The plants, which will appear about a week after sowing, are very tender during the first stage of their growth, and require frequent watering through a fine rose. The straw will now prevent the water falling with any force immediately on the plants, and its tendency to wash the soil from the fine rootlets. If the plants spring up thickly, they are thinned out, when about a week or two old, leaving about 1 sq. in. for each. Those taken out may be used to fill blanks in the nursery bed, or, if more plants are taken out than are required for this purpose, they should be planted in a separate bed. It is universally acknowledged that plants transplanted when very young develop more roots, grow more vigorously, and become morn hardy afterwards, than when not transplanted at this stage. When the plants are about two weeks old, they require less attention, and should be watered less frequently, to harden them before transplanting. Any weeds appearing must be removed, and injurious insects must be killed. In about 7-8 weeks after sowing, the plants will be fit for transplanting.
Preparation of the Field.—Land intended to be planted with tobacco should receive several ploughings not less than 9 in. deep. As a rule, clay requires to be more deeply ploughed than sandy or loamy soil. It greatly conduces to success, if the land is allowed to lie fallow for several months before planting the crop, to admit of the proper preparation of the soil, by ploughing, rolling, harrowing, &c., and to allow the attainment of as fine a tilth as is usual in gardens. No crop will better repay the expense of proper preparation of the soil than tobacco ; the fineness of the leaf, and the aroma of the tobacco depend to a great degree upon this. The land should be ridged immediately before planting. The distance apart at which to make the ridges is governed by the quality of the soil and the sort of plant to be raised. With good soil, the ridges must be further apart than in a poor one, because of producing larger leaves. The ridges should allow a passage between the rows, for the purpose of weeding, hoeing, suckering, &c., without breaking the leaves. In the lines, the plants may be 6 iu.-1 ft. closer than the ridges. In some places, a plough is run at right angles across the ridges before planting, at the distance at which the plants have to stand in the lines, thus forming small hills on which the seedlings are planted.
Planting.—Planting should take place only in the evening (or even at night in India), unless the weather he cloudy, when it may be performed during the whole day. Some hours before com mencing to transplant, the nursery should be thoroughly watered, to facilitate the removal of the plants, without tearing their roots. If the plants are of even size, so that all can be removed, the best plan is to take them out with a spade, or trowel, leaving a lump of soil on each. But in most cases, it will be necessary to take up each plant separately ; this should be done very carefully, holding with the thumb and forefinger as near as possible to the roots, and drawing out the plants, if possible, with a little soil adhering to their roots. The plants are taken at once in a basket to the field for planting. An attendant going between two ridges places a plant ou each hill, right
and left. One attendant is sufficient for two planters, who follow immediately. The planting is nearly the same as with cabbages, but requires more care, the plants being more tender, and their roots and leaves springing nearly from the same point, they are more difficult to handle. The plants should be placed in a hollow made on eaoh hill, which will serve as a reservoir for the water to be applied, and also afford some shade.
In India, the plants are watered immediately after planting; they should also by some means be shaded during the first few days, which can easily be done when only a small area is planted, but is rather diffioult to manage on a large scale. In the latter case, the shade afforded by planting in a slight cavity must suffice. If the plants have been taken from the nursery with some soil adhering to their roots, and are kept sufficiently moist during the first few days, few of them will die. When the weather is dry, water should be applied at morning and evening, and after that time, onoe daily until the plants have taken root, after which, occasional waterings, varying with soil, weather, and kind of plant, must be given. In dry weather, and with a soil poor in humus, one watering every second or third day may be necessary, whereas with a soil rich in organic matter, and in a moist atmosphere, watering may be entirely dispensed with. During the first few days, the water is applied with fl watering-pot, held very low, otherwise the sail would be washed from the plant-roots, and expose them to the direct rays of the sun, causing death.
After-cultivation.—After the plants have once taken root, they grow rapidly. They are hoed when about 6-9 in. high, and the soil is drawn from the furrows to raise the hills, maintaining a depression round the stems. If the soil is not very rich, a special manure should be applied at this stage of growth. The best manure generally will be nitre in a liquid state, which can be applied in the depression around the plants with a watering-pot. By applying it in solution and close fo the plant, less is required than when spread over the whole field. Some weeks afterwards, another hoeing and heaping of earth round the plants will be necessary. It is most difficult to say the number of hoeings which may be required by a tobacco crop. The general rule to be followed is to keep the soil loose, friable, and free from weeds. The more organic matter the soil contains, the more will it remain loose and friable ; the less organic matter, the more waterings will be required, which causes the soil to crust over, and to assume a close texture, and necessitates frequent hoeings. As long as the plants have not spread much, the hoeing may be done by a cultivator, followed by some men to perform the heaping. Insects which attack the tobacco must be carefully sought for and killed at once. They can easily be discovered in the mornings ; if not killed, they may destroy the whole crop in a few days. Turkeys are invaluable for their grub-eating propensities.