The Newtown bee., 1902-01-31
FARM INTERESTS.
CULTURAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOBACCO.
FLORIDA sUMArRA TOBACCO (NoRTH
 ERIN DISTRICTS.)

A very rich spot should be selected for the seed-bed of Sumatra tobacco grown in the North. In the early fall this plot should be plOwed and divided into beds six feet wide and any desir- able length, surrounded by wall made of board two inches thick and 12 inch es wide, set two or three inches in the fertilized with cOttOn-Seed meal and stable manure, we'll spaded into a depth of six or eight inches, and the whole covered with leaves, manure, or trash to keep out the frost during the win ter. About April l this top dressing should be taken off and the bed again spaded and the soil well pulverized, aft CT which another application of cotton seed meal or cotton-hull ash should be given. This should be raked in and the surface made smooth and loose, seed. About five days before the time of sowing, the seed should be put to sprout in apple tree punk, made soft with warm water. This should be put in fruit jar and kept in a warm room. It will be oberved that the seed will be slower in SprOuting than | domestic tobacco seed and it will not sprout uniformly; that is, l all the seed will not sprout at the same time. Itis best to wait until nearly all the seed is sprouted before sowing. Mix the seed with bran or cotton seed meal and SOW at the rate square yards, after which heavy roller should be drawn over the bed, thus packing the seed we'll into the soil, making the surface smooth and pre- venting the rapid drying out of the soil which would otherwise take place. If the ground is dry it should be watered immedi- ately after sowing the seed; and this should be continued from time to time as the soil may require. In the ab- sence of rain after the plants are up, watering should still be practiced. ..
 There are many enemies of the seed watch is necessary. As soon as there is any appearance of flea-beetles or horn worms, the bed should besprayed with paris green mixed with water at the rate of one tablespoonfull to two gallons of water. In order to keep down the insects, the bed should be sprayed at least three times d week. It is safer to protect these early beds with canvas stretched on frames made over and around the beds.
 1 When the plants are drawn for trans
 planting, great care should be taken to get as much root as possible. Each person doing this work should be pro- vided with bucket of water, and as soon as the the plants are drawn the roots should be washed to remove all soil that may have stuck to them. The plants are then placed in basket.
 roots down, and are immediately set out. The washing of the roots is not generally practiced, but it has been
 found that plants live and grow better
 when the roots are clean. After each
 drawing of the plants from the bed.
 the soil should be watered, in order to
 close up the places from which the
 plants have been taken.
 } The soil selected for this tobacco
 should be light gray sandy loam or
 sand with a sand or clay subsoil, pro
 vided the clay is not closer to the sur
 produce light, thin wrapper, the sandy soil must be very rich and a
 large quantity of fertilizer is necessary The land should be broken up ir November or December, allowing the blow to cut from four to six inches deep, according to the nature of the soil and the quantity of fertilizer used
 If large quantity of fertilizer is used
 such as cotton-seed meal and stable o barn manure, it should be throwr broadcast over the field and plowed in This should be done about six week. , before the time of setting out the , plants. Often second application ol fertilizer will be needed in order tt
 give continuous, rapid growth.
 The distance between the row !, should be four feet and between thu t plants l2 inches. As it is always de
 sirable to get uniform growth, grea Y care should be exercised to have eact t plant live. If the ground is moist ant }. and showers frequent, watering th' . plants is unnecessary but if the ground
 is dry, they should be watered immedi
 ately after setting and, if possible
 each day thereafter as long as tn
 plants may require it. After setting
 the plants they should not be disturbe
 for at least six days. If the soil be
 comes packed and hard, a furro1 r should be run on each side of the row l. using small, straight blow and lettin & it we'll down. This should be followe
 immediately by two sweep furrows
 which will put the plants on a smoOt d ridge. The hoe is then used, careful '- stirring the soil about the plants , Thereafter cultivation should be fire 2 quent and shallow.
 j. As the principal value of Sumatra d it's wrapping leaves, great care shoul j. be exercised to preserve the sOundneS s of the leaf. In topping the Sumatr tobacco, only the bud should be take out and all leaves allowed to grow. '- the land is exceedingly rich it is foun
 best not to top at all, but to allow tn