the hoe is an
expensive and tedious process, but is still
almost universally practiced. Except in
very rough new land the following process
answers equally as well or better, and saves
great amount of time and labor:
Take two boards one and half inches
thick, six or eight inches wide, and about
four feet long. Slope one end Of each to
point and back some twenty inches. Set
these on the edge with slopes up and nail on
inch boards five feet long to cover from end
to end the two pieces. Turn this upside
down and you have an implement shaped
like the end of flat boat, with staples; at
tach chain to the front or pointed corners,
fasten sngle-tree midway the chain,
and nail on some rough handles. A single
horse is hitched and walks between two
rows, the implement reaching over and
smoothing two beds at once. 1t can be suf.
fcienty Weighted with stones or log of