Tobacco

TOBACCO. Nicotaina. There are many spe cies ot tobacco, fourteen being enumerated by Loudon. The two principal under cultivation with their varieties are N. Ruetica, grown in the colder portions of Europe, and A'. Tabucum, cul tivated in the United States, of this latter, the Cuba, and the Connecticut seed leaf are the varie ties principally cultivated in the United States for cigars These varieties are not so rich in oil are lighter, and more bulky than varieties used for manufacturing into plug and other chewing, and pipe smoking tobaccos. Of the manufactur ing tobaccos, there are innumerable varieties. The principal States for the production are Vir ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Ohio. Of the se( tions named, Kentucky produces by far the hugest quantity. The cotton States pro duce but little tobacco, hut, at the centennial exposition twenty-one States were represented, which besides the hung leaf exhibited ninety specimens of pressed leaf, the hest sample being from Virginia and valued at four dollars per pound. In cigar tobaccos, Connecticut produces the best, and Wiseonsin the next best tobacco, if we may except Florida which produces cornpar atively but a small quantity, but of a high grade for wrappers and fillers to cigars. It is now thought that there are soils in Arizona that when opened to culture will produce very superior tobacco, as there is in California. Indeed, no crop is so much influenced by soil and climate as tobacco. When greater care in the selection of soils, manures, cultivation and especially in curing come to be more carefully attended to, there is no reason why tobacco from particular valley districts in the South, in the granitic for mation, should not produce tobacco fully equal to the famous Yara of Cuba Inattention to these plants and ignorance on the part of many cultivators, who have undertaken the cultivation of tobacco, has caused a glut of common tobacco which of late years have operated strongly against the profits of the crop. This will be evident by United Sta,tes statistics which show the fact that, in 1869 the crop of the United States amounted to but about 324,000,000 pounds against, in round numbers, 412,000,000 in 1870; 410,000,000 in 1871; 505,000,000 in 1872: 502,000,000 in 1873; 358,000,000 in 1874; 520,000,000 in 1875; also 482,000,000 in 1876; and 581,500,000 in 1877; the conclusion is that, year by year, with slight varia tion, the planters have gone on increasing the crop until they have glutted the markets of the world. In relation to the product per acre 2,500 pounds have been produced, yet for the decade ending with 1878, 700 pounds was the average. The average price being five to six cents per pound. This average will cause continued loss to the planter. A good cultivator should get 1,500 pounds. At 700 pounds the acre brings but $38 50, a losing business, at 1,500 pounds, the acre brings $82.50. This leaves little mar gin for profit; but, if the 1,500 pounds be of supe rior quality the price will be raised to eight, ten, and even thirty cents per pound, and the profits are amply secured. The planter will thus see the necessity of never undertaking this crop until by experiment lie is assured first that his soil, climate and situation—including protection from sweeping winds—is right, and also that he thor oughly understands the cultivation, curing and packing in the best possible manner and also that he has the necessary capital for carrying the whole forward. The following synopsis of the necessities in tobacco raising in the tobacco belt, say between 36° and 40°, we take from a state ment by one of the most intelligent tobacco planters of the South. These general rules will apply wherever tobacco may be grown : Select good land for the crop; plow and subsoil it in Autumn to get the multiplied benefits of winter's freezes. This can not be too strongly urged. Have early and vigorous plants and plenty of them. It were better to have 100,000 too many than 10,000 too few. To make sure of them give personal attention to the selection and preparation of the plant bed and to the care of the young plants in the means necessary to has ten their growth, and to protect them from the dreadful tly. Collect manure in season and out of season, and from every available source—from the fence-corners, the ditch-bank, the urinal, the ash pile. Distribute it with a liberal hand; nothing short of princely liberality will answer. Plow it under (both the home-made and the com mercial) in February, that it may become thor oughly incorporated in the soil and be ready to answer to the first and every call of the growing plant. Often (we believe generally) the greatest part of manure applied to tobacco—and this is true of the bought fertilizer as well as that made on the farm—is lost to that crop from being applied too late. Don't wait to apply your dearly-purchased guano in the hill or the drill from fear that, if applied sooner, it will vanish into thin air before the plant needs it. This is an exploded fallacy. Experience, our best teacher, has demonstrated beyond cavil that stable and commercial manure are most efficacious when used in conjunction. In no other way can they be so intimately intermixed as by plowing them under—the one broadcasted on the other—at an early period of the preparation of the tobacco lot. This second plowing should not be so deep, as