74 AGRICUI^TURE OP MAINS. 



TOBACCO INDUSTRY IN MAINE. 



yi. B. Smith of Hartford, Conn., conceived the idea that to- 

 bacco could be raised on the soils of Maine as well as those of 

 Connecticut if the grower would only adopt the methods thit 

 had proven efficient in that state. His first attempt in the 

 summer of 1910 was successful, for during that season he 

 raised on a large farm three miles from Belfast six acres of 

 marketable tobacco. He divided the area into two-acre plots, 

 using Broad Leaf, Havana and Cuba seed, respectively. Two 

 acres of this field he grew in the shade under cloth, which is 

 the method fodlowed by many of the Connecticut growers to 

 get the highest quality of tobacco. The accompanying photo- 

 graph shows a portion of the field as it was during that first 

 year. Since that time Mr. Smith has not considered it practical 

 to shade the fields and all of the recent crops have been grown 

 in the open. 



In 1911, he increased his acreage tO' ten acres and this year 

 he grew successfully 15 acres, obtaining practically one ton of 

 marketable tobacco per acre, which is considered a good yield. 

 In the previous years he has shipped all of the crop to Con- 

 necticut to be cured and sorted, but this year he has his own 

 curing facilities and is manufacturing cigars in his own factory 

 in Belfast. His employes, while not yet experts, are doing 

 satisfactory work and in December he was unable to supply the 

 demand for his product which is on the market as "Pearl Brook 

 Cigars." 



The growth of the tobacco plant is not different essentially 

 from that of other common farm crops. The plant is a vigorous 

 grower and responds quickly to proper care. In growing this 

 plant, it is necessary to keep in mind that a definite color is 

 required on the dried leaf and that the ash of the cigar should 

 be white. These qualities insure satisfaction and high prices. 

 Such results are brought about by furnishing the plant an alka- 

 Ime soil, by heavy applications of lime, by feeding the potash 

 in the form of the carbonate which may be supplied by wood 

 ashes, and last, by giving the plant all the nitrogen it needs 

 so that growth will be rapid. With such a combination, the un- 

 favorable climatic conditions are about all that will make the 

 crop a failure, if ordinary care is exercised. 



