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Vol. XXIV, Second Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL, 1863. 



No.. 4. 



CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO. 



A OOEKE8PONDENT asks US foF information in re- 

 gard to the cultivation of tobacco, and whether it 

 is likely to continue a profitable crop ; best varie- 

 ties to raise ; exhaustion of the soil ; manuring, &c. 



At present prices tobacco is highly profitable. 

 Even those who have had but little experience in 

 tlie business, and raised a crop of the most inferior 

 quality, have done well the past season. A to- 

 bacco-grower, a few days since, told us that a neigh- 

 bor of his raised a crop of tobacco two years ago 

 that was of such miserable quality that the dealers 

 would not take it at any price, and finally he sold 



FIG. 1. — PLANT RBADY FOR TOPPING. 



it to him for one cent a pound. This spring he 

 Bold it for 13^ cents per pound — realizing over 

 $500 by the investment. We mention this to show 

 that while there is such a scarcity of tobacco even 

 the most inferior descriptions will find purchasers 

 at paying prices. In the ordinary condition of the 

 market this tobacco would not have sold at all, and 

 the grower would have lost all the labor and ex- 

 pense of growing and curing it. Many persons 

 have gone into tobacco culture, and from want of 

 experience have lost considerable by the operation. 

 The kind of tobacco most profitable to raise at 



the North is the Connecticut Seed-leaf. The ob- 

 ject is to produce a large and perfect leaf, suitable 

 for cigar wrappers. The more good wrappers there 



PIG. 2. — PLANT AFTBK TOPPING. 



are in a crop, the more valuable it is. The inferior 

 leaves make a poor kind of smoking tobacco ; and 

 it not unfrequently happens that from want of care 

 and experience the whole crop has to be sold for this 

 purpose. It is difficult, if not impossible, to raise 

 good chewing tobacco at the North. 

 ' 'As to the exhaustion of the land, there can be 

 rib doubt but that tobacco removes more mineral 

 matter from the soil than any other crop grown. 

 The large quantity of ash in the plant proves this. 

 But the land can be kept up with manure. We 

 know a gentleman in this vicinity who has raised 

 tobacco on the same land for sixteen years. He 



FIG 3. — PLANT WITH THE SUCKKBS GEOWINQ. 



gives his field a heavy dressing of distillery ma- 

 nure every year, and the soil is richer now than 

 when he commenced. But of course this is owing 

 to the manure. A very few crops without manure 

 would soon impoyerish the aoil. 



