Tobacco planter

“ He has thoroughly tested all kinds of fertilizers, and knows just what kinds will produce the various shades of color as well as the desired texture and size of leaf. No other tobacco planter so thoroughly understands the methods of curing, sweating and doing up the crop, and he takes no little pride in showing his crop to the buyer. ”

“ That from home-grown seed gets longer, and the veins or ribs, which in Havana tobacco stand out at right angles from the leaf stalk, take an acute angle, and thus become longer and make up a greater part of the leaf. Of Florida tobacco the home-grown seed comes true.
In summer the roads get very dusty in California, and this dust is a disadvantage to the tobacco planter. On the Culp farm I found they were planting double rows of shade trees along the main roads, and graveling the interior roads ”

“ Lucky is he whose plant-bed has escaped the fly, the first enemy of the precious weed. Its attacks are made upon it in the first stage of its existence, and are more fatal, because less easily prevented, than those of the tobacco-worm, that scourge, par excellence, of the tobacco crop. Farmers often lose their entire stock of plants, and are forced to send miles to beg or buy of a more fortunate planter. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When the tobacco leaf is fully cured it is at once prepared for the market. The first step is the planters’ classification of the leaf. In the case of pipe smoking and chewing tobacco the planter collects all the imperfect, injured leaves, or those inferior from any cause, and ties them in bundles. These are the planters lugs. All other grades are leaf. Slightly injured leaves are classed as low-leaf or seconds. The others are classed medium, good, fine and selected leaf, according to grade, color, quality, etc. ”

“ According also to the particular kind of tobacco which the planter wishes to have, the lower, the middle, or the upper leaves are suffered to remain. The lower leaves grow the largest; they are also milder, and more inclined to a yellow colour than those growing towards the top of the plant. ”

“ Where wood-ashes can be had at a moderate price, lime may be applied in this form. Some ashes are very rich in lime. It has been found that ashes obtained from beech-wood contain 52 per cent. of lime, and those from oak-wood as much as 75.
Whilst most growers are agreed that tobacco is a crop demanding a rich soil, there is a want of uniformity of opinion as to the best method of manuring. On this point, C. Schneider, a successful Illinois planter, says “manuring cannot be done too early, or too heavily. The manures are very different, and equally useful for the different kinds of tobacco. ”

“ Three rows of Indian corn are planted outside the tobacco plants to shelter them from the wind. In order to save seed, a few plants are allowed to flower. The Virginian tobacco is the largest; it is known by a pink flower; the Nicotiana rustica (common green) has a yellow flower.
A planter in Northern Australia furnishes the following directions:—
The land selected for the growth of tobacco ought to be of the most fertile description, of a friable description, and upon which no water can rest within eighteen inches of the surface. ”

“ According to the best opinions admitted among vegueros, one man can take care of 12,000 tobacco plants, and prudence dictates that no more land should be planted than that which can be well attended to, as experience shows that in exceeding this number for each man, instead of proving advantageous to the planter, it is frequently the cause of considerable loss. ”

“ An experienced Ohio planter, Judson Popenoe, speaking of soil, says “A rich, sandy, second bottom, I believe to be the best for raising tobacco, although our chocolate-coloured uplands, when very rich and highly manured, will grow an excellent quality of tobacco, but will not 10yield as much to the acre. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When the plants are fully ripe and ready to harvest the suckers will be found to be growing vigorously around the root of the plant. This is doubtless the best evidence of its maturity, more reliable by far than any other as it denotes the ripening of the entire plant. Suckering the plants hastens the ripening of the leaves, and gives a lighter shade of color, no matter on what soil the plants are grown. Having treated at some length of the various parts of the tobacco plant—stalk, leaves, flowers, capsules and suckers we come now to its nicotine properties. ”

