DIRECTIONS FOR TOBACCO CULTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2064, 29 September 1885, Page 2

DIRECTIONS FOR TOBACCO CULTURE.

(Bv Auvriv Wal-.ii, Mvnvoi.r AUCKLAND ToBU'OU CllMl'lw). SOILS V\l) SiriAHON. Thk first and most impoitant consideiation to those who intend lai-mg a cmp of tobacco is tin- situation and quality of thi 1 soil. It is not always possible to deteiiiiine tin- l)t--t .situation, a» much depends upon tin* climate. If it be di\, a meadow or othoi low piece of ground is piefeiable to .1 untie elevated tiact ; and if on the contrary thr season should piove a i wet on 1 , tlieie is a great danger of losng the ciop by mildew, host, oi inundation. The safest pl.ui, theiofore, would Into select a moderately elevated situation, which may be cithei le\el or gently i oiling ; hill-sidis oi step]) gullies being objectionable on account of the risks the plants inn of being washed out by the heavy l.un*. The most suitable soil foi giowing heavy tobacco, such as Kentucky and Vnginia, is .i deep sandy loam, \olcanic soil, or cleat cd bush land, made as ndi as possible, if not natui.dlj ucl) enough, by a generous apphc ition of stock->.ud uiatiuie, and should Ik- tlioi mighly ploughed and wmked. Foi the lightui \.uietiL-s of tobacco, such as Ha\anah and Gonin-cticut, a light, ncli, warm, puheii->ed soil will be buttei adapted. Stift clayey soil, owing to the difficulty in woi king it, and its liability to bake and become haul, theieby checking the glow tli of the plant, should be stnctly avoided, as also should am land tli.it would hold watt'i at the loots of the plant. It is also absolutely neceas.uy that the land selected should be well shelteied, as the plant being isolated as it weie, and being veiy buttle upon aiming at iuatuut} will leqnne son.o c\tiancous piotection fioiii the he.ivy winds. If the land be in sod, it should be ploughed in the autumn, and even if it be open it will deuve gieat benefit thereby, as the ftost will dostioy a great many of the laiv.e of the cut-w onus, which me a great nuisance to the young plant-, when hist set out. Plough in the manme, which should bo well lotted by being kept over the .suminei m ,i heip in the fields composted with swamp-muck. il-hl) lihlts. Tv the preparation of this plant-beds, and sowing of the seed, gieat caie is necessary ; to secuie a good ciop of tobacco a good and abundant stock of plants is nidispensiblc. Select a situation well shelteied fiom the wind, but exposed to the sun funn morning until evening, and prepare in July oi August. The best manure for seed-beds is that taken fiom a hog pen, kept in a heap tlnoiigh the Mitnincr and occasionally cut ovei with a shovel that it may thoroughly lot. This should be generously supplied —say you scatter the ground over one or one and a h df inches deep, and thoroughly spade in, :m the month indicated. (Such manure contains fewer weed seeds than almost any other, and its fertilising qualities cannot be surpassed.) When hugmanure cannot be obtained, manure strongly with well lotted compost, or henmanuie, or thoroughly bum the sod with ti-tiee, btiaw, or wood, mixing the ashes well with the soil, and sp lt do to the depth of a foot, the) pulverise the soil as much as possible. The si/o of the the seed bed for one acre should be about fifteen feet by three feet wide, this will allow eveiy oppoitunity foi the weeds to be eradicated. Raise the bed about twelve niche*. fiMtn the giouud, bnaul it well lound so as to pievent an undue amount of moisture getting to the soil. The seed should be selected from an c.iily, stiong-gi owing plant, which should, aftei npening, be cut up and hung in n dry place, top downwauls ; the sojd, if out of the reach of mice, keeping in thin way much bettei than if picked and shelled. Many aie too anxious in the spnug to get then seed into the ground to be succes-ful in getting good plants, as often aftei waiting two oi tliiee weeks foi the plants to come up they hive to make a second sowing, theiebv putting them back a week or moie. Wait until the gtiinnd is diy and warm enough for the seed to giovv, instead of rotting. About the beginning of September the how ing seison should commence ; in the distuct of AiickLui 1 it could, however, be extended to the miHdle of October, in Southern district-, until November. SOW [\(,. The siM'd should be sown in about the quantity of a tea-spoonful to every one bundled squaio feet, and in older to distnhuto it iiioiu evenly mix it well up with diy wood ashes, sand, or Kitten wood so lotteu th.it it miy bj finely pulveii/ed with the hand -in about the piopoition of tenpaits to one of .seed Aftei making the tops of the beds as .smooth ,i>, possible, sow the se.-d, which must be mixed as stited above, and be thoroughly diy to pieyent it . fiom falling m lumps, m the piopntion of <>ne half a table spoonful to thnt%-six or foit\ square feet of ground. On no account should the rake Ixj Used to rake in the seed, but pi ocure a smooth board, lay it on the bed, and with the feet stamp the bed quite haul. Covei tho beds up e\eiy night to keep the warmth m tho soil. Whenever the siufacc of tiic beds becomes diy it must be watered with tepid water ; this should be done in the morning or evening. It is scarcely nece.ssaiy to add that the bod must be ki'j it perfectly clean of weeds. Tobacco diffeis from most weeds, when making its appeaiance above the ground, by its lnight green colour, and by lying voiv flat upon the soil. After tin* i'ouith leaf apptais, manure w ater should be used. Plan- an old banel near the beds, and tlnow into it one half-bushel of hen manuie oi guano, and fill with watei ; after it is well soaked, use one half-pailful of it and till up with clear watei w ith the chill taken off. As the plant glows laigei the stiength of the decoction can lie incieased, being caieful that it is not so strong as to tuin the plant \ellow. As soon as the plants are large enough to be le.uhh taken hold of by the thumb and the point of a knife, the\ should be thinned to about one bundled and foityfour pei squaic foot.

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