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SYDNEY A. FISHER, Minister of Agriculture, Ottawa .lAMAItY. 1!M»7 BULLETIH8 OH THE CULTVBE OF TOBACCO. No. A-1.— Preparation of the seedlings and the care to be given to them. No. A-2.— Manures in tobacco culture. Sent free upon application to the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa. T O B A. C C O . Orowing of Tobacco— Selection of the Land— Sowing — Care of the Plantation — Harvetling— Curing— Preparation— Fermentation — Diieatei and In—ei Fou. Although the tobacco reniaini on the land a compirttively ihort time (from seventy to one hundred days, according to variety) the fanner who take* up the in- duitry must, to be »ucce«»ful. give hig attention to it for a much greater length of time. In Canada, the seed beds are made usually in the early part of April; and from that date until the crop is sold, or is in such condition that it may be kept without risk, lay by January or February, the tobacco must receive intelligent and constant care. There must be such care, to obtain a good crop ; and a continuation of such care wten the crop has been harvested to prevent ita deterioration. It will be readily understood that in such a long space of time aa has been re- ferred to, from April to the following January or February, the plant will require various sorts r* attention, according to the various phases of its growth and pre- paration for the market. A review of these various phases will be found in thia bulletin. SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF THE LAND. All soils are not suitable in an equal degree to the growing of tobacco. Rich and light soils, containing a good supply of vegetable matter, will yield the beat results. Soils deprived of vegetable matter, however rich they may be in mineral elements, f.re not sunitable for tobacco growing. Tobacco is a plant which, during the greater lx>riod of its growth, affords poor protection to the soil against the sun ; and moreover, in spite of its endurance, it may be expected to suffer from the effects of a protracted drought. The plant, which is a weak seedling when transplanted from the seed bed to the field, has a rapid growth, and should be able to throw out easily a large numbw of roots; and to this end a deep soil, which retains moisture and is more easily drained, is preferable. Such a soil facilitates • hilling up,' and thus permits the adoption of the flat cultivation system, which is cheaper than the system of ridge cultivation. Good drainage of the sub-soil water is essential; for an excess of moisture will do even more injury than a prolonged drought. Sufficient drainage must be pro- vided in any soil where an accumulation of sub-soil water is to be feared. The soils of hillsides with a normal slope generally yield excellent results, mainly on account of the rapidity with which an excess of water drains off. Low and marshy soils yield tobacco of coarse and loose texture which dries and burns badly. Such soils should be avoided altogether. The same may be said of soils containing an excess of lime, whicn yield a leaf lacking in elasticity. Good crops may be obtained on clay soils, provided the latter contain a sufficient proportion of sand and humus to be easily brought to and kept in a good state of tilth with the plough, harrow and cultivator. Such soils, known as ' heavy,' are con- mon in some parts of Canada. Some, however, contain a rather large proportion of lime, giving them a marly appearance, and these yield a tobacco of thicker texture than do the light soils, while the difficulty of getting them into proper shape is a serious defect, the favourable time for ploughing being hard to determine. 8541— li Thf U-m noiln for tho gruwiiiv »< lohiur.. arc thivc wliifh nmlHiii ii miffloient propc.tion of clay miil hiiinui to I'imbl.' tlirm to ntniii it |{a*p« or decrt-atcii. Stil! clay soils arc- the l<«st miitabli'. The colour of aoils intluences the colour of tobacco. Light coloured tobacco i* obtainH mon- easily from a light colourwl noil. This quMtion has little importance, in so far as Canada is c«incfrnm»to«'k and Zimmer Spanish. Tobaccos wirh a rather heavy texture will do In-st on loama, or clav loams. Some gravelly soils appear to be suitable to the growing of suuill varieties of Canadian lobiictjo. such us Canelle and INtit Kouge; but analyses of these soil* show that they may 1h« clas«il as clay loanw. iiljowiiuiv of courm' being made for the larger particles. ToliHcco being n very exacting irop. und its period of growth of comparatively short duriition, •'!.