“The plants, as soon as they are out of the ground, which will be in a few days, require strict attention. The beds should be made high enough, so that in fair weather a little water can be applied every night. After the fourth leaf appears, manure-water should be used. Place an old barrel near the beds, and throw into it ½ bushel of hen-manure, and fill with water; after it is well soaked, use ½ pailful of it, and fill up with clear water with the chill taken off. As the plants get larger, the strength of the infusion can be increased, being careful that it is not so strong as to turn the plants yellow. As soon as the plants are large enough to be readily taken hold of by the thumb and point of a knife, they should be thinned to about 144 per square foot, and kept free from weeds. This plan is decidedly preferable to raising under glass. It is less expensive, the plants are more hardy to set out in the field, are got fully as early, and a little carelessness on a hot day will not ruin the whole. It has been my method for the past 8 years, and during that time I have never failed to have good strong plants ready for the field between the 5th and 10th of June.”
Mitjen, whose essay on tobacco-growing in Cuba has been already mentioned, recommends a system of shade frames borne on small tramway trucks, as illustrated in Fig. 5—(a) seed beds, raised above the surrounding level; (b) light pointed covers of thatch on a wooden frame, and provided with grooved wheels; (c) rails on which the frames run, facilitating their application or removal as the vicissitudes of the weather may demand.
Fig. 5.
Preparation of the Field.—Land intended to be planted with tobacco should receive several ploughings not less than 9 inches 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 farther 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 in.–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 be cloudy, when it may be performed during the whole day. Some hours before commencing 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 on 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 each 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 difficult 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, once 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 a watering-pot, held very low, otherwise the soil would be washed from the plant-roots, and expose them to the direct rays of the sun, causing death. The arrangement of the plants in what is known as quincunx order, as shown in Fig. 6, is generally adopted.
Fig. 6.
This part of the operations connected with tobacco-growing is described at some length by Mitjen so far as the practice rules in Cuba. His translator remarks that “as soon as the land has been prepared, it should be furrowed at a distance of 1 yard between each two furrows. This operation should be simultaneous with the planting, and should be done, if possible, after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and on cloudy days, so as to prevent the recently set plants from being scorched by the sun. The furrows should run more or less from north to south, as, by making them in this direction, the plants are less injured by the sun, or the strong winds which generally blow about the planting season. Immediately, and behind the man who is furrowing, another should follow, placing the plants at every ½ foot all along the furrow, and behind them another should at once set the plants, the first walking in the distance, or bank, and the other in the furrow. The one should open the land with his right hand, behind which, with his left, the other will place the plant, being careful neither to double the stalk nor the roots, and, letting the ground fall directly on the roots, should press it lightly on them with his hand. The plants should be buried half-way up the stalk, or, if the plant is small, it should be covered to where the leaves spread. Care should be taken that the plants have no dry mould sticking to their roots, and that no ground from the furrow falls in the centre or sprout, and when the planting is going on, the ground should not be too wet. The plants should be set on the side of the furrow, and on that side which is next the setting sun, so that the rising sun may strike upon them, and they may be somewhat protected from the rays of the afternoon sun.