Tobacco leaf

“ Although by processes subsequent to growth it is possible to darken the color of tobacco leaf, there is no known process that will make a dark leaf light in color.
Moreover, the soil must be very fertile and rich in the special substances needed by the growing plant. This is all the more necessary because tobacco is a rapidly growing plant, and reaches its maturity within a few months after its planting. The rapidity of growth therefore demands a rich fertile soil well stored with plant food. ”

“ When cured the leaf is very fine and light of color, the stem and veins of the leaf are small, thus fitting it for a good wrapper as well as filler. If the tobacco growers in the Connecticut valley can succeed in raising this variety, they will produce a leaf tobacco much superior to the common variety known as seed leaf. Beyond all question a much finer flavored tobacco than Connecticut seed leaf can be grown, and still retain all of the excellencies of the latter, such as color, texture, and size of leaf. ”

“ Leaf which is intended for chewing or pipe smoking is not subjected to so great an elaboration of processes as cigar leaf, as the matters of uniformity of color, and delicacy as well as individuality of aroma are not of such great importance. Usually such tobacco leaf is fermented in bulk, and the removal of the stems is done before the principal fermentation. ”

“ In addition to what I have said respecting the mode of cultivating and treating the tobacco plant, I have further to state, that when once the plant is allowed to be checked in its growth, it never again recovers it. That in promoting the drying of the leaf, fire should not be resorted to, because the smoke would impart to it a flavor that would injure that of the tobacco itself. ”

“ I have read in some book of eastern travel that the inhabitants of Asia Minor, Georgia, and Circassia, possess the art of steeping the tobacco-leaf in a poison of such a nature that it undermines the constitution of him who uses the plant so treated. ”

“ The quantity of nicotine, essential oils, etc., on which flavor and strength depend, is regulated to the greatest extent by the time of cutting.
The nature of the soil is a very important matter in the culture of tobacco, for the color of the cured tobacco leaf depends almost entirely on the soil. The light colored leaf is grown on light colored soil and the darker leaf is grown on heavy, dark soil. The best type of soil for the raising of tobacco intended for the cigar trade is a warm, deep, sandy loam which rests on permeable well-drained subsoil. ”

“ It yields well, and ripens at least one week earlier than-many of the broader varieties. Almost any of the seed-leaf varieties will do well; but never patronize any of the humbugs sent from the Patent Office, under the name of Graham tobacco, Maryland broad leaf, &c. They are a Southern tobacco, and when grown upon that soil, make 36chewing-tobacco; but here it is good for nothing for that purpose, and is too coarse for cigar-wrappers.”
According to Dennis, an Indiana planter, “selection of seed depends upon the kind of land you have and the quality of tobacco you wish to raise. ”

“ Short, broad leaf. Grown in Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. (3) Yellow Orinoco. Long, narrow, tapering leaf with fine texture. The sweetest variety grown. Grown in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Missouri.
[Pg 49] Orinoco tobacco leaf is used largely for plug and smoking tobaccos and for the export trade.
Virginian. Sun and air-cured tobacco. Leaf is medium in size. Very bright brown color. Is rich in gums and oils which makes it sweet and fragrant and gives it a pleasant taste. Hence it is a favorite chewing tobacco. ”

“ When growing, a vega of Havana tobacco forms a most pleasing feature of the landscape. As the plants ripen, the dark, glossy green of the leaves is succeeded by a lighter shade and a thickening of the leaf. The plant ripens in from eight to ten weeks after being transplanted. The stalk and leaves are not as large as its great rival, Connecticut seed-leaf, but it far surpasses it in flavor. The plant emits a pleasant odor while growing, like most varieties of the plant grown in the tropics. ”

“ We think the light pipe-smoker will find a combination of German and Turkish smoking-tobaccoes a happy thought. The old smoker may secure the best union of delicacy and strength in the Virginia "natural leaf."
Among the eight or ten species of the tobacco-plant now recognized by botanists, the Nicotiana tabacum and the Nicotiana rustica hold the chief place. ”