the first; an average of' three to four inches is: about the right depth. Early in May (in the main tobacco belt to which this article chiefly refers, that is to say, between the thirty-fifth and fortieth parallels of north latitude), re-plow the land to about the depth of the February plowing, and drag and cross-drag, and, if need be, drag it again, until the soil is brought to the finest pos sible tilth. Thus you augment many-fold the probabilities of a stand on the first planting, and_ lessen materially the subsequent labor of cultiva tion. Plant on lists (narrow beds made by throw ing four furrows together with the mold-boarcl plow) rather than in hills, if for no other reason than that having now, if never before, to pay wages in some shape to labor, whenever and wherever possible horse-power should be substi tuted for man-power—the plow for the hoe. Plant as early as possible after a continuance of pleasant spring weather is assured. Seek to have a forward crop, as the benefits claimed for a late one from the fall dews do not compensate for the many advantages resulting from early maturity. Make it an inflexible rule to plant no tobacco after the 10th of July—we mean, of course, in the tobacco belt we have named. Where one good crop is made from later plant ing ninety-nine prove utter failures. Far better. rub out and start afresh the next year. Take pains in transplanting, that little or no re-plant ing may be necessary. The cut-worm being a prime cause of most of the trouble in securing a, stand, hunt it assiduously and particularly in the early morning when it can most readily be found. Keep the grass and weeds down, and the soil loose and mellow by frequent stirring, avoiding as much as possible cutting and tearing the roots of the plant in all stages of its growth, and more especially after topping. When at all practic able—and, with the great improvement in cul tivators, sweeps, and other farm implements, it is oftener practicable than generally supposed— substitute for hand-work in cultivation that of the horse. The difference in cost will tell in the balance sheet at the close of the operation. Attend closely to worming for on it hinges in no little degree the quality and quantity of tobacco you will have for sale. A worm eaten crop brings no money. So important is this opera tion that it may properly claim more than a pass ing notice. Not only is it the most tedious, the most unremitting, and the most expensive opera tion connected with the production of tobacco, but the necessity for it determines more than all other causes the limit of the crop which in gen eral it has been found possible for a single hand to manage. Therefore bring to your aid every possible adjunct in diminishing the number of worms. Use poison for killing the moth in the manner so frequently described in treatises on tobacco, to wit, by injecting a solution of cobalt or other deadly drug into the flower of the Jamestown or jimson weed (Datura stramonium), if necessary planting seeds of the weed for the purpose. Employ at night the flames of lamps, of torches, or of huge bonfires, in which the moth may find a quick and certain death. In worm ing, spare those worms found covered with a white film or net-like substance, this being the cocoon producing the ichneumon fly, an enemy to the worm likely to prove a valuable ally to the planter in his war of extermination. Turn your flock of turkeys into the tobacco field, that they, too, may prey upon the pest, and themselves grow fat in so doing. If these remedies should fail, sprinkle diluted spirits of turpentine over the plant through the rose of a watering pot, a her culean task truly in a large crop, but mere child's play to the hand-picking process, for the one sprinkling suffices to keep off the worms for all time, whereas the hand-picking is a continual round of expensive labor from the appearance of the first worm until the last plant has been car ried to the barn. We have no idea that such sprinkling will at all affect the odor or flavor of the tobacco when cured. If, as stated by a wri ter in a California paper, the well known yellow jacket be useful in destroying tobacco worms, by all means win it as an ally. As proving its usefulness, the writer asserts that one of his neigh bors, Mr. Culp, dming fifteen years growing tobacco, has never expended a dollar for labor to destroy the worm, trusting all to this little work man, who, he says, carefully searche,s the plants for the worms, and never allows one to escape its vigilance. We can not speak from our own experience as to many of these suggested means for overcoraing the horn-worm, but we have no hesitation in saying to the farmer, try any, try all of them rather than have your crop eaten to shreds, and the labor of more than half the year brought to naught in a few days, it may be, by a single glut of worms. Prime high and top low. While open to objection in particular cases, even with the character of tobacco chiefly under consideration, and altogether inadmissible, it may be, in the management of other varieties of tobacco, this is a safe rule, We think, to follow in general practice. We favor priming by all means; for when no priming is practiced the lower leaves (made worthless by constant whip ping on the ground) serve only as a, harbor for worms, which are the more difficult to find because of the increased burden of stooping.

