UMASS/AMHERST 31EDbbD0515SD3'=3 .0^-M4^ •iaaa DATE DUE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY CARD SB 273 S39 ~^i4-M: I ik^o ^it\d 9'-' e'v SAXTON'S HAND-BOOK TOBACCO CULTURE, BEIXG A C05U>LETE MANUAL OR PRACTICAL GUIDE SELECTION OF THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATIOX ; KIND AND QUANTITY OF JIANLTIES TO BE USED, AND HOW APPLIED ; GROWTH OF PLANTS ; TRANSPLANTING AND MODE OF CULTURE GEN- EliALLY, FROM TlilE OF PLANTING THE SEED BED, THROUGH HARVESTING, CURING, AND PREPARATION FOR M.mKET. xilj ^IhxBixuixonBf SHOWING TUB PLANT IN ITS DIFFERENT STAGES OF GROWTH. NEW YOKE: G. iMi. s _/^ ::^^ T o isr ^ AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER. 1863. « PREFACE. The census report of 1860 represents that 429,390,771 pounds of tobacco were grown in the United States in that year, worth, at the low price of 10 cents per pound, $43,000,000, and entering very large- ly into our foreign commerce. Till within a few years, its culture has been confined to a narrow zone, under a stereotyped impression that, south of that zone, the cultivation was unprofitable, and north of it forbidden by climatic influences. The discovery, now fully con- firmed, that it can be grown as well north as anywhere else, has led many farmers, yet inexperienced in the cultivation, to demand some plain, instructive, practical directions on the cultivation adapted to beginners and all others. Hence this manual ; and hence our en- deavors to make it a complete guide to cultivators of less or more experience, from the beginner upwards, and to adapt it to a wide range of climate, by drawing from the well-considered views of prac- tical men over a wide range of country. Such as the result of our labor is, it is here respectfully inscribed to the farmers of this great .and, agriculturally considered, most prosperous country. By their friend and humble servant, C. M. SAXTON. Kew York, HT li, IPfrO- ~ V \f"Y U In the Clerk '^ Office Mding to Act of Con ^vCVm;SA5 ; District Court of strict o IV! X ding to Act of Congress, in the year ISO^ AXTOX, * - I the United States for the SouthOrn DidtricTof New York. . *laste' of the pedantic King James I, To- bacco was cultivated in New Nethcfland as early as 1G4(), when it sold for 40 cents per pound. It was intro- duced into Louisiana by the ^Company of tlie West/ in 1718. Some time previous to the war of Independence, the culture of tobacco had spread into Maryland, Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, from which nearly all Europe was supplied ; but, at present, most of the sovereigns of the Old World derive a considerable part of their revenue from the cultivation of this plant. The amount of to- bacco exported from Virginia ia 1622, was 60,000 pounds ; in 1639, 120,000 pounds ; in 1758, 70,000 hogs- heads."— Patent Office Report. The hogsheads, at that time, were about 600 pounds. Larger hogsheads and closer packing have since been in use ; the quantity per hogshead has gradually in- creased, and now often reaches 1,800 pounds, averaging probably as high as 1,800. It appears, from official documents, that the yearly ex- ports of tobacco for ten years, ending with 1709, aver- aged 28,868,666 lbs. From 1744 to 1772 the average exports were 40,000,000 lbs. During the four years pre- ceding the Revolutionary war the exportations were as follows : 1772 97,799,263 1773 100,472,007 1774 97,397,252 1775 101,828,617 Total the four years 397,497,139 Average for same time 99,374,785 10 This shows, that, at the commencement of the Revolu- tion, the exportation had reached a little more than 100,000,000 lbs., it having been almost 2,000,000 above that fig'ure for the year immediately preceding the war, and falling but little short for the three preceding years. During the Revolution the exports were ; for 1^76 14,498,500 1777 2,441,214 1778 11,961,533 1779 17,155,907 1780 17,424,267 1781 13,339,168 1782 9,828,244 Total exports these seven yeo.rs.. . 86,648,833 Averag-e for same time 12,378,504 How tlie smokers of Great Britain contrived to make themselves comfortable through the revolutionary years, is not easy to say. But it is probable that there were large invoices on hand at the breaking out of the war ; and it is quite possible that the London dealers had learned then — what they have certainly practiced largely since — how, from one pound of good, fragrant Virginia tobacco, to make a great many pounds of a mixed stuff, which the consumer could be persuaded to pur- chase at a high price. Possibly the Eng-lish thought a medley, which they could produce, mostly from herbs grown on their own soil, quite g'-ood enough for their cousin-germans; for we hear of their shipping largely of something, tliat passed as tobacco, to Germany and other parts of the Continent, during the war. It will be 11 but a sliglit (ligTCSsion to say here that considerable British soil has, at a much later period, been shipped to Germany, and sold as guano ; and tliat when England accuses us of being fraudulent, she might well look a little at her own adulterations. It is quite possible that those Hessian soldiers, who did her fighting in this country, were paid in tobacco, which had more of the name