Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-03-04
miscellaneous.
The Cultivation OF Tobacco.

Al. Dougan, Plankinton. d. T., asks
for detailed instructions on the supJect OF
raising and curing tobacco. 1t would De
almost impossible for one who has no
practical knowledge of this crop to learn
from single article enough to enable MIN
to cultivate it successfully. 1t is probably
the most exhaustive plant that can De
grown on the farm. requires the best land
and heavy manuring to produce prohta-
Bile crop, and a great deal of labor, and it
is unwise for any one to undertake 70 RAISE
it unless he Is prepared to give IL all the
attention it needs at the proper Tune. On-
der favorable circumstances the crop oiten
yields large profit, but if the conditions
are not favorable the loss is heavy, be-
cause of the time and labor that have been
expended upon it.
The seed bed for tobacco should be pre-
pared early, the time varying from the
middle of February for the Southern
States. to the first of April for extreme
northern localities. 1t should be made on
fresh land, which is well-drained and
sheltered on the north and west. II new
land cannot be had piece OF sod should
be plowed in the fall and heavily dressed
with manure that has been so prepared
that it is positively certain there are no
seeds in it that will terminate. Ihls pre-
pared land should be covered with brush
when the season tor planting comes, and
the brush set on fire. Additional fuel
should be added so as to keep hot fire
for an hour or more. The object Of this
is to kill the weed germs. After the
brush is burned and the land is still warm
pig the bed up, turning the ashes under,
and pulverize and rake the soil till 1t is
perfectly mellow and level. Then sow
your seed at the rate of a teaspOonful to
the square rod. As the seeds are exceed
ingly minute it is necessary to mix them
well with fine sand or ashes in order to sow
them evenly. They are covered sufficient
ly by running a light roller over the
ground. The bed should be then COW
cred with brush, and if the weather
is quite dry it will be necessary to water
the ground lightly several times before
the young plants appear. In from three
to four weeks the young plants make their
appearance above ground, and from that
time until they are ready to transplant the
bed should be watched carefully. 1t should
be busted over several times with plaster
insect which often destroys the plants at
this stage. All weeds should be careful
ly and promptly pulled up, and if the
plants are growing too thickly they should
be cautiously trimmed out.
One of the most important points in the
cultivation OF tobacco is to prepare the soil
for the permanent growth of the plant.
The best soil is rich, sandy. second bot
tom or loamy upland Black land makes
the heaviest growth of leaves, but their
quality is not good. The soil should be
dry and warm and contain good deal of
lime, as this is an important constituent
of the crop. 1t is well to pillow early and
give the land several workings before set
ting out the tobacco, thus killing all the
weeds and putting it in excellent condi-
ton for growth.
When the plants are about three inches
high they are ready to be moved. The
field is marked off for them both ways and
small hills made with the hoe about three
feet apart. The plants are then taken up
and put in these hills. They should first
be well watered, so that they can be
moved without breaking their roots, and
then set firmly in the hills. Keep all well
watered for some days. and if any plants
die replace Immediately.
From this time until the plants are ripe
they need almost constant attention to
keep them free from insect pests and to
secure rich growth. The first thing to
be done is to look out for the cut-worm,
which is very likely to attack the young
plants and kill them by eating the roots
Ashes or plaster and salt scattered around
the young plants will aid in destroying
these pests. But no preventive is wholly
efficient, and it is always necessary to 90
over the field carefully and kill all the
worms that are found. Hoe frequently.
as this stimulates growth and aids in kill
ing the worms. When any young plant
turns yellow, you may know that the cut
worm is at its roots; so pull it instantly
up kill the worm, and reset fresh plant
in its place. Continue to cultivate with
the hoe until the plants spread so that
there is danger of breaking the leaves by
working between them.
But, meanwhile, by the time the leaves
are as large as a mans hand you must be-
gin to look tor the green tobacco worms.
These pests appear on the under side of
the leaves. They usually come about the
LIST of July. and will utterly destroy the
crop by feeding upon the leaves if they
are not cleared off. The only way to get
rid of them is to go over the field, and
wherever you see hole, no matter how
small. in a leaf, turn it up, and kill the
worm that you will surely find clinging to
the under side. The work must be done
thoroughly and continuously. 1t is usual
| ly necessary to go over the field and kill
these worms about twice week from the
first week in July till the plants are ripe.
OF course. while killing the worms, it is
well to destroy as many Of the eggs and
moths as possible also.
The operations of printing, topping,
and suckering also come in the summers
care of the tobacco field. Printing is the
breaking off of the bottom leaves of the
plant, which grow so near the ground tina,
they are likely TO get dirty and rot. These
are removed because they are always so
poor that they must be thrown away
when the plant is ripe, and as of course
they take certain amount of
strength from the plant in their
growth, they might as well be thrown
away before. 1t is customary to remove
these leaves as early as the plant will adj
NIT of 1t. and they must be removed very
carefully. so that the stalk is not wound
ed in the operation.
Topping is removing the flower stalks,
and sometimes from four to eight or
more of the upper leaves of the plant.
The fiOWer-stalE is reflected in ordar RI