• soil in which it i» grown nliould lie rich and frequently manured. The bind select..! should Iw ploughed as early lis iM)»*iblo the prweding fall, in order to be well H possible on the location of the future rows. A few growers even wait until the seed- ling* are set out. and distribute the fertilizer around each plant, mixing it with the earth. This ii a rather exiiensivo method; but. judiciously practised, it give* good results. Commercia fertilizers may Ik- used in the spring iis nu addition to an applica- tion of farin-yB.d manure put on in the preceding fall ; mid in such cases they are applied at the rate of 200 or MO pounds of complete f.rtilizer per acre. They may also be used exclusively, ut the'rate of one thousand to fifteen hundred pounda per acre; but tMs is not ns good a method. sowixt;. Sowing may be ds. The first are preferable, owing to the finencws of tobacco Hee.- fiirniih<«l upon rf<>t hnW ri'iilly hot; that U, main- tttiiii)! nt a UMiiiMTnturf of from TO' to wr Kohr, «o thiit thoy could Ix- ventiUti-d from tinif to tiinr, . viii mi col.l ilny<, by lifliiiR up the glu** fiuinci. They would nipiilly r<-fc.iin tlic f . w .liifrf.* of hint wliich thin o|i»«riitioii might puiwe tliom to Uhm'. Airing will prrviMit llif r"\. wliiih »oiiiitinu's ocnir* in iirolongwl riiiny wi-ntlur, an injury of wliiiii niMiiiTniiH iM-iiiiuHit wi'rc obncrvrd in tht> xpriiig of 1906. The whil<'Wii»liiii»r iif till- (fill-- toi" or frnmi'H. in ofiU'r To protect the young pliint» iijci'i"»t •iciidly sunatrolMH. iit ricoiiiiiiiiMli'd, in pri'fnniicp to the mo of cloths for till- minii' piiriBiw. I'l.^Hilily the nlMnrption hy tho l>od of oiitiidp hciit will be re- diic<-d by lhi« 11101I10.I. Imi tli.' iib-orplion will tip more rcffulnr, utid lh*> powibility of iicgli'i'l is l»'«« than when cloths iirc used. However, it is well to usp the latter at iiiKlit, unci duriiijf 11 fUnw full, if sueh should hiipiKii to occur, tho\igh in the case of u snow full 11 eoveriiiK of lioiirds wciuld iiiiswer tlu' purixiiw better. For si IliiiK out, tlic pluiit^ hlinuld lie from three to three mid n half inches long, riiints of this size will Ih' easily obtiiiiied on thin Uth. It is a convenient aire for either hand or tmiehiiie traiisplnntiiiK. and eiisuren n goml new start for the young plant. Ill order to promote the development of the roots of the young plant in the hot ImmIs, it will be iieetwsary to rediici' the frcnucncy of sprinkling toward the end of the .-lay of the plants in the ImmIs. I?i order to harden the plants Wforc the time of mlliiiK oiii, the to|w should be lifted up gradually 1. little inori- each 9ucepa»s of moisture is to U- feared. For planting on the li>- l'1, the tield should be marked both ways with a marker, into checks or irregular sipiare.s, the points where the lines intersect U'iiig the jHiints wlier<> the plant- arc to be put in. A child may Im» eiiipbijed to go ahead and distribute tho plants, that i.s, lay n plant down at every cross section of the lilies, while 11 follow, and set the plantii in. A [Vg may be used in planting, to iiinke a bole to set the plant into; thoiiBh in very ligh*: .soil,; the hand may Ik; used. The plants are set nt a nioderate depth, to the collar, immediately above the ri ,tj«. Care should be taken to avoid setting the plant.* on pieces of un- decomis>s<'d iiianiire, and to avoid bending the roots, which might cause the plant to become disea-sfd. Cloudy weather i.s favourable In the revival of the young plant-. Fvapnnition is thill less active, and the iilants do not wilt so much. Plantinir .should be done thiring the cool hours of the luoming or early evening. Whenever the soil is too dry. each iilimt should be watered carefully as soon as set in. In taking up the plant- f-oni the hot bed.s the greatest possible care should be used to avoid breaking the roots or .slinking off the earth clinging to them. To this end. the bed should be well watered half an hour or so Before taking up