7 1 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



smoking one finds the coarse leaves of this tobacco 

 vastly stronger and pleasanter than those of northern 

 Virginia and Maryland which are milder and lighter 

 on the tongue. In Maryland the plants are let grow 

 until they have 8- 10-12 or more leaves before they are 

 1 topp'd,' that is, the tops are broken off so as to check 

 the upward growth; but in this region the rule is to 

 let the plants come to but 6, or at most 8 leaves, and 

 it is thought that better tobacco is thus obtained. 

 Here they raise much ' Sweetscented Tobacco,' which 

 requires a good, light soil, and from its stronger 

 quality should make particularly good snuff-tobacco. 

 1 Long-green Tobacco ' has great, fat, long leaves, and 

 does best on a strong soil. ' Kitefoot ' is an agreeable, 

 lighter sort, and thrives on light, sandy soils. ' Va- 

 rinas ' gets its name from Varina, the splendid estate 

 of a Mr. Randolph on James River. It is said that 

 the tobacco raised about Little Frederick, and called 

 1 Frederick,' makes exceptionally good canaster. Other 

 varieties of this plant are the Oronooko Hudson, 

 Thickjoint, Thickset, Shoestring, and many more, 

 grown on divers kinds of soil, requiring different 

 treatment, and only the planters themselves being able 

 to distinguish between them. + 



Cotton, (Gossypium herbaceum) , is raised here and 

 there even in Maryland but is far oftener seen in this 

 more southern region. As yet none is exported, the 

 people themselves using all they produce. This is 

 an annual plant, and requires either good new land or 

 land well dunged. The seed planted not all coming 

 up, 6-8 grains, towards the first of May or earlier 

 (when night-frosts are supposed to be past), are 

 placed in little hills thrown up 3-4 feet apart. When 