than of the nature of American. It is a singular fact, that, from the close of the war of the Revolution, the exports of tobacco remained just about stationary for sixty or more years. It can be accounted for only on the ground, that the dearth of to- bacco, during the Revolution, induced the nations of Europe to commence its cultivation for themselyes, and that they have kept up the home production ever since. The adulterations practiced by the English, and perhaps by others, would naturally tend to the same result ; for the people, of course, found that the tobacco grown in their own gardens was about as good as they could purchase under any names whatever ; and the conclusion was, that they could grow it cheaper than to purchase. Will the effect of our present war be to stimulate the growth of cotton otherwhere, and thus lessen the demand on this country ? Time will answer. That the former war did lessen the demand for tobacco, and that very permanently, extending sixty years at least, if not to the present time, is certain. Previously to about 1840, Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina seem to have been the principal tobacco- growing States. Since then the cultivation has become extensive in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and other western and north-western States. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are now largely in the business. New York, 12 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and even some of the New England States, are finding it profitable. The alluvial soils of the Connecticut River, both in Connect- icut and Massachusetts, as also in. portions of Vermont and New Hampshire, are found to produce tobacco of an excellent quality, and at a profit, as prices have aver- aged the few years past, much above the profits of gen- eral farming. Its cultivation seems to have commenced in Virginia almost from the first settlement at James- town. Sir Richard Granville is said to have discovered it there in 1585. The English, then, for the first, saw it smoked by the natives, in pipes made of clay. COMMERCIAL VALUE. The census of 1850 makes the quantity of tobacco grown in that year 199,t52,655 lbs., and the value a fraction less than $14,000,000. In 1851 the value of the exported tobacco was about $9,250,000. In 1852 the value of exports of tobacco was estimated a fraction over $10,000,000, and it reached $11,319,319 in 1853. Ever since Virginian colonists paid their clergymen's salaries in tobacco, and bought them wives from the old country with the same currency — not, as we suppose, that the tobacco was paid to induce the " comely young women, of sound health and good morals," to come into that relation ; since then, as now, young women of this description could have been " nothing loth " to become the wives of such men as the early settlers of Virginia, but rather to furnish an outfit and defray the expenses of the voyage — from that time to this, tobacco has been among our most important exports, in its commercial relations, and will probably be increasingly important long to come. The 13 quantity grown in 18G0, was 429,390,711 lbs. From this brief view of its history and commercial relations, we turn to its cultivation. n.-CULTI\^ATIOX OF TOBACCO. SOILS REQUIRED, Ix a mere speculative view, without the least ex- perience, one might come to some conclusions, which would not be far from the truth. Because tobacco seed is minutely small, and the young plant delicate, and for a time of slow growth, we might conclude, that it should have a soil capable of being very nicely and evenly worked. Because it is subsequently of rampant growth, and requires, in order to best meet the interest of the cultivator, to put forth its voluminous foliage in a short time, we might infer that it should have a soil abounding in organic (vegetable and animal) matter, and that, in an advanced state of decomposition, so that when the plant takes to towering and spreading, it should have plenty of food about its roots, in a high state of preparation, cooked in advance, if we may use that term, and all ready to be taken in by the plant, and assimilated. And because analysis shows that tobacco abounds in the alkalis, especially in potash, we might infer, that the soil should be well supplied with alkaline matters, as in the case of virgin soils, just cleared from the forrest, or those, which, having been long cultivated, have been well manured for previous crops. We might infer, also, that if a sod be chosen, it should be plowed 1* 14 beforehand, at least as long as the preceding antumo, in order that the grass roots and other organic mat- ter might have come into a soluble state in lime to supply the plant at its rapidly growing period. One might almost infer, also, from the nature and habits of the plant alone, that, in high latitudes, a lightish, rather sandy soil w»uld be preferable, because suited to bring' the crop forward earlier than any other, but that in lower latitudes, with long summers, a heavy loam, or even a clay soil might do well. OPINIONS OF PRACTICAL MEN. But we prefer to turn from what may be censured as mere speculation and theory, to the testimonies of acute