the plants. For setting out, care should be taken to select well formed plant*, green and thick-set, well provided with roots, and all as equal in size as possible, in order to obtain regularity of growth and size in the field. Hand planting is rather tedious and costly. On large plantations, a planting machine is used. Such a machine, drawn by a team of horses, and operated by three men, will set out some twenty thousand plants in a day, doing the watering at the same time. These machines may be had from agents in Canada for from $7S to (00. The distance apart at which plants should be set varies accoraing to the variety. Such varieties as Canelle and Pptit Rouge may be planted 18 inches apart between the rows, and 12 inches apart in the rows. Other varieties, such as Havana Seed Leaf, are planted two and a half feet by two feet apart. ' Very satisfactory results, so far as growth is concerned, have been obtained from a plantation of Comstock Spanish set out 26 by 18 inches, in spite of the drought which prevailed during the year. As a general rule, it may be said that the varieties Havana Seed Leaf, Con- necticut Seed Leaf, Comstock and Zimnier Spanish, when grown in Canada, should not bo planted wider apart than two nnd n half by two feet. When the row.* are 26 inches apart, it will be possible to give the three hoeings necessary with a horse hoe, even though a very heavy horse should be used, before the development of the plants interferes with this work. Some varieties with long, spreading leaves must be set farther apart. Tho Bur' ly variety is set three by three feet apart, nnd sometimes even three and a half by three feet; but the necessity of planting more than three feet apart has not been proved. There is another system of planting calleil the quincunx system, which has the advantage of affording much room for plant development. By this system the plants in each row are set so as to face the open space between the plants in the next tow. RESETTIXG PLANTS. I'lic pl.aiitiition should be visited a few days after the setting out, and all plcnls winch have been destroyed by insecfj or which did not succeed should be reset (replaced). Kesotting should be done narly, in order to obtain a plantation as uniform in size as pa-siblr. Early resetting is particularly necessary in the case of close set plantations; for, in this case, late plants are checked in their development by tho first ones, the growth of which has been normal since the start. This is also the time for spreading poisonous solutions if traces of injuries cauaed by insects are observed. There are many points in favour of early planting. There is the possibility of early fall frosts, and also llie difficulty of obtaining a thorough drying of tobacco in the shed 1 < fore the severe weather sets in; so that all varieties of average size, such as Havana, Connecticut and Comstock. shotild !« planted toward the end of May. As to Canelle and Petit Rouge, which ripen early, they may be safely set out from the 15th to the '20tli of .Tune. \VTion the platits are .s.'t out early, toward the end of spring, they find sufficient moisture in the soil to enalilo them to make a pood start. They throw out an abund- ance of roots and are thus better prepared to withstand dry weather, their roots drawing the wafer neee?«ary to their growth from the sub-soil. In 1906 a drought prevailed, and it lias been ohwrved that fields set nut early in that year, from ^fny 25th to J\me .">tli, siiffered less than fields later planted, and yielded better developed products. CULTIVATION. Cultivation "^Imnld start early after the setting out of the plants; that is, as soon as the plants are well established, and the plants which have been set out to xeplace unsuccessful ones have got a good start, which will be about tweiTe dajrw after planting. The object of cultivation ia not only to destroy the weeds, but also to keep the soil loose. It facilitates aeration, and, on the other hand, checks the too rapid evap- uration^f the water in the surface soil. The earth always gets firmly packed during the operation of setting out and resetting, and in view of this the first stirring of the surface soil should be effected as early as possible. Cultivation by the horse cultivator is not sufficient. To