and spread abroad.  This operation is repeated till no more heat is perceived in the heaps, and the tobacco is then ready for packing and shipping.

I have been favored by Mr. J. M. Hernandez, a Cuba planter, with some valuable instructions for the cultivation of Cuba tobacco, which I subjoin.  These remarks apply principally to America, but most of the advice and information will be found generally applicable to other localities:—­

The first thing to be considered in this, as in every other culture, is the soil, which for this kind of tobacco (N. repanda) ought to be a rich, sandy, loam, neither too high nor too low—­that is, ground capable of retaining moisture, the more level the better, and, if possible, well protected by margins.  The next should be the selection of a spot of ground to make the necessary beds.  It would be preferable to make those on land newly cleared, or, at all events, when the land has not been seeded with grass; for grass seeds springing up together with the tobacco would injure it materially, as the grass cannot be removed without disturbing the tobacco plants.  In preparing the ground for the nurseries, break it up properly, grub up all the small stumps, dig out the roots, and carefully remove them with the hand.  This being done, make the beds from three to four inches high, of a reasonable length, and from three to three and a-half feet broad, so as to enable the hand, at arm’s length, to weed out the tender young plants with the fingers from both sides of the bed, and keep them perfectly clean.

The months of December and January are the most proper for sowing the seed in Florida.  Some persons speak of planting it as early as the month of November, I am, however, of opinion, that about the latter part of December is the best time to sow tobacco seed; any sooner would expose the plants to suffer from the inclemency of the most severe part of the winter season.  Before the seed is sown take some dry trash and burn it off upon the nursery beds, to destroy insects and grass seeds; then take one ounce of tobacco seed and mix it with about a quart of dry ashes, so as to separate the seed as much; as possible, and sow it broadcast.  After the seed has been thus sown, the surface of the bed ought to be raked over slightly, and trodden upon by the foot, carrying the weight of the body with it, that the ground may at once adhere closely to the seed, and then water it.  Should the nursery-beds apparently become dry from blighting winds or other causes, watering will be absolutely necessary, for the ground ought to be kept in a moist state from the time the seed is planted until the young plants are large enough to be set out.

The nurseries being made, proceed to prepare the land where the tobacco is to be set out.  If the land is newly cleared—­and new land is probably more favorable to the production of this plant than it is to that of any other,