The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-12-18
W1dtien for me Posi-.

nave cCitiNdtcu ovbaStS ~ AANt.'' ~~,'-'
" since 1892. and will try to give my ex-
rc,sence in as brief space as possible.
Tobacco raising is by many considered
a difficult and uncertain business aud
son,,thins out OF the usual line of agrl-
culture. requiring more shdn ordinary skill
Mach has been said which has mystified
instead Of educated the fapuers
When you start 10 raising tobacco start
With the idea that your COMMON sense
can not be improved by any amount OF
ambiguous information. Cultivate your
crop ana take care OF IL like Won would
OF anything else you ri;sc, but don't do as
a seniieman has done here. lie raised
Two acres of tobacco c.rTciesslr. lie; it
sucker, go to seed and lcr tns sab grass
set whist high and irle1 Il in a horse
stable. where he kept his hefse and niggy,
cracks aud doors all wide open; then tried
10 sweat IL m norss stable boarded up,
and stll4 had. as my correspondent asserls
tobacco OF fire aroma
Too mun.i Of this is done here snd oiten
suSfi~ stuff finds ito way NORTH 10 some
4 commission house and Is sold AT auction
for Texas tobacco, bringing what il may
Such stuff gives Texas 4 black aye ana II
takes wears psrhaps before chat house VIII
be perruadel to even touch anything nom
THE SEED.
There are as many different Kinds of
ee.ds almost as there are oouutri in which
tobacco is raised. The only seed We viii
concern ourselves about VIII be Sumatra
the best Of wrapper. AMI HdYaaa u very
superior wrapper and cnqu loaaoly the
test favored cigar tobacco under the sun.
sumatra Is thu hest wrapper and is quot
cd tocay as high Ms 50 Pc poIna imported
direct from the slippers in sumatra
Fiuri ia raised Sum2tra is Ipoiel NJ from
sitoSl.75 PEI pouul. But TO ldise SunlttFA
ene mnst hlva II tested ans Know INV ne
has the sol; also thu tacilees, becaU"e II
must be raised quick, ;hi IS. me plant
should he ripe to cut in eight 10 ten weeks
IRON tae TIME of tcansplantns
Hon. Milton Whitney .clict 81 the VI
vi, on of gots. IN Farmers 'llletin No. ~.
,,re II saws. in speaking OF + jrida; by
thus keeping the plants continually ana
RAPIDLY growing the .,rP '.r ia ura III
forly-five days from the tine the plants
are set cat
highest type and briuss the best prices,
Havana "a The most reliable ana lhs .'nner
with his one horse blow and bis nes'o Ia
Dor viii dp b.t.sr tn plant II heh NJ
will at least be 2bit % 'TQlac2 ! Eoon ~, ~
Ter witch viii firi a ready mtrAet, "Alle
a snmatra filler IS hardly worta raising
There is a simple way in which person
can reliably test the germinatiis qualities
Of mis- seed-that is by throwing II on
hot stove All seeds that are good VIII eN-
plode. while the Others VIII simply dry
Tobacco ssed will keep good for years.
l have seen seed twelve years old as sooa
am even better than two-year old SEED
so the seed deteriorates here IT. IS not
advisable TO raise gesd, but buy fresh I'M
ported every year, or better, get enough
fn,., han nna
To the purchase OF seed farmer should
be very, very particular as to the source,
because while the cost of ..secd is about
rs cents per acre 1t is too great loss TO
md at the erd OF the season that the stun
you have spent SO much tlmo ana money
OH rs almost worthless. Deal only with
OIL reliable houses WHOSE names are above
suspicion.
In buying seed more farmers should get
together ard purchase quantity so as TO
BIO able to get II cheaper
PREPARING THE SEED BED.
Choose warm sheltered place on the
farm for the seed bed II possible take u
place little elevated and protected by
woods. shrubbery or buildings. Now take
two boards Ike ami Is feet long and two
boards ks and feet long. Nail them to-
gether SO that they make a frame six feet
wide and sixteen feet long by six inches
high Now take several loads OF brush pile
them close on the space selected for the
seed bed set fire to Them ard burn the
brush making good heat. The object is
to burn all weed seed in the grourd and to
feriii!ze the bed. After burning. take a
rake and rake OFF all coal and sticks left.
Now take hoe and hoe, not deeper than
two inches. for fear you would get the
good top soil covered too deep Rake this
thoroughly ard put it into the finest pos
sible tilt Place your frame and take two
tablespoonfuls of seed: mix them with
about two quarts OF plaster or siftei asnes
and SOW evenly over the bed. Roll It down
With q roller or press 1t with q board or
pad 1t With spade lightly into tha soil.
but do not cover the seed.
This sowing must be done right after
the bed is burned, for the ground mast nor
BIO allowed TO pack before the seed is sown.
Now take some canvas one yard wide.
Sew II together In the center and having
previously driven some nails through the
top edges OF tho boards from the inside,
30 that they are now sticking out on the
outside about one inch, stretch the canvas
oyer the bed by hooking the edges over the
nail points.
The bed will keep moist and VIII keep
the little Fly or flea out When the plants
appear and are about half an inch high
take rake With teeth about 3 inches
long covered at the points. and three
this rake across the bed. This viii give
your remaining plants more room and
prevent them dying out just when you
WANT them, For plants too close togethsr
are liable TO get their root growth injured.
something akin TO club-foot in cabbage,
and y whole bed will die in one day After
the plants are up 1t is advisable to dust
u or top-dress 1t with woods earth or a
KIND OF compost made of chicken manure
and muck equal parts; two or three such
dressings Will inipart to your plants the
yigor that viii sustain them WHOM they
ara trapsplaHted. The best looking plan,
iSthe most liable TO grow after transplant
Ing.
~ course some watering has to be done
but take good caro- net TO water too
much.
The time for sowing the seed is in Janu-
cry, because seed Will lay in the ground
fIpm three to sometimes six weeks, aud
nj " desired 10 have good. strong plants
before the Let Of April
SHOULD your seed, by some accident,
alrlVe TOO late. take yflilr ssfsd r,laca u