complete the work, each plant must be hoed around by hand. Subsequent cultivation is effected at varying intervals, according to the more or less rapid growth of weeds and atmospheric conditions. Heat, following a heavy rain, generally causes a thick crust to form upon the soil, and cultivation ia then necassary for the aeration of the soil. Horse-hoe cultivation should continue until the time when, owing to the development of the plants, the passage of animals or muchines might injure them. HILLING. This operation can scarcely be dispensed with in the case of flat cultivation. It is easily done by means of a small, double mould board plough, the spreading of which is regulated according to the distance between the rows, and which throws the . earth from both sides along the rows of plants. The first result of hilling is to firm tlie plants. Before hilling, cleaning should be done; that is, the small leaves which are at the lower part of the plant should be removed. These leaves are left scattered around the plants, they decompose rapidly as soon as they are covered with earth in the hill- ing process. Short roots called adventitious roots develop in their places, and contri- bute in a larg^e degree to the rapid and vigorous growth of the plants. Hilling should be done when the plants are about six or eight inches high, and not before the ground has been cultivated at least twice. Do not hill up when the ground is either very damp, or too dry as in a drought. In the first case, the earth would pack closely and aeration would be checked; in the second case, the opening \ip of the soil at such an unfavournble time would cause it to dry out completely. THINNING AND TOPPING. Thiuuing consists in removing from the lower part of the plants all of the leaves which, being close to the soil, become torn or dirty. Thinning should he done ap high as three or four inches above the earth where hilling is practised ; and still higher in the case of ridge planting where no hilling is done and where cleaning, which precedes hilling, is not practised. The utility of thinning will be easily understood. It relieves the plant of all valueless leaves, which would never come to maturity, and which, owing to their being close to the ground, afford a harbour for insects. Through the removal of such leaves, all the vigour of the plant will rise up to the 'high parts of the stem. It is only after a proper thinning tliat tlii' ;;ri'\ver is able to determine just how much of the plant sho\ild be topped, that is to say. to .indge of the number of leaves which should remain on each plant, proportionate to the plant's vigour and the weather conditions. Topping should be done early, i.e., ns soon as the plant has formed the required number of leaves and the operation may be done without injury to the top leaves. As nearly as possible, the stem should be cut or topped on a level with the highest leaf left on the stalk. Early topping affords more time for the complete development and better ripen- ing of the top leaves. Late topping may cause the crown leaves to remain small and 8 thick aud of inferior quality. On a properly topped plant, the top leaves should be almoat as fully developed as the mid-stem leaves. SUCKERING. ^ After the foppiiii^ is done, numerous suckers will appear at the base of the leaves and the top of tlio stem. They should be carefully removed. Suckerinir is done to allow the plant to reserve all its strength for the nutrition of its leaves. However, it in not iieee.*sary to destroy all of the short suckers as soon as tlipy upix-ar. This oixTntion does not need to be started until the suckers are four or live inches lontr. The whole plantation should be srono over .systematically, row after row, starting fron the end which has been topped first, imtil the other end is reached, as(*uniing that the topping has l)een done in the same systematic way. Generally »i)eaking, it will be sufficient to do this oiieration three times, in order to keep the plantation in good condition. The lust suckerintr -liould be dmie one or two diiys before harvesting. i SEKl) PLANTS. Plants reserved for the production of s<^ed for future crops require close atten- tion. Such plants arc. of course, not topped. The best plants in the plantation should