observation and practical experience. Thaer, in his Principles of Pr^actical Agriculture, says : " Tobacco prefers a light soil ; it thrives better on a sandy, than on an argillaceous soil. Sandy clays agree witlf it best ; but it is also successful on soft clays, which contain a large quantity of humus. But to pro- duce a perfect and plentiful crop, the land must be rich in ancient humus ; and must, besides, have been recent- ly fertilized with some sort of manure. The best tobacco is that which grows on clearings, especially if the turf which covered the surface has been burned upon them ; and still better if the wood which grew upon ttiem, or wood brought for the purpose, has also been consumed on the spot and reduced to ashes. It is certainly, to this treatment, rather than to difference of climate, that we must attribute the great superiority of the American tobacco, which is grown not on land recently dunged, but on the contrary, after ten or twelve crops, all obtained without the use of dung, on the rich a.'jd burnt cleariui'-s.'' 15 Judge Adam Beatty, Vice-President of the Kentucky- State Agricultural Society, at the time of writing the treatise on tobacco culture, from which we quote, said : " Tobacco requires a rich soil, and that which is new, or nearly so, answers best. Next to ground which has been recently cleared, lands which have been long in grass, especially if pastured by sheep, answer best for tobacco. In preparing ground for tobacco, great care should be taken to plow it deep, and pulverize it completely. Grass land intended for tobacco, should always be plowed the previous fall. And it is better that all kinds of land intended for that purpose, should be plowed in time to have the benefit of the previous winter frosts. It should be kept light and free from weeds, by repeated plowings, till near the time of planting." Allen's American Agriculture says : " The soil may be a light, loamy sand or alluvial earth, well drained and fertile. New land, free from weeds, and full of saline matters, is best for it ; and next to this, is a rich grass sod which has long remained un- tilled. The seed should be sown in beds which must be kept clean, as the plant is small and slow of growth in the early stages of its existence, and easily smotliered by weeds. If not newly cleared, the beds ought to be burned with a heavy coating of brush." In the Prairie Farmer of December 21, 1862, -we find the following by Jonathan Periam, we presume a practical Tobacco Cultivator : " Tobacco, being so much afiected by soil and climatic influences, cannot be raised in all situations, even where it will mature. In rank soils, it will be strong and acid, and the price obtained for it will not be sufiicient to pay the cost and trouble of raising. In exposed situations, subject to strong 16 winds, it will sometimes be entirely ruined, by being broken and bruised. Indeed, in some situations, good wrappers can scarcely be obtained at all. In lands highly manured with nitrogenous manures, it will con- sist so much of nitre, that it will spit and fume in burn- ing, which can only be tempered by age ; therefore, after making the land sufficiently rich, some other crop should precede it. The best soil is thought to be a deep sandy loam, rich in potash, lime, soda, and carbonaceous matter." The distinctive requirements of tobacco, as regards soils, and still more as regards climate, resemble those of Indian corn. Hence we find that, as a general rule, the best corn-growing regions of our country, have hitherto most largely grown tobacco. Lorin Blodget, author of an able essay, in the Patent Office Report, on climatology, has these remarks : " Wherever the growth of corn is completely success- ful, as in districts of a temperature for July above 68°, tobacco is and may be freely grown. Connecticut, Cen- tral New York, Ohio, and parts of Michigan, Indiana, lUineis, and part of Iowa, are all scarcely less adapted to tobacco culture than Kentucky and Virginia. The chief difference is a slight limitation of its period in time, and experience has fully shown that, tO'this extent, this may be very safely effected by a little care in selec- tion of varieties. Southward, its range is, also, like that of maize, with perhaps the exception of . producing more desira- ble varieties in tropical climates. Cuba is the favorite of all known districts indeed, and there seem to be no dangers to this plant from tropical excesses either of heat or humidity during the period of growth alone. The editor of the Country Gentleman, July, 1802, 17 says : " Tobacco requires a warm, rich, mellow soil." Ill a previous number of that work, we find from the pen of Hon. Geo. Geddes : "A warm, rich, well-drained, mel- low soil, and then twenty-five loads of rotten barn-yard manure, should be put on an acre." With reg-ard to the quality of the land required, per- haps enough is said. These views are those of a man eminently scientific and equally practical. Judge Beat- ty's are those of a man decidedly practical arid of great experience. Mr. Periam's, as quoted from the Prairie Farmer, admirably discriminate cases of soil and expo- sure, where it would not be well to undertake the culti- vation