“ Many use sassafras and sweet gum in preference to all other woods for this purpose, under the impression that they improve the flavor of the tobacco-leaf. When the leaves, fully cured, have taken the rich brown hue of the tobacco of commerce, so unlike the deep green of the growing plant that a person familiar with the one would never recognize the other as the same plant, the planter must fold his hands and wait until they are in condition for what is technically known as striking, i. ”

“ The plant grows to the height of about eighteen inches, the leaves growing tufts at the base of the plant. Some have supposed this tobacco to be what is known as Deer Tongue, which is used for flavoring, but it is quite probable that it is entirely different. The leaf is small and light green, and it is quite (p. 384) a showy plant when in blossom. As a curiosity it can hardly fail to attract attention from all those acquainted and interested in tobacco, but will hardly admit of cultivation, on account of the absence of leaves, with the exception of the few growing near the ground. ”

“ The soil, too, is carefully chosen and fitted in the most thorough manner, while the fertilizers used are selected with reference to the color of leaf desired. When first cultivated in the United States it was thought that tobacco designed for various uses could not be grown in the same state or section; now, however, tobacco for cigars and for cutting are grown nearly side by side. But in the fineness of the leaf, tobacco culture has made its greatest stride. ”

“ The tobacco leaf is well dried over a fire, and ground on a stone, when it is ready for use, but the above-mentioned tribes are not satisfied with it in its pure condition, and, to make it stronger, mix it with a white ash obtained by burning the twigs of a bush which appears to be very alkaline. ”

“ The general principles underlying the culture of tobacco are the same whether it is intended for the cigar, pipe smoking or cigarette trade; but the treatment of the leaf after it is harvested differs considerably.
Tobacco is a perennial plant. It is, however, usually raised each year from seed. The seedlings are usually ready for planting towards the end of May and are generally planted between the last week in May and the middle of June. ”

“ If you have a mind to make your tobacco into rolls, there is no occasion to wait till the leaves are perfectly dry; but as soon as they have acquired a yellowish brown colour, although the stem is green, you unhang your tobacco, and strip the leaves from the stalks, lay them up in heaps, and cover them with woolen cloths, in order to sweat them. After that you stem the tobacco, or pull out the middle rib of the leaf, which you throw away with the stalks, as good for nothing ”

“ In Great Britain its cultivation was forbidden in order to encourage its cultivation in Virginia.
Tobacco does not thrive best in a poor soil, but the latter produces a thin, half-developed leaf, which in other plants would be called "sickly." It grows in almost any kind of soil, but requires warm summer nights. In many instances the tobacco of temperate latitudes yields a more salable leaf when grown under cover. The flavor is due partly to soil and climate, and partly to skill in curing. ”

“ Smoking is to some extent gradually replacing betel-nut chewing, especially with the children, who now take to the weed when they are about five or six years old. The native tobacco is very strong, and when smoked as a cigarette wrapped in dried banana-leaf, it is decidedly unpalatable to the European. Light cigarette tobaccos of foreign manufacture are now much in vogue. Those who can afford it, roll up the tobacco in lotus leaf. ”

“ It is of good body but smooth, and has the appearance of tobacco that has been 'frost-bitten.' The leaf is not as porous as most other tobaccos, and therefore does not as readily ignite, and frequently 'chars' in burning—thus giving it the name of a non-burning tobacco. ”

“ The second quality, or ‘shipping tobacco,’ is a grade above the lugs; it is the red or brown tobacco; this should also be tied in separate bundles. The best, or ‘manufacturing,’ is the finest and brightest leaves, and should be put in bundles by itself. In stripping, the stems of the leaves should be broken off as close as possible to the stalk; this adds to the weight of the tobacco. In forming a bundle, the butts of the leaves should be placed evenly, and closely together, and pressed tightly in the hand; then a leaf should be folded to form a wrapper 2 inches in width ”