Moreover, if the bottom leaves be saved on the cut stalk, as most likely they will be, there is always the temptation to put them on the market. Yet another advantage to be gained by the removal of these bottom leaves, which is what the planter terms priming, is the increased circulation of air and distribution of light thereby afforded, both essential factors, the merest tyro knows, to the full development of plant life. Topping (the pinching off with the finger-nail the bud at the top of the plant) is an operation requiring considerable skill and judg ment. Let it be performed only by hands hav ing these prerequisites. That as many plants as possible may ripen at the same time (a desid eratum not to be undervalued in aiming, 8,s all should, at a uniform crop) wait until a large number of plants begin to button before com mencing to top. Going about through the crop, topping a plant here and. there because it may chance to have buttoned before its fellows, is a damaging process not to be tolerated. No inflexible rule can be given for the nutnber of leaves that should be left on a plant. All depends upon the variety of tobacco, the strength of the soil, the promise of the particular plant, the probable seasons and time left for ripening, ete. One of the most successful grow( ers of heavy dark tobacco we have ever known once stated to us his conviction, after years of observation and practice, that one year with another, taking the seasons as they come, eight leaves would give a better result than any other number. Our own experience has tended to confirm this judgment. See to it that the suck ers are promptly removed. It is work quickly done, and with worming may constitute a single operation. We come now to consider the last operation in the field, cutting the crop. In this, as in topping, a man of judgment, experience, and fidelity is needed. An inex perienced hand, one without judgrnent,and par ticularly one who is indifferent to the interests of his employer, v-ill slash away, right and left,not knowing or caring whether the tobacco he cnts be ripe or green, doing more damage in a few hours than his whole year's wages would com pensate for, even could they be garnisheed. Therefore, be on hand to see for yourself, and do not delegate the duty to any less interested party, that a crop managed well, it may be, so far,. from the initial plant-bed, shall not be spoiled in the closing work by an incompetent or unfaithful cutter. Be there, too, to see, in this supreme hour, that injury from sunburn ia warded off by the timely removal, to the shade, of the plants that have been cut, or by a proper covering, where they lie, against the scorching rays of the sun. The neglect of this precaution has played havoc with many a crop when brought under the auctioneer's hammer. We should have no space to describe the different methods of curing tobacco, as for instance, sun curing, air-curing, flue-curincr, open-fire-curing, etc., even though the whole subject had not heen gone over again and again in previous reports of this department. We can only say of this oper ation, as of all others connected with the pro duction of tobacco, that much depends on its proper doing and that, as much as possible, it should have the personal superintendence of the owner. But the crop may have been brought along successfully even to the completion of this operation and lack one thing yet, if it be not now properly manipulated. Therefore, go yourself, trust no other into your barns, see with your own eyes, and not through the medium of others; handle with your own hands, and know of a surety that the tobacco hanging on the tier-poles is in proper order for striking and bulking, and act accordingly. When, later on, it is being stripped, sorted, and tied into bundles, or hands, as they are often called, be there again, propria persond, to see that it is prop erly classed, both as to color and to length, the lugs going with lugs, the short with short, the long with lone% etc. Instruct those sorting that when in douTit as to where a particular leaf should be put to put it at least one grade lower than they had thought of doing. Thus any error will be on the safe side. Prize in hogshead- to weigh what is usually called for in the markei in which you sell, and, above all, let the tobacco in each hogshead be as near alike as possible, uniform throughout, so that the sample, frorn whatever point it may be taken, can be relied on as representing the whole hogshead, and that there be left no shadow of suspicion that nest ing has been attempted, or any dishonest practice even so much as attempted. Again, manuring is important. If guano, poultry drop pings, or other special manures are used, they must be followed by a liberal application of stable manure and the plowing under of green crops. For manufacturing tobacco, chewing, snuff, etc., twelve loads of sheep rnanure, twenty loads of horse, thirty loads of cattle, or thirty loads of hog manure would be indicated; those first mentioned being preferable. For cigar or other smoking tobacco: sheep manure, eight loads; horse manure, fifteen loads; cattle manure, twenty loads. If the soil is sandy the cow nia nure being indicated, guano may