he selected tor this pMrpe made early. They should l>e niiirked or t:igge slightest .sign of dis.ii.se or of a weak constitution, should not be kept for s»>.d, but only such us will unite, with the best possible conditions of growth, all the i-liiiracleristics of the type which it is ilesired to propagate. rndcsirnblo- cros> breedings may be avoided by covering the Hower heads of the elected plants with giiii/.e. or light i>aper bags, .shortly before the op«-ning of the first fiowers. . Keep only the inain Howering stem: and remove all branching stems, whicn generally yield si'c.l too light and of poor quality. It is a bail praotiee to remove all the leaves from the plants kept for seed. The leaves arc aiksolutely nee.ssary to the life of the plant, and their complete removal is n practii'e that shmild never be followed. Tiie l.ave- of the seed plants iire generally are removed at tirst, and the re^t, if n<'<'es.sary, are taken off slowly and gradu- nlly as the season advances and renders the operation more urgent. Things may be considered a.-< .satisfactory if the seed is ripe- before more than half of tlie leaves of the plant have lieeu removed. When the leaves are removed too soon, the s<'ed is light and of inferior quality, showing lack of nourishment. When some pods are too long in ripening, it is better to cut them off with scissors and destroy them. The stem may be cut with the pods on, the latter being left on the stem until they are dr>' ; or the cluster of pods may be removed and hung iiii in a dry anuld W caiefully sifted. They may 1h- kept foryears in botthw not tightly corked, so as to )i«>rmit of the access of air, in bags, or in wooden boxes. HARVESTING. i Tobacco plants should he harvoated as soon as they are ripe. A leaf of tobnoco may be coiisidorpd ns rip« when it bocomca apottod with short, yellow marking, which first make their appearance at the edge and tip of the leaf, and extend toward the mid-vein. The tip curves and hardens. On bendingr, the leaf breaks straight across with a sharp, characteristic sound. Sometimes, when the rijx^ning is far advanced, the leaf l)ecomes slightly swollen. In some varieties, the characteristic yellow si>ots are scarcely visible, but the tip of the leaf curves inwards, and the leaf itself hardens, and seems to l)econie thicker. Ripe tobacco fields exhale a penetrating aroma, especially in hot weather. Rip<'ning proceeds from the bottom leaves to the top ones. When harvesting is done l>y cutting tlw stalks— the u-ual method in f'nnada— the date should be chosen when the top leaves are ripe enough to take a good colour in curing, and before the bottom leaves are over ripe. When the liottom leaves have be<>n too long ripe on the stem, ihey liavi' no longer any weight, elasticity nr firmness. (ieiKi-ally .sjx'aking, the cutting should Ix done eight days after the appearance of the signs of maturity on mid-stem leaves, and when they l)egin to appear on the t4)p leaves. There are some eases, liow<-ver, when riix>ning proceeds very irregularly. A long drought will cause the leaves to ripen liefore they have attained normal development, thus causing* si^rious lo«.s in the weight of the crop. It may hapiwn that, with the <-iinditions of riinniing satisfactory, and the giowtli normal, just as the grower prepares to harvest, a rain occurs, and the plants get green and start to gri>w again. On ne hard to cure and woidd take on a green colour. It will be ne<-es- to wait— but not lunger— until the signs of maturity have reappeared, and then harvest as rapidly as possible. Kt^sides the poor condition in which they are for curing, ti>l)aeen plants harvested inim.'(liately after a rain are deprived of the gums nr resins v.hieh exude fron\ riiK? toliacco. Such plants are called ' washeil.' SITIAULK Tl.MK FOU lIARVKSTIXti. \\ freqm tly examined, in order to make sure that no rise in temperature takes place. V» hen such a change i.s observed, the bulks should be broken up and rebuilt upon another sijot. Cloths are laid over the bulks, in order IS to retain the elasticity of the tobacco, but no weight should be pjt upon them, at iermentatioii miKht result. If the leaves ix)s»ess the rinht proportion of humidity when put in bulks, the bulkintf improves tlieir colour, which l)ecome» more uniform, and litcht streaks disappear. TYIXO. The tyinjf, or putting into ' haiiiL"!' of tobacco. coriHists in putting toRcther a certain nunilx'r of leiives, from \!'