The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-02-26
TOBACCO Culture.
Be;t Method of Cultiyating and Curing
Fine Yellow Tobacco.

Mr.. James B. Hobgood, of Gran
vile county, \. c., gives the follow
ing methods OF planting, cultivating
and curing tobacco, which we take
from the Richmond Tobacconist:
Plant Beds-The first work in pre-
pairing for crop Of tobacco is to burn
and SOW in good time plenty of plant
land, in warm, moist situations. Sc
lect land that will not become sodden
by too much rain, and, if possible, let
the spots be on creeks or branches
Gar enough off to guard against over
flowing, with a south or SOUTHWEST
exposure Burn the land well. My
plan is put down on my beds, about
four feet apart, what we term 'skids'
poles the size OF a mans arm. These
are to keep the wood off the ground.
When these ssids are burnt up. one
may as rule know that the land is
burnt hard enough and that is time to
move his fire on further. This is the
best guide l can give to the inexperi-
enced as to the length of time the
land should be burnt. The best time
for burning, in the latitude OF North
Carolina and Virginia is from the first
of January to first OF March. Good,
fine stable manure, free from seeds of
grass, oats or clover, with some good
commercial fertilizer, is what l think
best to use on plant beds.
After burning, rake off the ashes,
cover the ground well with stable ma.
nure, hoe up the bed thoroughly, and
and make it fine by repe ted hoeing
and raking; then mix the tobacco
seed, using one and a half tablespoon
fuls in every 25 pounds of fertilizer to
every 100 square yards in the bed, and
then tread it with the fees or pat with
the hoe. Tobacco seed requires but
little covering, and if covered too
deep will fail to come up. Cover the
bed with fine brush (dogwood is the
best if conveniently, to protect the
plants from frost and to keep the bed
moist. Sometimes it becomes neces-
sary to force the growth of plants in
order that they may be large enough
to transplant at the proper time; this
is done by using some quick, reliable
fertilizer as top dressing, care being
taken rot to apply it when the plants
are wet with dew or rain.
Soil-Gray, friable soils-fresh from
the forest or long out of cultivation
with dry, porous subsoil, are the best
adapted to the growth and maturity
OF yellow tobacco.
Plow your land and put it IN good
condition before bedding, run the
rows off three feet four inches each
way, using, according to the strength
OF the land, from ninety to one hun
dred and ten pounds of good fertilizer
to every one thousand hills. Use farm
pen manure in the drill with the fer
tilizer; it will be found of very great
advantage, even if it is not convenient
to use it except in small quantities.
Plantlng-Plant in hills as early af-
ter the first of May as the plants and
season will admit. As soon as the
plants take good root, commence cul-
tivation, whether in grassy condi-
ton or not, and continue to stir the
land with plow and hoe until the to-
bacco begins to come in top, using
short single trees as the plants increase
in size, to prevent bruising and break
ing. After the plants become too
large to admit of the plow, use only
the hoe to keep down grass.
Topping-It is best to wait until a
good number OF plants button for seed
before beginning to top, as these will
then ripen together. a man must top
according to the appearance and pl ON
ise of the plant, the strength OF the
land, SC. he must use his own judg-
ment in topping, bearing in mind that
a strong, healthy plant can bear high
er topping than small one. As gen
eral thing the first topping will bear
ten to fourteen leaves, primlng Off the
lower leaves neither too high nor too
low, so that when the plant ripens
the bottom leaves may be well off the
ground. AS the season advances, con-
tinue to top lower, so that the plants
may ripen before frost.
Cultivation After Topping g.-Never
plow tobacco later than the first Au-
gust; after which time use the hoe, as
late blowing keeps the tobacco green
toe long and causes it to ripen with |
green color. When tobacco begins to
ripen, use neither plow nor hoe, as
quality is better than quantity IN this
case.
After being topped, tobacco should |
be kept as clear as possible from |
worms and suckers.
Cutting.-Let your tobacco stand on
the hill until thoroughly ripe, bearing
in mind not to cut any until barn
can be filled with plants OF uniform
ripeness, color and quality. Putseven
medium sized plants on stick four
and half feet long. Let the plants
90 from the cutters hands over the
Sticks in the hands of the holder,
after being filed, the sticks should not
touch the ground for any length Of
time, in fact, it is better for them to 60
directly from holder to wagon and
from wagon to barn, where they
should be tieced about eight inches
apart-that is, if the tobacco IS of me-
dunn size.
Barns.-I think barns that are sew
enteen and half feet square are the
best for curing successfully;a q barn of
this size, with four firing tiers below
the joints, will hold about a hundred
and fifty sticks.
Curing.-As tlue-curing has taken
the place OF the older method Of cur
ing by charcoal, it is only necessary
to give directions for that purpose. A
dry, curing heat is the principle OF
both methods. Flue curing has many
advantages over the primitive way,
being cheaper, cleaner, giving the to-
bacco a sweeter flavor, and it is at
tended by less danger of FIRE. My aG:
vice, right here, to the novice is, to
see for himself the plan on which to-
bacco barn is built and arranged for
curing.
Temperature. After filing the
barn with ripe tobacco. start the heat