of tobacco. And we have not yet heard of the man, whose opinion on such a subject we should more highly value than that of the Hon. George Geddes. His twenty-five loads of well-rotted manure, on soil al- ready deep, mellow, and rich, implies something like fifty loads of green manure, which, at first thought, looks rather steep ; but then it is to be recollected that 2,000 to 2,500 lbs. of tobacco is the return reasonably to be expected from such doings, and that the land will give forty bushels of wheat the next year, or any other crop in proportion, and will then give clover and! herds grass in abundance for years to come, without further manure. The idea from the Patent Office Report, that wherever corn will grow tobacco may be cultivated, is undoubt- edly correct ; and yet Mr. Periam, in the Prairie Farmer^ has shown that on some lands of rank soil, and others of windy exposure, it would not be well to undertake the cultivation of tobacco. "Warm," "deep," "rich," "not exposed to violent winds," seem to be the requisites of all these and other writers on the subject. Our own opinion is, that warmth 18 should be more insisted upon by the northern man ; depth and richness, by the southern. The northern farmer is to secure warmth by selecting an alluvial, sandy soil, or a light warm loam, and then to increase the warmth by abundant manuring. He must get a large crop, or it will not pay for cultivation in his expensive way. The southern farmer, on the other hand, we think, may depend for warmth more on his sunny climate, insist more on depth and richness of soil, use perhaps less manure, and be contented with a less crop. We are not sure, that moderate manuring and 1,200 lbs. of tobacco to the acre, are not quite as good evidence of wise husbandry in Virginia, as very heavy manuring and 2,000 lbs. of tobacco to the acre are in Massachusetts ; though there is this difference, that the former will al- ways exhaust the soil, while the latter will as surely enrich it. ni.-TREATMEXT OF THE SOIL PREA'IOUS TO SET- TING THE PLANTS. If, in turf, it is better that it should be plowed the previous autumn, both that the frost may help to pulver- ize it, and that the vegetable matters may be progress- ing to that condition in which they can be taken in by the crop at its rapidly growing period.. If not in turf, it is of considerable consequence that it should have been nicely cultivated and well manured for the former crop. At any rate, if not plowed in the fall, it should be plowed early in the spring, and the manure for the 19 crop plowed in. The plowing sliould be deep. Com- posted manure, well rotted^ and worked fine, is the most suitable ; tliongh we have known some of the best crops ever grown, to be grown with long, green, barn manure only, and that not applied till nearly planting-time. But this was on warm, sandy land. The application of such manure at a late day before planting, certainly could not be recommended for other than very warm land, and hardly for this. In slow soils, there would be danger of its not becoming sufficiently decomposed to afford its elements to the crop while in its rapidly grow- ing stage, say in June and July. After plowing in the manure, the soil should not lie still. The oftener it is plowed, harrowed, rolled down, and plowed up again, crushing, mixing, and pulverizing, the better. This should be kept up, with occasional rests only, till the very day for transplanting ; and the soil should then be in the condition of a most perfectly prepared seed-bed. All this may not be essential to the obtaining of a fair crop ; we do not suppose it is ; but it is essential to a large crop of a uniformly high-priced tobacco, and therefore we say it is necessary in order to the best profits. The extra labor is not lost, but much is gained in consequence of it. On the alluvial soils of the Con- necticut River, in Massachusetts, one would think, on seeing the farmer work his field for tobacco, that he never would get pay for so much labor. But wait for the report of autumn, and see. We once saw a man in that region puttfng in sixteen acres. There was none of the " nothing venture nothing have" about him. We confess to having* been alarmed at his expenditures. In addition to immense heaps of compost, one-third from the barn yard, and two-thirds 20 from a mnck swamp, thoroughly worked over, fermented, and pulverized, he applied, at the last of many plowings, a heavy dressing of Peruvian guano, and then, if we are not mistaken (are not quite sure about this), spread super-phosphate on the surface the last thing before set- ting, and men and teams had been busy with the soil from early in April till late in May. About seven months after, we met this man in Xew York, and learned that he had the refusal, from a reliable dealer, of fifteen cents a pound for his entire crop — 2,500 lbs. to the acre, which, on his sixteen acres, would, of course, be 40,000 lbs. The upshot was, that, before the week was out, he re- fused the offer, and subsequently obtained a higher price. Ordinary tobacco was then selling at but little more than half as much as was paid for his. The great excellence of his made the difference. AVas not this