> to 20. ami biiiilinK the 'hniid' with another leaf, wound nround the bitfttcst end of tiic rib, tin- lip of liu' biudiiiK leaf Whits lucked con- veniently into the ' hand." !5eforc tyinu tlic Icavi*, into " hands," the >?rowir shciuld can'- fully jfraile the leave*, so ns to pai-k only a uniform quality of producN Inio bales or b'lxes. in ^radin);. llic i)oiiils to be considereil are: the length of the leaviw, their tbii-kiics>, ilieir ela-lii'ity, and llnir colour. Torn leaves slunild never be Hradeil with leaves in (jood condition. (iradint; is a rather delicate tar-k; that is, it rei]uirp.s a nice .■^iiisi' of discrimina- tion and therefore .some trai.iiiifi;. However, the necosary skill and judgment moy be rapidly acquireil. The value of the crop is alwa.vs increased by caireful grading. After Ix-ing jrathcred into ' hand.s ' the leaves are nfiain piled into bulks. Two rows of 'bands.' — with the tip.s insilii'iilil be broken up and rebuilt, care being taken to place in the centre of this new heap the '♦lands" which were at the bottom and at the top of tin- first bulk. This exchange of position of the 'bands' will ensure a uniform fermentation of the total heap. The tir.st bulk shoidd be broken uj) not only when the temperature threatens to rise above the maximum at which an injury may occur, viz., l^.'i" Fahr. ; but also« when the fermentation decreases and when the heap shows a tendency to cool off. The tem|x>rature will rise again in the second liulk. lull not so r.ipidly. and not -i high as during tlie tir>t fermentalio'-. This second bulk is allowed to cool off until tlie temperature of ibe tobiieeo i.s the >ame as that of the room. Packing may then be started. 1.1 When (IrtiliiiK with a (iri'iit i|iiiiiilit,v of toldicoo, liirft<' hciips rDiitniniiiR several rciWH (pf iivi'rlii|i|>iiir, the loss of hi'ut iint lii'ii'jf so kn""'- IJiit tlic biiililiiiK iiiul the care of Ru<-h hca|iH r('<|iiir<- n ■•crtiiin iiiiKiiiiit of priictici', s|H'<'iiil i'i|\ii|iin<-iit, ami I'xiM-rt niuntifd'iiicnt. Ft-riiK'iitHtioii may hIho lie cnrricil on in l>o»->, in which tlic tobacco is packed. It will start liiriiiR the coiirxc of the followin(f siunmiT, or as soon UR the hoxcg are pluci'd ill rooms with suitiililo ti'iniH'ratiirc. Hoxes of suitubir- size aro prepared, and the ' haiuls ' packiil in, hiitts ontwanl. Pressure is exerted so as to obtain a net weijfht of some H(N) or .'l.ld immiikIs |ier box. Faeiliti:'.-. for the eseaiw of ir<>M!g pro- dnced by the fermentation are proviiieii by Iravini; an empty ; put in the centre the Ip^^lrs which were at the top. Of all methods, however, this one is the least worthy of re- commendation. Never pack tobaceco in bales or boxes until the leav.'s are absolutely dry. al- though still stijtple, and the ribs are completely shrunk. To neglect this precaution would be to court certain failure. 1)1SK.\SK.S AND INSECT KNK.MIK.s OF TOHACCO. Tobacco is subject to various diseases. Tlie most common and at the same time most severe of thes«' are Blight, or Mosaic Piseasc, and the .\nlracnose. The Mosaic Disease reveals itself in spots distributed over the leaf, some parts of the leaf taking on a darker green than the nornml hu<'. while other parts take on a light yellow hue, as though they were wilted. The di.sease will be easily detected by holding the leaf up to the light. Some of the yellow parts ilry up towards the end of the period of growth, and rust spots apiHMr whieii rapidly extend and go through the tissues. In some cases, the yellow parts colour more dreply. and Ix-come reddish, giving to the leaf almost the appearance of mosaic, heii.-e th • name " .Mosaic Di.sease,' ap- plied to an advanced stage of the blight. When tin- disease reaches an acute stage, the leaf generally swells up. The Antracnose is easily detected by the yellow ;!sp'et of the affected plants, A closer examination of the stalk will jihow on some p:irts of the stem, or on the ribs of tlw leaves, soft and black spot.s. When the disea-c starts at the intersection of two ribs, the tissue of the leaf is itself infestxi. In tl'.e lust siiifie of the