“ But while the color of the plant when growing is either a light or dark green, it rapidly changes during curing, and especially after passing through the sweat, changing to a light or dark cinnamon like Connecticut seed leaf, black like Holland and Perique tobacco, bright yellow of the finest shade of Virginia and Carolina leaf, brown like Sumatra, or dark red like that known by the name of "Boshibaghli," grown in Asia Minor. ”

“ The domestic tobacco trade comprises the various kinds of seed-leaf of Connecticut, New England, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Florida and Ohio, as well as the sorts known as White Burley “lugs,” fine-fibred wrappers, Indiana kite foot, and American-grown Havana. In the chewing class are included the fine-cut and the plug fillers, principally of the White Burley type from Kentucky, while under the head of export tobacco are the Virginian bird’s-eye cutting leaf, and the spinning fillers or shag. ”

“ Prizing tobacco applies to the packing of tobacco in hogsheads all such leaf being used for cutting purposes, cigar leaf being either cased or baled. In some sections about 800 pounds net is packed in one parcel, while in others 1000 pounds and sometimes even 1500 and 1800 pounds. "Seed leaf" tobacco in this country is all packed in cases instead of hogsheads, each case containing from 375 to 400 pounds net. It is necessary that all kinds of tobacco should be pressed in some kind of package before it is ready to be manufactured. ”

“ No attempt should ever be made to raise large crops of tobacco from imported seed, but only a small crop, and the seed of the selected plants should be used for future propagation. In selection work the grower must keep definitely in view the special market requirements for the kinds of tobacco he is producing. Thus for wrapper tobaccos, amongst other points a broad, rounded leaf, which will yield perhaps eight wrappers, is much more valuable than a narrow pointed leaf which yields perhaps only four. ”

“ Good manuring, or liberal treatment with fertilizers, is essential for keeping such soils in prime condition, because the period of growing must not be extended.
Tobacco is usually planted in rows, the rows being from three to four feet apart, the usual arrangement being that the plants are generally about 12 or 18 inches apart in the row. Some planters, however, give the plants more room for many reasons, varying the distance between the plants even as much as 30 inches. Cigar leaf tobacco plants are usually placed about 14 inches apart. ”

“ The variety of tobacco planted depends upon soil, climate, and market demands. The different types of tobacco are grown upon a wide range of soils differing mainly in their physical characters. Wet soils composed largely of clay produce large heavy plants that cure to a dark brown or red. Light sandy soils produce plants having a light thin leaf curing to a bright red, mahogany, or fine yellow. The influence of soil, climate, and manures on the quality of the produce is almost beyond what is known in any other cultivated plant. ”

“ After the harvest is over, the time of the laborers is given up entirely to the tobacco, which has now grown to a fair size. Their first task is to "sucker" it,—that is, cut away the shoots that spring up at the intersection of each leaf and the stalk, and which if left to grow would absorb half the strength of the plant. They also examine the leaves very carefully, to destroy the eggs and young of the tobacco-fly. ”

“ When the plant rises to about two feet high, it will throw out suckers at each leaf, which must be carefully taken off with the finger and thumb, and all bottom and decayed leaves that touch the ground taken off. When the tobacco plant throws out flower, it must be topped off, leaving about twelve leaves in the stalk to ripen and come to maturity. When the leaves feel thick between the finger and thumb, and assume a mottled appearance, they are fit to cut. ”

“ Italy has made several attempts to cultivate good tobacco, and several different types are produced. A dark heavy leaf is grown from Virginia seed, and a type from Kentucky seed is also produced. These types are suitable to the dark, heavy fertile soils of Middle and North Italy. In the lighter sandy soil of the south, the varieties grown are raised from Turkish seed and are similar in appearance and quality to the genuine Turkish tobacco. ”