man's extra manuring and labor richly compensated in the extra quantity' and quality of the crop ? But this is not an isolated case. There are many in the same region, if not quite as remarkable, strongly re- sembling it, in the main features, at least showing high and careful cultivation and highly remunerative returns. In the cultivation of tobacco, as with most other crops, too much attention can hardly be given to a right and THOROUGH preparation of the soil for the intended crop. Perhaps but few fields are sowed or planted in the older parts of our country, where a few days' extra labor in preparing the soil, and a little more expense in enrich- ing it, would not increase the profit. It will be observed that our remarks on the choice of land and its preparation for planting, have a special reference to the high cultivation beginning to prevail 21 in many parts of the Nortli and East. The following, from the pen of the lamented Peter Minor, of Albemarle County, Virginia, may better meet the wants of sec- tions where land is yet new and plenty. Mr. Minor is characterized by Col. Skinner, who published it, in TJie Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil, in 1852, as '' a good farmer and abetter man." He says : " The best tobacco is made upon new or fresh land. It is rare to make more than three successive crops upon the same ground, of which the second is the best, a the first and third being about equal. But it is more common to make only two. The new land, after all the timber and brush is removed, and the surface very clean- ly raked, is twice closely coultered as deep as two horses or oxen can pull. After this, hands with grubbing hoes pass regularly over the whole ground, and take up all the loose roots that have been broken liy the coulter, which are heaped and burnt, or removed. One, and sometimes two more coulterings are then given, and the same operation repeated with the grubbing hoes." Mr. Geddes' remarks on preparing the .ground imply somewhat less manipulation of the soil than we have often seen practiced with the best results, and have, in a former paragraph, commended. They are as follows : " To prepare the land, the manure should be applied as early as the ground is dry enough to plow. The last of May plow and harrow again, so as to mix the manure well with the soil." J. Periam, a correspondent of the Prairie Farmer, very truly says : " The most thorough preparation of the soil is required to the succfissful cultivation of tobacco. If not pre- viously done, it should be thoroughly subsoiled in the fall, to the depth of at least twelve or fourteen inches, by following after the turning plow with a subsoil lifter. As soon in the spring as the land is in condition 22 to work, cart on twenty-five loads per acre of well-rotted manure, spread evenly, harrow and plow about six inches deep. As soon as the weeds start, harrow again. About the 20th of May, give it a final plowing, and har- row ag-ain thoroughly, and if not sufficiently fine, roll. IV-rRErARATIOX AXD MAXAGEMEXT OF THE SEED BED. "While the field for the crop is being prepared, or still earlier, if the season permits, the bed for growing the plants should be made. Some prepare this the fall before. If well prepared, as soon as the frost leaves the ground in spring, it is as well. The ground should have a warm exposure, on the south side of a board fence, or on a southern or eastern slope, or on the sunny side of a building, or of a piece of woods. Two ways have been adopted for producing the requisite warmth at so early a period — one by the application of plenty of manure, the other by burning. We do not consider the burning process absolutely essential ; for we have seen excellent plants grown without it, in northern latitudes, and in good time for transplanting. But we choose that practical men shall be heard on this subject. The following is the direction of Hon. George Geddes : " To raise the plants, the fall before pulverize the bed fine, and mix with the soil hog or some other manure that has no foul seeds in it. Sow seeds on the well-raked bed, as soon as the ground can be properly prepared in the spring, about one ounce to a square rod, equally distributed all over the bed. Roll hard with a hand- roller, but do not cover the seed. Glass should be kept S3 over the bed until the plants appear, which will be in two or three weeks ; after tliey are up and started, the glass will be required only at night, and in cold days. Tlie bed should be kept moist and free from .weeds. When the plants are three inches high they are large enough to set." As the growing of the plants, so as to have them of good size, and vigorous, in time for transplanting, is a point of much importance, we quote other authorities, with the hope, thatj as they come from different sections, they will prove instructive to a greater number of readgrs, than would the sugestions of any one person, drawn from a comparatively limited practice and obser- vation. The following are Mr. Minor's directions for the seed- bed : " A rich virgin loam with a slight mixture of sand is ascertained to be the best soil for raising tobacco plants. vSuch spots are indicated by the growth of