The beds are prepared and sown as in the East, except that they do not always burn the ground over, which, if I remember rightly, is invariably done in Missouri and Kentucky.

In this season, the days are always warm enough for the little plants; but there are light frosts at night, and they are protected against these by frames covered with thin cotton cloth.
The fields are plowed--by the best growers--ten inches deep; cross-plowed and harrowed until the soil is fine, and then ridged--that is to say, two furrows are thrown together.

This saves the plants from harm by a heavy rain, and also makes the ground warmer, and is found to start the plants more quickly.
Planting in the fields begins about the 8th of April; and the plants are set a foot apart in the rows, the rows being three feet apart, if they are from Havana seed; if Connecticut or Florida, they stand eighteen inches or two feet apart in the rows.
They had grown, besides Havana and Florida, for their crop, Latakia, Hungarian, Mexican, Virginia, Connecticut-seed Standard, Burleigh, White Leaf, and some other kinds, by way of experiment.
Cultivators and shovel-plows are used to keep the soil loose and clean; if the weather should prove damp and cold, the shovel-plow is used to make the ridges somewhat higher.

They go over the fields twice in the season with these tools, using the hoe freely where weeds get into the rows.

Last year, in twenty-six days after they were done planting, they had gathered two bales of tobacco.