Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/226

 the seed came up readily, on the latter only an odd one appeared. This is proof positive I think. When the ground is cool rake off the coals and pieces of half-burned wood but leave the ashes. Dig it about three inches deep with a fork and make the earth perfectly fine and loose by breaking up all clods and raking off those too hard to break. Don't turn the ashes under more than you can help. A very good plan is to give the ground a second burning after it is broken up, laying on a heap of grass for the purpose. Divide it off into beds three or four feet wide and raised some inches if dry, if not dry it must be raised higher and well drained. Allow one teaspoonful of seed to each 26 square yards, that should give nearly 3,000 good plants, and mix every spoonful of seed with half a gallon of fine wood ashes, and sow in three operations crossing directly and again at right angles. After sowing flatten the ground by laying boards over. An old door answers as well or better than anything, but failing anything else you can tramp the bed smooth. Having done this lay brushwood over. If you have fowls and a fowl house the manure from the latter is a great help to the young plants; break it up, sift through a coarse riddle and put a thin layer all over the beds, and then put on the brush wood which should be left till the plants are pretty strong.

Water freely every evening or every second evening if the weather is dry. When about five inches high and the under leaves begin to turn yellow they are ready for transplanting, which should be done on a cloudy day if possible. When lifting the young plants care is necessary to prevent breaking the roots which are very large, and it is as well to take plenty of earth with each plant. 1 have given all other directions elsewhere.

This is one of the very few industries mentioned in these pages- which I have not personally tried. But I have seen it done—have even assisted in the doing. And I will here relate, as well as I can, all about it, though if you have enough leaf I would advise it being sent to a factory, because, even with a very small amount, the trouble is great and the success very uncertain. I have seen a small quantity of most excellent tobacco made with, I may say, no proper appliances ; and again, I have seen a good many failures. If you have only a little, there is no harm in trying, as in case of loss it won't be very great, and you may succeed. There is nothing like courage and enterprise.

When the leaf is ready for picking, it will be a dark deep blue, and appears as if it had swelled and become rougher, something like a cabbage leaf when it is old and getting mouldy. The tobacco leaf when ripe becomes first spotted with yellow, and the