alder and hazel bushes in bottoms, and on the margin of small streams, and if the situation^ has the command of water, for irrigation, it is on that account to be preferred — the spot being selected, the first operation is to burn it with a strong fire. For this purpose the growth of ever kind is cut off (not grubbed up), and the whole surface raked very clean; the burning should be done before Christmas, or as soon after as the weather will permit — and if done thus early it cannot be well too heavy, even bringing the soil to a hard cake, "The wonderful fertility imparted to soil by fire, has of late years been clearly proved and developed by various experiments in this and other countries, but judging from long-established practice, we suppose it is a fact that has been long known to tobacco planters, that this fertility is imparted by the fire, and no ways dependent upon the ashes left by the process, is clearly 24 proved from the fact, tliat tlie same results will ensue if the aslies are swept off clean. Or take another piece of ground of equal quality, cover it with as much or more ashes, and prepare it in every respect similar, except burning, and plants cannot be raised in it. Hence the necessity and propriety of regular and uniform burning, the want of which is always manifested by a diminutive, yellow, and sickly growth of plants in those spots not sufficiently acted on by the fire. " After the ground becomes cool from burning, the whole surface should be swept with a coarse twig broom to take out the coals. In this operation some of the ashes will be removed, but that is of no consequence ; it should then be broken up about two inches deep, with grubbing hoes, in which operation and in repeated chop- pings afterwards, with hilling hoes, all roots will be cut, and finally got out with a fine iron-tooth rake, which leaves the ground in proper order to receive the seed. " The most approved time for sowing is about the 1st of February, the beds previously prepared being suffered to lie and mellow by the frost and snows to that time. But it will do very well to burn and sow after that time, as late as the first of March, taking care not to have the heat so great. The quantity of seed is as much as can be taken up in a common table spoon* for 100 S([uare yards, and in that proportion. This quantity of seed should be mixed with about one gallon of clean ashes, and half that quantity of plaster of Paris, and the whole well incorporated, and then strewed uniformly over the bed at two operations, crossing at right angles to en- sure regularity. Cabbage seed, for early planting. To- mato, Celery, and Lettuce seed may be sowed in small quantities with the Tobacco see^, without injury to the growth of the plants. " After sowing the seed the ground is immediately * This quantity of plant bed is generally considered, xmder good cir- cumstances, as sufficient to set ten thousand hills in good time. But tlie prudent planter, taking into consideration the casualties of fly, drouglit, &c., will do well to make a large allowance. We know of no certain remedy or antidote against the fly which destroys the early plants. 25 trodden over closely with the feet, and covered thick with naked brush. If the frost is severe from this time it is common to take off the brush some time in the month of March, before the plants appear, and tread the bed again, and at the same time give the ground a slight dressing of manure. The dung of fowls of all sorts, is sought after for this purpose, which being beaten, is sifted over the bed through a coarse basket or riddle. The brush is then restored, and not finally removed until the leaves of the plants are half an inch in diameter ; when the dressing of manure is again applied taking care to wait the approach of rain for that purpose. Any grass or weeds that may have sprung up in the mean time are carefully picked out. In dry seasons, if the situation admits of it, the bed must be irrigated by draining a small stream of water around the edge of it. If not it should be watered every evening with a common watering pot, or pine bushes dipped in water and shook over the bed until sufficient moisture is obtained. ** Under a careful observance of this management, the plants, according as the seasons have been favorable or not, will be fit to transplant from the 15th of May to the 10th of June. A planter thinks himself lucky if he can get his crop pitched by the 10th of June. After that, the seasons are uncertain from the heat of the weather, and the chances of success for a crop are precarious ; though it has been known to succeed when planted in the middle of July." In the American Farmer's Encydopcedia are the follow- ing directions, taken, probably, from practice of medium latitudes : " The land for the plant bed is usually selected in a warm exposure on the south or south-eastern side of a hill in a wood, new ground being always preferred. From this the roots should be grubbed, the rubbish cleared away and the old leaves raked ofi*. Brush of pine or other wood is then to be piled on, until from 2 to 3 feet thick all over the bed, and this is to be set on 26 fire. As the beds should be prepared for seedinj^ im- mediately