be applied also, 200 pounds, or poultry droppings 400 pounds per acre. Land in good heart, say capable of producing fifty or sixty bushels of corn per acre, being understood to start with. The tobacco house must be of ample size to properly cure the tobacco without crowding. The building having fifteen feet posts, a space twenty-four by thirty feet is not too much for each acre of heavy to bacco. Barns and outbuildings may be utilized to some extent, but tobacco can not be properly cured in them, since the crop sometimes requires firing—that is, drying by fire heat. Tobacco in the South is usually packed in hogsheads; in the North in cases. For cultivating and curing cigar tobacco, as practiced in the North, the fol lowing synopsis will give an intelligent idea: Ground can not be too rich. Barn yard manure is, beyond dispute, the most preferable, if not the only reliable fertilizer. Gypsum, wood ashes, etc., are good auxiliaries. Sandy loam, prefera ble to a stiffer soil, and thorough cultivation are the great requisites. Without this, a paying crop can not be expected. Fall plowing, or early spring desirable. When ground is thus prepared, say about May twentieth, it should be ridged in rows, three and a half feet apart, or four feet, if the ground is very rich. After ridging cut out indentations to receive the plant, say three and a, half inches deep on the row, and from twenty-two to thirty inches apart, as expe rience rnay dictate, a medium between the two being, perhaps, as good as any, depending, of course, on soil, season, etc. The plants should be set below the general level of the row. as by future hoeing the higher portions will be cut down to a level. All other cultivation should be the same as that for corn or other hoed crops, thorough and frequent. No weeds dare be allowed at any time. In an average season the plant will mature sufficiently by the early part of August to dispense with further cultivation of ground, as the plant shading it will check the growth of weeds. Whenever the plant develops from fourteen to sixteen leaves, hreak off the top, don't cut it off. This arrests the further tion of leaves, but will promote the growth of suckers, which will Lave to be removed, after attaining a length of three to four inches, as often as they appear. It may be well to refer here to two formidable enemies of the plant, viz: the black cut-worm and the green tobacco worm. The former will attack the root of the plant as soon as it is put into the ground. The tions of this worm sometimes 0eeessita,te frequent re-planting. They must be hu nted and destroyed until they disappear, which they will do as the season advances. The last named generally appears about July first, and feeds on the leaf until the crop is secured in the sheds. In fact, they frequently, if not picked off clean, cling to the leaves after the stalk is hung up. About these there is but one advice to give, pick them off and destroy them, going over the field for this purpose daily, as the ravages of the green worm do more to injure the–quality, perhaps, than any one thing. Ususally, from three to four weeks from the time of topping, the plant will mature and be ready to cut. Uniform size of leaves, and a stiffness of the leaf, making it liable to break by bending and handling, are the surest signs of maturity. Cut after the dew is off, but not during the middle of the day, when the sun is bright, as you must guard against burning while it is undergoing the wilting cess, preparatory to spearing and handling in the removal to the shed. When sufficiently wilted, the plan most in practice is spearing or stringing upon laths four feet long, five or six plants to each lath, and then removing same to shed and hang up for curing. Distance between lath, general arrangement of- shed and management of, as to ventilation, mission of light, etc., must be attended to. Air and light having a great influence on the curing and fixing of color, must be used to the best advantage in catering to the tastes of the trade, which, by the way, are subject to quent changes; times light tobacco is in demand and again dark only will meet a ready sale. Strange, but true, frequently when we have it dark the buyers want it light, and vice versa. In removing plants to the shed after cutting various devices are used. Sleds, wagons in various styles, any way in which you succeed without breaking or bruising the leaf, is a good, and the quickest way, with these ends plished, is the best. By the middle of December,. and after, whenever ,,the plant is sufficiently pliable by moisture to strip or handle it without injury, you can strip it; assorting leaves is one of the prominent features in the stripping process. All solid leaves should be kept separate as wrappers, and these sorted into hands of ten or twelve leaves, each hand tied at the butt by a single leaf. All leaves in the same hand should be of uniform length. The hands should then be assorted with reference to length into two or three sizes. All defective leaves should be treated alike and put up separately, the respect ive qualities being bulked up separately ready for market. The packing or casing is generally done by parties buying it from the grower.