The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-04-22
FARMER ANDPLANTER.
RAISING TOBACCO PLANTS.

The First and Most Important Step To-
ward Raising the Crop.
The first, and very important step
toward growing a good tobacco crop, is
to secure the best seed to be obtained,
and in fact too much Importance can
not be given to the choice of seed Ex-
perience and observation has taught us
that those who are the most successful,
and attain the greatest degree of per-
fection in farming, are those who are
the most careful in the selection of their
seed 1t costs no more to raise pound
of tobacco from choice seed than it does
from the seed of poor, run out tobacco.
There are men in every community
who take especial care to produce only
that which is best suited to meet the
demands Of an exacting market. Secure
your seed from one of these men.
The best time to SOW the seed is as
soon as the soil will work mellow. We
usually sprout the seed, which is done
by putting it into an earthen vessel,
cover with hot water and keep it in
warm place around fire. After four
or five days drain off all the water and
mix with dry ashes, sand or meal. The
seed is very fine and the sand increases
the bulk, thereby lessening the liability
to sow the seed too thick. Do not use
meal if the chickens can get at the beds,
as it is too good an excuse for scratch.
Lay out the beds three feet wide,
cover the surface with well-rotted horse
manure or hen manure. The latter is
the better, as it is more free from seed.
Stake six-inch boards around the beds,
then spade quite deep and work the sur
face fine, smooth and level. Take a
small quantity of seed in the hand, SOW
thinly and even, the light color of the
sand or meal indicating where the seed
has fallen. Great care should be exer-
cised not to get the seed too thiclsly
sown. After sowing rake in very light
ly with fine garden rake being care
full not to get the seed too deep, as that
prevents termination.
Make frames 3 feet wide and from 10
to IA feet long, from inch square pine;
on these frames tack common cotton
cloth. These frames can be fastened on
the board at the side of the beds by
notched sticks driven into the ground,
the notches holding the frame. This
makes primitive hot bed, and its advan-
tages are, that it keeps off the cold winds
of early spring, and keeps the moisture
from evaporating too orapidly-prevents
the rapid radiation of heat at night
After much experience with each we
prefer the narrow to the wide beds,
as the weeds and plants can be
more easily removed from the former
If you wish to enrich the beds while
the plants are growing put half bushel
of refuse from the hen roost in coarse
! sack and immerse in barrel of water;
after twenty-four hours you have rich
bath, free from sediment, to clog your
sprinkler, which will fairly make your
plants jump. Always sprinkle your
plants in the evening, which prevents
the beds from baking, and the water
will not evaporate SO rapidly, thereby
giving the roots more time to absorb the
much-needed moisture.
The quantity of seed should be from
q to ounce for each acre, and should
be sown over 100 square feet of surface.
On heavy loan or clay soils, burn
brush before spading the beds. This
makes the soil warm and more porous.
After seed is sown, sprinkle on half an
inch of fine sand, which prevents large
cracks and fills up the smaller ones as
they occur. Take the frames off on
warm, pleasant days, and after the
leaves of the plants are as large as your
finger nail keep them off entirely, ex-
cept during cold day or violent storms.
The plants are too tender if the frames
are left on longer.-Western Tobacco
| Journal