﻿Tobacco 
  Interests 
  of 
  North 
  Caroijna. 
  

  

  IGl 
  

  

  ured, 
  which 
  is 
  without 
  a 
  superior, 
  if 
  it 
  has 
  an 
  equal, 
  in 
  all 
  

   the 
  world, 
  we 
  have 
  an 
  unfailing 
  source 
  of 
  revenue 
  that 
  alone 
  

   is 
  capable 
  in 
  time 
  of 
  raising 
  her 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  rank 
  in 
  the 
  

   galaxy 
  of 
  progressive 
  States 
  in 
  this 
  Union. 
  It 
  is 
  but 
  a 
  few 
  

   years, 
  twenty-seven, 
  as 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  fact, 
  since 
  the 
  first 
  bright 
  

   North 
  Carolina 
  leaf, 
  as 
  now 
  known 
  in 
  trade 
  and 
  commerce, 
  

   was 
  timidly 
  placed 
  upon 
  the 
  market, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  compara- 
  

   tively 
  short 
  interval 
  that 
  has 
  elapsed 
  since 
  its 
  advent, 
  it 
  has 
  

   become 
  known 
  and 
  esteemed 
  in 
  each 
  of 
  the 
  four 
  quarters 
  

   of 
  the 
  globe. 
  

  

  To 
  Capt. 
  Abishai 
  Slade, 
  of 
  Caswell 
  county, 
  alone 
  belongs 
  

   the 
  honor 
  of 
  discovering 
  the 
  process 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  dark 
  

   brown 
  leaf 
  was 
  converted 
  into 
  the 
  superb 
  " 
  Golden 
  Yellow," 
  

   or 
  " 
  Bright 
  Leaf," 
  a 
  most 
  extraordinary 
  and 
  valuable 
  pro- 
  

   cess 
  ; 
  one 
  which 
  has 
  lifted 
  many 
  an 
  humble 
  hard-struggler 
  

   with 
  poverty 
  into 
  positions 
  of 
  competency 
  and 
  comfort 
  ; 
  for 
  

   it 
  fascinates 
  and 
  excites 
  the 
  buyer 
  as 
  if 
  he 
  could 
  not 
  pay 
  

   too 
  much 
  for 
  this 
  beautiful 
  semblance 
  of 
  the 
  product 
  of 
  the 
  

   mine. 
  And 
  all 
  this 
  treasure 
  is 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  in 
  pos- 
  

   session 
  of 
  our 
  State. 
  Until 
  recently 
  it 
  was 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  

   narrow 
  belt 
  running 
  from 
  south-east 
  to 
  north-west 
  — 
  embra- 
  

   cing 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  counties 
  of 
  Warren, 
  Granville, 
  Orange, 
  

   Durham, 
  Person, 
  Caswell, 
  Alamance 
  and 
  Rockingham, 
  and 
  

   reaching 
  a 
  little 
  way 
  over 
  into 
  Virginia. 
  Now 
  that 
  area 
  

   has 
  been 
  extended 
  by 
  the 
  addition 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  extreme 
  

   eastern 
  counties, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  middle 
  counties 
  of 
  Stokes 
  and 
  

   Forsyth, 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  counties 
  of 
  Catawba, 
  Iredell 
  and 
  

   McDowell, 
  and 
  the 
  trans-montane 
  counties 
  of 
  Buncombe, 
  

   Madison, 
  Haywood, 
  Henderson, 
  Yancey 
  and 
  Transylvania. 
  

  

  AREA 
  of 
  tobacco. 
  

  

  The 
  U. 
  S. 
  Census 
  of 
  1880 
  places 
  the 
  product 
  of 
  leaf 
  tobacco 
  

   in 
  this 
  State 
  for 
  the 
  year 
  1879 
  at 
  26,986,213 
  pounds. 
  There 
  

   has 
  been 
  considerable 
  increase 
  since, 
  both 
  in 
  area 
  and 
  

   pounds, 
  but 
  the 
  following 
  are 
  the 
  latest 
  collective 
  figures 
  

   the 
  writer 
  has 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  obtain 
  : 
  

  

  

  Acres. 
  

  

  Pounds. 
  

  

  

  Acres. 
  

  

  Alamance. 
  . 
  . 
  

  

  .. 
  1,688 
  

  

  695,013 
  

  

  Beaufort. 
  . 
  a. 
  

  

  17 
  

  

  Alexander. 
  . 
  

  

  28 
  

  

  11,799 
  

  

  Bertie 
  

  

  2 
  

  

  Alleghany. 
  . 
  . 
  

  

  S 
  

  

  2,049 
  

  

  Bladen 
  

  

  6 
  

  

  Anson 
  

  

  II 
  

  

  4,880 
  

  

  Brunswick 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  

  

  7 
  

  

  Ashe 
  

  

  60 
  

  

  11,064 
  

  

  Buncombe. 
  . 
  . 
  

  

  .. 
  947 
  

  

  Pounds. 
  

   5,263 
  

  

  554 
  

  

  1,040 
  

  

  2,502 
  

  

  475,428 
  

  

  