after the frost is out of the ground, the brush should be collected, and put in place some time during the winter. Instead of burning over the whole bed at once, a part may be fired for an hour or so at a time, proceding thus over the entire bed. The place is then to be broken up with hoes, and sometimes with coulters, drawn by horses or oxen, and the work repeated until the earth is made perfectly fine, being careful to avoid turning under the surface. All the roots should then be extracted, and the land laid off in beds (slightly elevated if dry, and more if moist or wet) 4 feet wide. And to 16 square yards, a common pipe-bowl of seed is sown. The bed is then trodden or pressed with hoes, and well covered with brush to protect the plants from frosts. When the plants have come fully out, they should be slightly manured with strong manure made fine ; this should be repeated frequently, and in larger quantity, as the plants increase in size and are able to bear it. "When the plants have attained a good size, and there is no longer danger of frosts, the covering of brush is removed, and the bed weeded with the hand, those em- ployed in this duty taking great care to avoid bruising the tender plants. The beds require frequent picking to keep down the weeds." The following, by Judge Beatty gives, no doubt, what the author regards as the best practice for Kentucky : " The first step in the process of tobacco culture is to make provision for an abundant supply of plants. Tobac- co seed are very small, and the plants, when they spring from the ground, grow very slowly, and would soon be smothered by weeds if not carefully guarded against. The places selected for plant beds, should be such as would not be likely to produce many weeds. New ground or that which has been long set in grass, would be best for this purpose. To guard still further against weeds, and to insure a thrifty growth of plants, it is essential that the place in which the seed are to be sown, 27 should be burnt. A lig'lit burning with straw or other lig'ht material will not be sufficient. A p^ood coat of brush laid upon the ground intended to be used for a plant bed, and arranged so closely as to make it burn readily, serves best for the purpose. Care must be taken also, before laying on the brush, to take all trash from the ground, so thau the heat may readily destroy the seeds of any weeds which may have been deposited there. New ground is always to be preferred for plant beds, and brush as the material for burning the ground. But if the tobacco planter have no new ground, then he must substitute grass land in its stead, and this should be w^cU burned by having a range of logs (those which are seasoned are best) laid along one edge of the ground, intended for plant bed, and heaped up sufficiently to make them burn readily These must be set on fire, and after burning the ground which they cover sufficiently, they must be moved by means of hooks, to the adjacent ground not yet burnt ; and so on, in succession, until the entire space, intended for a plant bed is burnt. If one set of logs is not sufficient to burn a space as large as will be necessary, others must be added so as to enlarge the space, or they may be burnt at diffisrent places as may be most convenient. '' Where sod ground is intended to be used, it would be advantageous to have the sod slightly skinned off with sharp hoes, before the space is burnt over, " After the ground is burnt it must stand sufficiently long to cool, and then the ashes should be carefully removed. The ground should now be dug up with hoes, to the depth of two or three inches, and so as to pulver- ize it as much as possible, and should be well raked with an iron tooth rake, so as to break up the soil into the most minute parts. It will now be ready for sowing the seed. It is important that this operation should be as regular as possible, and care should be taken to put the proper quantity of seed upon the ground. If sowed too thick, the plants will be so much crowded as to injure their growth. If sowed too thin, a deficiency of plants may be the consequence. A common silver table 28 spoonful of seed will be sufficient for fifty square yards. Wore than that quantity should not be sowed on that space of ground. But if the ground prepared be abund- ant, the plants would grow more thrifty by sowing a spoonful of seed on seventy or eighty square yards. The seed allotted for a particular bed should be put into a -vessel half filled with fine mould or earth, and stirred so thoroughly as to cause the seed to be equally distributed in all parts. It should now be separated into two equal divisions. And the plant bed having been divided into convenient lands for sowing, one portion should be sowed as equally as possible in one direction, and the other portion in the same bed, in the opposite direction. The plant bed should now be well raked with an iron tooth rake, both ways, and should then be well trodden by the feet of men or boys, so as to render the loose soil firm and compact. The bed should be thinly covered over with brush to keep it moist, and to protect the plants from frost. Plant beds should be prepared and sown as early in