﻿Tobacco 
  Interests 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina. 
  165 
  

  

  So 
  rapid 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  trade, 
  that 
  one 
  may 
  

   see 
  farmers 
  and 
  tradesmen 
  on 
  the 
  breaks 
  who 
  have 
  risen 
  

   from 
  comparative 
  poverty 
  to 
  comparative 
  opulence 
  in 
  a 
  

   few 
  years. 
  Lands 
  that 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  bought 
  a 
  dozen 
  

   years 
  ago 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  dollars 
  an 
  acre, 
  cannot 
  now 
  be 
  

   had 
  for 
  less 
  than 
  hundreds 
  of 
  dollars 
  per 
  acre, 
  and 
  some 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  purchased 
  at 
  all, 
  so 
  much 
  has 
  tobacco 
  increased 
  

   the 
  value 
  of 
  everything 
  in 
  the 
  localities 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  grown 
  

   and 
  sold. 
  Tobacco 
  and 
  its 
  influence 
  upon 
  the 
  prosperity 
  of 
  

   the 
  people 
  of 
  the 
  tobacco 
  belt, 
  is 
  the 
  one 
  common 
  topic 
  of 
  

   observation 
  everywhere, 
  just 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  to- 
  

   bacco 
  districts 
  of 
  Connecticut, 
  Massachusetts, 
  New 
  York, 
  

   Pennsylvania 
  and 
  other 
  Northern 
  States. 
  Notwithstanding 
  

   the 
  appreciation 
  in 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  lands 
  under 
  tobacco 
  culti- 
  

   vation, 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  immigration 
  will 
  be 
  likely 
  to 
  demand 
  

   for 
  many 
  years, 
  and 
  as 
  good 
  as 
  the 
  best, 
  can 
  be 
  procured 
  at 
  

   prices 
  within 
  the 
  means 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  ordinary 
  laboring 
  man. 
  

   It 
  is 
  so 
  all 
  through 
  the 
  State. 
  Within 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  territory 
  

   embracing 
  the 
  thriving 
  towns 
  of 
  Durham, 
  Henderson, 
  Ox- 
  

   ford, 
  Winston 
  and 
  Reidsville, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  cele- 
  

   brated 
  Piedmont 
  District, 
  thousands 
  upon 
  thousands 
  of 
  

   acres 
  of 
  the 
  very 
  best 
  tobacco, 
  cotton, 
  grain, 
  fruit 
  and 
  wood 
  

   lands 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  are 
  still 
  available 
  to 
  all 
  honest 
  and 
  in- 
  

   dustrious 
  immigrants 
  at 
  reasonable 
  prices. 
  

  

  culture 
  and 
  curing 
  of 
  tobacco. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  facts 
  are 
  gleaned 
  mainly 
  from 
  the 
  tobacco 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  10th 
  Census, 
  advance 
  sheets 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  

   kindly 
  furnished 
  the 
  author 
  by 
  the 
  Commissioner 
  at 
  Wash- 
  

   ington. 
  The 
  very 
  highest 
  authorities 
  have 
  been 
  sought 
  

   both 
  in 
  this 
  State 
  and 
  Virginia, 
  and 
  the 
  facts 
  herewith 
  sub- 
  

   mitted 
  may 
  be 
  relied 
  on 
  as 
  accurate. 
  In 
  this 
  State 
  the 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  of 
  the 
  fine 
  tobacco 
  interest 
  displays 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   most 
  remarkable 
  transitions 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  agriculture. 
  

   Its 
  growth 
  was 
  first 
  begun 
  in 
  this 
  State 
  by 
  two 
  brothers, 
  Eli 
  

   and 
  Elisha 
  Slade, 
  of 
  Caswell 
  county, 
  upon 
  a 
  ridge 
  between 
  

   two 
  small 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Dan 
  river. 
  The 
  soil 
  was 
  thin 
  

   and 
  sandy 
  and, 
  in 
  comparison 
  with 
  the 
  river 
  bottoms, 
  was 
  

   of 
  little 
  value. 
  About 
  1S52 
  or 
  1853 
  the 
  Slades 
  grew, 
  by 
  

   chance, 
  as 
  they 
  supposed, 
  a 
  small 
  crop 
  of 
  yellow 
  tobacco. 
  As 
  

   it 
  grew 
  year 
  after 
  year, 
  its 
  peculiarities 
  were 
  attributed 
  to 
  

   special 
  methods 
  of 
  culture 
  and 
  curing. 
  They 
  communicated 
  

   11 
  

  

  