The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-04-10
HOW TO GROW A

creased in volume from year to wear.
aud will continue to do so, as it will
be II of the Injuries. People
will stint themselves and families for
the necessarics Of life. but their 20
bacco they must have.
Tobacco is much more and
difficult TO grow Than the cotton crop
or airy of u staple crops, for it is
subject to so many dangers and advcr-
stiles That it seems a miracle that one
is ever put on the market. The grow
ers of this valuable plant deserve all
they evcr get for it.
The first thing to be done is to get a
fine sred-bed, and this is usually done
by selecting Il nice loamy spot, with
soil as fine as possible, and then piling
brush and wood on this about the size
of the secd-bed desired. lire this, and
burn thoroughly, after which, rake all
the Goals, trash, etc, off, and work the
ashes into the soil as thoroughly as
possible. Rake and work tins ovcr
until the ashes are mixed with the soil.
The burning serves II double purpose {;
1t kills the seeds of all uoXious weeds,
and the ashes mixed with the soil make
a very fine 3ccd-bed. OF course these
conditions can be gained without burn
ing the beds, but there Is usually q
great deal of rubbish to be burned any
way, and thus the burning serves a
double purpose.
The bed should be located near water
80 that it can be watcrc,l when neces-
sa1y. 1T is best TO put plank around
1t SO that the cloth will o rest on the
plants. The tobacco bed cloth will
furnish abundant protection from frost.
Fertilizer may be used ON any bed
in the place Of the ashes where the
burning is too expensive. Sow the
seeds broadcast and scratch the soil
lightly with a fac rake and lay a long
plank across the bed and walk up and
on it. Then move the plank one
width of itself, and SO on, until the
bed Is levellcd over and Tie soil is
packed around the little seeds. This
will insure termination and uniformity
of plants. Try to get good, strong,
well grown plants to rut out as soon as
all danger of frost Is past the strong.
healthy plant starts off growing Sc
much better than the small one when
transplanted.
1t is much better to select grey land
with a yellow sub soil for growing to,
bacco. If possible, plant in checks
same distance each way, fol the GRO,
can then be cultivated much easlcr
The land should e very thorough,
drained, for tobacco can not be grow
well on wet land. rho quantity will
surely be small and the quality poor
Being a rapid growing crop, it need.
n rich soil Is Itr1, f,,,, M.
three essential clements of a conplci,
fertilizer, viz: Nitrogen, potash anc
phosphorus, must be present III larg,
quantities. The potash, which is vcr,
essential, should be IN the form of sui
phatc of potash, as this is free from
chlorine ingredient which has Il baC
effect ON the TOBACCO. This fcrtiliZc
should be readily soluble, as the plan
makes a rapid growth and the fertilizer
ii not Speedily available, is of no use.
The fertilizer should be applied i.
the hill two or thee weeks before tn,
plants arc set Ou.. Check the land yer,
| deep, and put fertilizer in this eros
iurrow and run a cuiuvator ovcr this
covering the fertilizer up. When In
crop is SIT out the fertilizer will hav
had time to mix with the soil, and tn
roots will not be burned Cullivat
often, and run both ways when practi
! cable. The tobacco crop needs yer
; careful culture and the single hors
= cultivatOr is II of the best implc
mcntS for keeping the ground in propc
) condition.
1t goes without saying that there i
a great deal of hand work needed, an,
. the worms will keep one interested
they are to be kept up with properly
: The time to kill the worm is when h
is young. There are many ways O
y getting rid of them, but the mos
effective is to pick them off by hand
Curing the crop is something that ha
to be learned by experience. We car
thcorizc on other things and tell pcopl
t how to do them, but my advice 10 an,
one wishing to learn how to cure to
bacco, is to go where it is being cured
and learn the methods practically. w,
may work hard and make Il fine croI
and then practically lose it all in tn
cnling. b. IRBY.