“ Black river-bottoms will yield more to the acre than any other kind of land, but the tobacco is not of so fine a quality; it grows larger, has coarser stems, and heavier body, and consequently, in my opinion, is not so good for wrappers or fine cut as the second bottom or upland tobacco.”
On the same subject, an Illinois grower observes, “for us in the West, and for all the localities that have not an over-amount of heat, experience has proved, that a dry, warm soil (loam or sandy loam) , rich, deep, and containing lime, is most suitable for tobacco. ”

“ After the ground-leaves have been removed, the good leaves are stripped off and tied up the same as the ground-leaves, with this exception: the leaves of each stalk should be tied in a bunch by themselves, to preserve a uniformity in colour and size, as tobacco is sold in the market according to colour and size, therefore if the leaves of a large and a small plant, or of a dark-coloured and a light one, be tied up together, it at once diminishes the appearance and value of the crop. ”

“ The plants ripen very fast and emit an aromatic odor, increasing in strength as the plants ripen. For smoking it has but few superiors. After curing, it is baled and sent to Europe, where it is manufactured into smoking tobacco. The plants are well cultivated and watched against the ravages of birds, which seem to like the young and tender plants especially before they are transplanted. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If fully ripe at the time of harvesting, the plants will "cure down" very fast and take on a better hue than when they cure less rapidly. During cool weather the doors and ventilators should be left open that the plants may have a free circulation of air and cure the faster. When, however, the weather is damp, they should be closed, to avoid sweating and pole rot. When a light leaf is desired, the tobacco shed should be provided with windows to let in plenty of sunlight, which has much to do with the color of the leaf. When a dark leaf is desired, all light should be excluded. ”

“ The seed we use is the same that we planted in old times. A big insect that we call the “tobacco blower” used always to be found around our [122] tobacco gardens; and this insect still appears about the little patches of tobacco that we plant.
The reason that tobacco gardens were planted apart from our vegetable fields in old times was, that the tobacco plants have a strong smell which affects the corn; if tobacco is planted near the corn, the growing corn stalks turn yellow and the corn is not so good. Tobacco plants were therefore kept out of our corn fields. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They also feed on herbs and roots, cultivating about their dwellings many plantains, gourds, pumpkins, potatoes, and guinea pepper. Tobacco likewise is planted by every one, and seems to constitute half their food. The hole of their tobacco pipe is very large, and made of clay well burnt into the lower end of which they thrust a small hollow cane eighteen inches long, through which they suck the smoke, both men and women swallowing most of it. ”

“ If the grower wishes to obtain dark colored tobacco then the soil selected should be a dark loam; on the other hand, if a light colored wrapper is desired he selects a light loam, and with the application of proper fertilizers the proper color will be obtained.
The tobacco plant flourishes well either on high or low ground, providing the soil be dry and free from stones, which are a source of annoyance during the cultivation of the plants and especially in harvesting. When grown on very low ground the plants should be "set" early, so as to harvest before early frosts. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Tobacco requires rich soil and careful cultivation. The seed is sown in a hotbed or in a sheltered place in the open. The plants are set from April to June. The ground is carefully tilled, freed from weeds and the plants watched for cut worm and the big green tobacco worm, which are very destructive. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ What wood they have occasion for they carry off, and burn the rest, or let it lie and rot upon the ground. The land between the logs and stumps they hoe up, planting tobacco there in the spring, inclosing it with a slight fence of cleft rails. This will last for tobacco some years, if the land be good; as it is where fine timber, or grape vines grow. Land when hired is forced to bear tobacco by penning their cattle upon it; but cowpen tobacco tastes strong, and that planted in wet marshy land is called nonburning tobacco, which smoaks in the pipe like leather, unless it be of a good age. ”

“ When left to grow until the plants have reached full size, the tobacco field has the appearance of a vast flower garden, the tiny blossoms exhaling their fragrance and the entire plant emitting odors as rare and as delicate as the most fragrant exotic. In the tropics the finest tobacco plantations are found, as nature is more lavish, not only in the richness of the soil, but in the variety of the vegetable products. Here the tobacco plant attains its finest form and most delicately flavored leaves. ”