The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-02-06
TOBACCO CULTURE,
TREATISE ON RAlSlNGTHEW WEED BY
Mr.. F. NJ. ROGERR, JR.

SfHEH lSe ON RAtS!NG.t HS WSSC 6f
Mr.. F. N. RoGERR, JR.
Reproduced in The State For the Public's
Beneat--How to Plant. Raise, Cure and
Sell Tobacco in This State.
COLUMBIA, S. c., Feb. I'm view
of the growing interest in tobacco cul-
ture in South Carolina, The State for
the benefit of its readers and the pub
lie generally, printed yesterday, with
the permission of Mr.. Rogers. of Flor
ence, S. G., hisvaluable treatise on the
culture of the weed in this section.
PREPARING PLANT BED.
Select a spot with southern or cas-
tern exposure, neither very shady nor
too stiff: and cold. Locate neara stream
~of water;andif if this cannot be conven-
iently done. dig a well near by:so that
an ample supply of water can be had
when the time arrives to force the
growth of the young plants. The place
being chosen, if original growth, pro
coed to cut off even with the ground
all bushes and.weeds. After removing
all heavy rubbish; take wedding hoes
and clean away trash, taking care to
scrape off mould we'll without disturb
ing the upper surface too much. Lay
poles the size Of a mans arm three feet
apart across the entire surface The
poles are used to keep the burning ma
terial of the ground and give it good
ventilation. Place the wood (Which
should be cut about eight feet across.
the poles, the entire length of the bed,
about three feet wide and two high.
Then set FIRE to this the whole way,
getting it to: burn uniformlyss soon
as possible. When the ground is burned
sufficiently Which generally requires
an hour or :houf,and quarter), with
hoes fastened,on long poles pull the
burning mass .about three feet, but be
sure not to-moye beyond land already
burned, put on more wood to start the
FIRE to burning afresh. Keep the fire
uniform the entire length, SO that the
ground viii: H:not,be burned too little in
some places, and too much lin others.
At the end of an hour, more or less,
as necessary, move as before, again
placing on fresh wood, and so continue
til the entire: surface is burned over.
Rake off the Goals and ashes, and with
grnSUing hoes dig it up, first across
-one way and then the other being care
effd aot to turn up the under soil too
much Rake and pull upwith the
hands all roots, etc. DIG it up once
More; this time removing all coarse
matter. Spread on a liberal supply of
>fowEhouse manure, very fine stable
manure free from grass seed, or dead
cotton see6-the latter at the rate Of
$50 bushels per acre. Chop this in
wells and makesurface perfectly smooth
and fine by repeated rakings. Dig
trenches across the bed 5 or feet apart
and 4 inches deep to take onall surface
water. The ground. is now ready tore
ceive the seed. For every hundred
square yards Of plant lands, take one
tablespoon full Of seed and mix thor
:oRghlv with quarts dry ashes or fer
'tifizer. Divide this quantity in equal
parts, placing aside one portion. Mark
the bed off with a hoe handle in beds
about three feet wide, then take one
bart of seed and SOW over the entire
bed, mark the opposite way and SOW as
before with balance of seed. The idea
.of sowing in opposite directions IS to
promote regularity. Makesurface firm
by treading with the feet or: by use of
a heavy roller. This completes all work
to the plant bed for the present. The
seed in this latitude commence to come
up the first of March. Upon their first
appearance it is better to cover them
with.a light cloth that is made special
.ly for the purpose and can be procured
from Messrs. William N. Bird & Co.,
Charleston.
I wish to impress on tobacco farmers
the.n necessity of sowing seed early, not
later than the last of January-the
sooner put in the better. There is no
time better than December. Plants are
tougher and live better.
For our average lands the varieties
of tobacco known as Hester and Long
Leaf Gooch have proven best suited to
this section. Foe every acre SOW so
square yards Of plant land.
COVERING PLANT BED.
Border the bed with,1 x - plank,
set about 2 inches in the ground, or if
lumber is not otconvenient. straight logs
; 10 incnes through placed around the
edgewil answer every purpose. Drive
pegs firnly into the ground, In the wa
ter furrows every feet. Let the pegs
show. 10 inches above ground, Nail
dressed Stats / 1! across the top OF
these pegs joining them closely togeth-
er at every, other peg, and fasten firm
" to the plank or logs on the outside.
After plant bed cloth has been sewed
together Of proper size, spread over and
around the edge, fold lathes about 4
feet long into the clotn and nail to bor-
der. This cover is very necessary IN
order to have plants in time. 1t forces
their growths and keeps them safe from
cold and frost. Be on the lookout for
insects. They sometimes attack the
young plants and completely destroy
them if care is not taken to prvent
their ravages. \ mixture Of p bushels
sand, bushel plaster and / pound
Paris Green will etfectually destroy
them. It must be thoroughly mixed
stirred at least one hour. Apply
early in the morning while the dew is
on the plants, and dust, sufficiently to
show plainly. Remove the cloth about
Tor days befor setting, in order to
tougher the young plants. Cover can
easily be replaced at night, when there
isdanger of frost Endeavor to have
plentiful and early supply of plants.
as on this largely depends a successful
crop Of tobacco.
SELECTION CT TOBACCO LANDS.
For the successful growth Of tobacco,
different characters of soil should be
selected according to the climate and
section. Experience has proven that
throughout the pine belt of this State,
the Southern half of tie State select