It is doubtless as true a saying as it is a common one with Connecticut tobacco-growers, that the plants will not "start much until they have been hoed." Where the first hoeing is delayed two or three weeks, the plants will to a certain extent become stunted and dwarfed, and will hardly make up for the delay in growing. In from two to three weeks, the field should be hoed again, and this time the cultivator should mellow the soil a little deeper than the first time, while the hoeing should be done in the most thorough manner. Draw the earth around the plant and cut up with the hoe all grass and weeds, and remove all stone and lumps of manure and any rubbish that will hinder easy cultivation, or retard the growth of the plants. At this period the most careful attention must be given to the plants, as they are (or ought to be) growing rapidly, and upon their early maturity will depend the color and texture of the leaf.
In a short time the plants may be hoed for the third and last time (as a fourth hoeing is but rarely necessary). At this time they have attained considerable size, (say two or three feet high) and are rapidly maturing, and ere long will be ready to harvest. At the last hoeing the plants should be "hilled up," that is, the earth should be drawn around the plant under the leaves, causing it to stand firmly in the hill, and keeping the roots well protected and covered. The tobacco plant requires constant cultivation, and the cultivator may be run through the rows after loosening the earth and turning up the manure towards the plants.
Some growers of tobacco in the early stages of its growth apply some kind of fertilizers to the backward plants; this will be found to be of advantage, and should be done just before a rain, when the plants will start in a manner almost surprising. A little phosphate or Peruvian guano may be used, but should be applied with care or the plants may be retarded instead of quickened in their growth.
There is much to be done in the tobacco field besides cultivating and hoeing the plants. In many hills there will be found two plants, which should be re-set at the second hoeing if needed, and if not, pulled up and destroyed, as it is better to have one large plant in the hill than two small ones. Again, after the last hoeing, the tobacco should be kept free from worms. If any have been overlooked they will have attained to a good size by this time, and will devour in a short time enough tobacco to make a "short six."
From this account of the cultivation of tobacco as practiced in the Connecticut valley, one will readily see that the labor performed during the growing of the plants should not be superficial. On their rapid growth depends the color and texture of the leaf. Plants that are slow in maturing never make fine wrapping leaves or show a good color. Where the growth is rapid the plants will be more brittle than if of slower growth, and must therefore be handled with care in passing through the rows to worm, top, and sucker the plants.
Topping.
A century ago the Virginia planters cultivated their tobacco fields in the following manner:—
"Hoeing commences with the first growth of the tobacco after transplantation, and never ceases until the plant is nearly ripe, and ready to be laid by, as they term the last weeding with the hoe; for he who would have a good crop of tobacco, or of maize, must not be sparing of his labor, but must keep the ground constantly stirring during the whole growth of the crop. And it is a rare instance to see the plough introduced as an assistant, unless it be the slook plough, for the purpose of introducing a sowing of wheat for the following year, even while the present crop is growing; and this is frequently practiced in fields of maize, and sometimes in fields of tobacco, which may be ranked amongst the best fallow crops, as it leaves the ground perfectly clean and naked, permitting neither grass, weed, nor vegetable to remain standing in the space which it has occupied."