294 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



poined stick the planter makes a hole 

 about 4 inches deep, into which he places 

 the plant, packing the earth about it 

 with a few deft touches. The plants 

 are set about 14 inches apart, the rows 

 being about two feet apart. When the 

 field is equipped with an overhead pipe 

 line with sprays every 33 feet, the plants 

 are irrigated in the evening ; otherwise 

 the watering is done with a dipper in 

 the morning. From ten to fourteen 

 thousand plants are set to the acre. As 

 soon as the plants are firmly set a 

 "scooter" is run between the rows, 

 throwing up a flat-bottomed furrow in 

 which the water is run from wooden 

 troughs which divide the field at regu- 

 lar intervals. These troughs are sup- 

 plied from the reservoirs above the field, 

 or from pipes directly connected with 

 pumping plants on the streams. In the 

 overhead system, now recognized as the 

 most perfect and satisfactory method of 

 artificial watering, two-inch pipes run 

 over the frames in parallel lines about 40 

 feet apart, extending all over the fields. 

 At intervals of 40 feet a small iron 

 pipe extends upward about 4 feet above 

 the shades, the upper end being closed 

 with a spraying attachment. When 

 the water is turned on in the pipes it 

 comes out of the sprayer in a fine mist 

 and falls like a gentle rain upon the 

 plants. Sumatra tobacco is cultivated 

 constantly, no weeds or grass being per- 

 mitted to grow in the field. A constant 

 watch is kept to prevent injury from 

 the pests to which the plant is subject. 

 The first of these and probably the worst 

 is the black cut-worm, which working 

 under ground cuts the young plant 

 down near the roots. Should the plant 

 survive this enemy, the planter keeps 

 a lookout for the bud- worm fly, an in- 

 sect that lays its eggs in the center of 

 the bud and bites a hole in the new leaf 

 not larger than a pin point, but which 

 will be as large as a silver dollar when 

 the plant is full grown. Paris green 

 and corn meal prove effective against 

 this pest, and are applied like common 

 insect powder. When the plant has 

 grown to some height the green horned 

 worm, with insatiable appetite, makes 

 his appearance. He eats a leaf 12 by 

 24 inches in a single night and still is 



not satisfied. The grasshoppers, too, 

 cause much annoyance, and the planters 

 fight them in various ways. When they 

 are very numerous they are rounded up 

 by a large force of laborers and driven 

 out of openings in the sides of the fields. 

 When not too numerous, Guinea fowls 

 are introduced into the fields, and they 

 soon complete the destruction of the 

 hoppers. A Guinea hen in full action 

 after a grasshopper is a sight not soon 

 forgotten, and the insect has but a small 

 show for his life. Boys and girls with 

 wooden flappers go over the fields at 

 regular intervals and aid in the destruc- 

 tion of the hoppers. 



Tobacco grows amazingly fast, in 

 some instances attaining 9 feet in 37 

 days, and the plants must be frequently 

 supported by strings attached to the 

 frames. When the tobacco is gathered 

 it is taken to drying-houses, which are 

 immense barn-like structures with large 

 openings to permit the free passage of 

 the air. When thoroughly dried it 

 comes to the warehouse for sorting into 

 its proper grade. There are 9 grades- 

 light, medium, and dark, with spotted 

 and plain of each of the above. Other 

 grades are called seconds, strippers, 

 fillers, and trash, the latter being the 

 waste after sorting. All the work of 

 sorting and grading is performed by 

 colored women. Children are employed 

 in stripping. For a period of not less 

 than nine months the tobacco goes 

 through a sweating process. Then- it 

 is weighed and bulked down. I^ater 

 the bulks are changed, the center of the 

 package being placed on the outside. 

 Then it is brought to the casing room 

 and moistened. After this it comes to 

 a sorting room, where it is graded by 

 colors. Next it is sent to the tyer's 

 table, where it is tied up after the 

 leaves have been sorted and sized. The 

 packages then go back to the bulk- 

 room, where it goes through a process 

 of drying out. It is then brought 

 back to be sized to the inch, and is 

 put into bales, which are again stored 

 for two weeks or more. The bales are 

 then burlapped, marked according to 

 grade, and shipped. 



A fair yield of Sumatra tobacco in 

 Gadsden county is a thousand pounds 



