The field crop.—The preparation of the land for field planting should be thorough and the soil should be in as good tilth as possible. Cover-crops, such as vetch, are desirable for plowing under. A disk-cultivator is a good implement to fine the surface soil, after which the land should be fitted with drag and harrow, in order to get the surface as level and fine as possible. The land is usually fertilized with well-rotted barnyard manure, at the rate of eight to twelve tons per acre, plowed under in the spring. Frequently, tobacco stems, at the rate of 500 to 600 pounds per acre, are used as a fertilizer in the Broadleaf sections. Most crops of Broadleaf tobacco are grown on these fertilizers alone, but in recent years the growers have begun to apply about one ton of cottonseed meal, 200 pounds of carbonate of potash, and one to two barrels of lime per acre in addition to the usual tobacco starter.
The seedlings of the Broadleaf variety are usually set in rows four feet apart and the plants twenty-two to twenty-four inches apart in the rows. In all cases water should be used in trans planting, even if the ground be moist. If the plants are set by hand, one person distributes the plants at the proper distance along the rows, followed by a man or boy who, with a round stick, makes a hole for the plants. A third person sets the plants in the holes and presses the soil firmly about the roots, leaving the surface of the soil as loose as possible. As the plants are set, a cupful of water should be poured into the holes, and some growers prefer to add water to the plants directly after they are set, although this practice leaves the soil about the plants in such condition as to bake.
The Broadleaf plants are usually topped below the f large sucker. If it is found desirable to hasten thy r periMg rocess. the plants are topped low, a.th, .ugh, if nee -ssary to prevent the development of t..? thick the plants should be topped high.
.a Iv the tapping process is delayed until most of t? wer-Lu Is appear, so that the topping can all be d ne in one operation; but many growers prefer to a remove the buds as soon as they appear, going over the field later and topping to the desired height. As soon as the suckers appear, they should be broken off, and, in order to do this effectively, it is necessary to go over the field once a week after the plants have been topped.
The time to harvest the cr..p can be determined only by experience with the strain-which is grown. As a rule, a ripe leaf has a reugh feeling to the tou.da, and there is a change in the color of the leaf
from a dark to a lighter gre n ; also, by folding the leaf between the fingers a ripe leaf will break easily. In the Br ndleaf variety the plants are usually cut, and, as all the leaves on a plant are not ripe at one time. it is necessary to harvest the crop when the majority of the leaves are in the proper condition or about the time that the middle leaves are ripe. Overripe leaves lose their elasticity and strength, and are not suitable for cigar wrappers. The plants are speared on four-foot laths, using a detachable iron spearhead fitted in the end of the lath, placing four to six plants on each lath.
The Broadleaf tobacco is air-cured, the process taking about six weeks. After harvesting, the plants are immediately hung in the barn, and the tempera ture and humidity of these sheds must be closely watched and controlled by means of the ventilators. If the leaf cures too rapidly, the ventilators should be opened on moist days and nights and closed on dry days. If the curing process proceeds too slowly or the tobacco is liable to injury from pole-burn or other fungous diseases, the ventilators should be opened on dry days and closed on moist days and at night. In long-continued damp spells of weather, when the tobacco cannot be dried out by opening Jae ventilators during the day, small fires of soft pine or charcoal should be used to drive off the excess of moisture and to raise the temperature in the barns.
The Broadleaf tobacco is usually fermented in cases holdrng about 300 pounds, the hands of tobacco !wing laid in these cases with the butts of the hands on the outside and the tips in the center. The tobacco is then pressed dawn under moderate pressure, the tops of the boxes screwed on, and the cases kept in a room having an even temperature.
Cuban tobacco.
Cuban tobacco is grown under shade for wrapper purposes, and without shade when used as a filler for domestic cigars. The percentage of wrappers in this outdoor crop is not large, but when the leaves are primed the percentage is considerably increased. The preparation and care of the seed beds and methods of cultivation are about the same as in the case of the Sumatra variety. The rows in the field are arranged about three feet four inches apart and the plants set about fourteen inches apart in the row. A greater distance results in thick, heavy leaves. If the plants are set too close, the leaves are too thin and lacking in body for filler purposes.