February as the weather will admit ; though it will be in good time if sown 'any time in that month." From a statement of R. H. Phelpa, of Windsor, Hartford County, Conn., found in the Patent Office Beport for 1853: " The Connecticut mode of management is nearly as follows ; The seed is sown as soon as the ground is free from frost ; or if not, a quantity of bushes is burned upon the ground to warm it, and kill all the seeds of weeds, &c. It is then trodden down compactl}^, in order that the seeds, which are small, may come closely in contact with the earth. Guano is said to act with good efiect in giving the plants an early start, which is to be at- tained if possible." From Attends American Farm Book : " Pulverize the beds finely, and sow the seed at the rate of a tablespoonful to every square rod. Tlic seeds are so minute, that sowing evenlv is scarcely attainable, unless by first mixing with three or four times their 29 bulk of line mold. This should be done sufficiently early to secure proper maturity to the plants in time for trans- planting- (by the last of February or early in March south of the Ohio, and about the lirst of April north of it), covering lightly and completely rolling or treading down the earth. The plant appears in fifteen or twenty days, and will be fit for transplanting in six or eight weeks." From the Prairie Farmer of January 3, 1863, by J. Feriam : " About the 1st of April, the hot-beds should be pre- pared thus: Having previously drawn sufficient fresh heating horse manure into a conical pile, and turned it at intervals of three days, to get the rank heat out of it, mixing the dry and wet together, a space should be cleared fifty feet long and eight feet wide, upon which proceed to lay up the manure about sixteen inches high; spread it evenly, long and short, patting it down from time to time with the fork, to discover the soft places and make it pretty firm. To heat properly, the manure should be uniformly moist; if too dry, it should have been moistened while in the heap. If that has been neglected, it may be done at the time of making the bed. Frames should have been prepared by nailing boards on posts, which may be sixteen inches for the back by twelve inches for the front. The frames, when finished, should be of sufficient width to accommodate sashes six feet long, and if in length sufficient for four sashes each, strips should be fastened to the frames at proper intervals for the sash to slide on. The sash should be made of clear two-inch pine, in the best manner, with slats sufficient for eight by ten glass, four rows of glass to each sash, the glass lapped together so as to shed rain. Use eight by six glass if you can them, as there is less loss by breakage. Place the frames upon the bed of manure, and put in two or three inches of rich earth, free from the seed of weeds, woods mould and strong loam, equal parts is good, to to which may be added a little well-rotted hog manure, 2 30 now put on the glass, and when the thermometer ranges between 50*^ at night and 80S during the day, your bed is just right. Xow add three or four inches more of the same kind of earth, and the next day after raking all smooth and level, sow about one ounce of seed, to the range of beds six feet wide and fifty feet long. This, if successful, should give good plants enough for two acres, or at three inches each way in the bed, enough for one acre. Do not cover the seeds in the beds, but pat the earth down, thus pressing the seeds into the earth. Cover and keep moist until they germinate, which should be in about ten days. After the plants are up, they should have plenty of air in pleasant weather to make them hardy and stocky. More plants are destroyed in hot beds by novices from keeping too close than in any other way. Water at sufficient intervals with slightly warm water, gener- ally about noon, and cover all with hay or mats in cold weather. Extra fine plants may be obtained by making a second bed, the last week in April, using only twelve inches of manure, and transplanting* therein about the first of May, the best plants from the first bed, three inches apart, and shading until they get established, using shutters and hay to cover with in cold weather, or a cold frame may be used, which is simply a bed with- out bottom heat. In this case the glass must be trans- ferred from the first bed to the second, and the first one covered with shutters and^mats or hay. Remember that they are very susceptible to frost, and want careful watching. In case you pursue the latter course, the first bed may be made about the 20th of March, ten days ear- lier than first suggested. Another way, somewhat practiced, is to dig up a piece of ground in a sheltered situation, free from frost, and burn thereon a quantity of straw. After raking tho- roug'hly, sow the seed at the rate of one ounce to the square rod, beating the ground smooth, and cover with brush until the seed germinates. A pen should be built around this, so that it may be covered in cold nights with boards and hay. The pen to be banked up at the 31 sides, and here lot me remark, that all the hot-bed frames should be carefully banked up also, and the frames should be so arran