1881. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



37 



introduced into Ohio, and into at least two 

 diffi-rcnt localities that were widely separated 

 from each other. At first it was simply 

 known as the ••catalpa tree," hut in the 

 meantime the I'astern species, the Cntnlpa 

 bignmn(>idn<, of Wallers, had been widely dis- 

 tributed bv tliv nnrseryim-ii on either side of 

 the 40th piinitlel of north latitude. Here both 

 trees weri' (ihinted totjethcr, and here it was 

 where their .superior hardiness was first ob- 

 served by Slid Foster, of Muscatine, Iowa, 

 on wliosi' ijroiinds the experiment was miide, 

 durinu the severe winters of 1S5-") and 1850, 

 with The entire escape of the speciosa, or west- 

 ern species, and tlie destructioM of the 613- 

 novioide.s, or eastern species. The upenma 

 stood the cold winters on the Missouri river, 

 at Onialui, wlicre the-eastcrn tree was apt to 

 be injured. The Indian and French settlers 

 had long before discovered the value ot the 

 wood and had utilized it. The observant 

 General Harrison, afterwards President of 

 the United States, when acting as Governor 

 of the Xofthwestern Territory, fully appre- 

 ciated the " Shavanon '" tree of the Indiana, 

 and also utilized it. Some posts of Ids plant- 

 ing were in good condition when removed 

 after having done service in a fence during 

 forty years. Some of them were set in other 

 fences now standing. Near the old Governor's 

 mansion, at Vincennes, are catulpa trees still 

 growing, which were probably of General 

 Harrison's planting, one of which is three feet 

 in diameter, with a tall erect stem, bearing 

 its top branches full fifty feet above the 

 ground, and having lateral branches of almost 

 eqnal breadth. This was called the "Treaty- 

 Tree," under which he may have cemented 

 the compact between the United States and 

 the northwestern Indians. Although a great 

 admirer of this tree, the Governor probably, 

 only knew i^ as the catnlpa, without any 

 botanical observations. 



And so it was reputed by Mr. Nnttal, 

 who, in his "Genera," page 10, on the au- 

 thority of General Harrison, gives this region 

 as an indubitable habitat of this tree ; for, 

 up to 1836, that distinguished botanist and 

 extensive traveler had not .seen a catalpw tree 

 in a state of nature ; as he tells us he then 

 did, for the first time, on the banks of the 

 Cbattahoot-Shee, near Columbus, in Georgia. 

 — ■'jStfua Aynericana, vol. Ill, p. 77." 



On leaving his office of Governor of the 

 Northwestern Territory, General Harrison 

 brought the western species of Cataipa with 

 him to his farm at North Bend, where his de- 

 scription wa.s first written. The tree has 

 been spreading in the neighborhood ever since 

 and has become alreadj' perfectly naturalized, 

 although on a (Hffereut soil from that of its 

 native' habitation. Some of the tree.s have 

 been cut down, dressed, and used ;i.s gate- 

 posts. Although taken at midsummer, July 

 2, 185i, they are to-day firm and sound. 



The CuMpa speciosa. is taller, straighter, 

 less branching, more symmetrical, and more 

 hardy than the eastern species {bignonioides). 

 Tlie (lowers are more abundant, larger, and 

 of a purer while. The fruit is usually longer, 

 sometimes two fwt in length, but the steeds 

 present the surest and safest distinguishing 

 characters, as the cornu is spreading, less 

 pointed, and the tissue soft and silky, and the 

 grains are also much larger. 



This tree seems now to be cultivated very 

 extensively throughout tlie west, and they are 

 furnished "on moderate terms by nurserymen. 

 Stone, Harrison & Co., offer SiOO collections 

 of a variety of trees, and among them they 

 will pack 100 catalpas, and forward thera to 

 any address by mail, post i>aid. 



L. S. R. 



Warwick, Febniari/, 1881. 



[Pretty much all that we practicallv know 

 abont the Caia'pa is contained in a para- 

 graph on page 181, in the 12th volume of the 

 Fakmer. "We did receive some weeks ago, 

 an interesting little pamphlet on the subject, 

 and had prepared an article for our journal, 

 compiled mainly from information found 

 therein, but somehow, both it and the pamph- 

 let have been "spirited away " for just now 



we cannot lay our hands on either of them. 

 If there really are but two species (Dr. Gray 

 recognizes but one), and if the wood is of 

 such an endurable and superior quality, it 

 does seem a little singular that those facts 

 were not discovered very long ago. This 

 ovei-sight, however, may be due to the abun- 

 dance of belter material existing heretofore, 

 and that a prospective famine now st;iring the 

 eoundy in the face, has elicited attention to 

 the subject; and al.so that rapidity of growth 

 has as iiiueh to do with the question as the 

 quality of the wood. Its specific gravity is 

 far less than oak, hickory, walnut, cherry and 

 ash. 



Essays. 



TOBACCO CULTURE— HOW TO GROW 

 OUR NEXT CROP. 



We herewith publish an essay on tobacco 

 culture for the benefit of th(«e who are al- 

 ready classed among the growers of the weed, 

 as well as for such as have concluded to enter 

 upon the cultivation of this croj) during the 

 coming season. Such an essay, if it entered 

 fully into all the details, fioni the prepanition 

 of the seed bed until the packing of the crop, 

 would take up much more space than could 

 conveniently be allotted to the subject in a 

 single issue of this paper. 



We have therefore determined to prepare a 

 series of • articles covering the general sub- 

 ject of tobacco culture, which will appear at 

 seasonable periods during the year, each one 

 having a special reference to that portion ot 

 subject which engages the tobacco grower's 

 attention when it appears. In this way the 

 reader's attention will not be confounded by 

 a multiplicity of unseasonable details, but 

 will be occupied for the time being with only 

 that portion of the subject which covers the 

 period at hand. 



As the time is rapidly approaching when 

 tobacco growers will be compelled to begin 

 their preparations for the coming season, we 

 present our first instalment of the general 

 question of tobacco growing. Lancaster 

 county has assumed such a commanding 

 position for the extent, excellence and value 

 of her tobacco product, that the methods 

 practiced by her growers must of necessity be 

 valuable to growers elsewhere, especially to 

 those whose experience h,is been limited and 

 who are not yet thoroughly posted in the most 

 approved modes of tobacco culture. There 

 are perhaps thousands of growers to whom 

 what we shall say will convey no new infor- 

 mation. It is not for such that these chapters 

 are prepared, but for those in other and newer 

 districts, who, while anxious to grow an 

 article that shall command the highest 

 market price, have neither h.ad the required 

 experience nor requisite opportunities for per- 

 sonal observation to enable them to do so. 

 Good Seed. 



In order to grow good tobacco, it is essen- 

 tial that nothing be left to chance. Every 

 step of the process must be taken with the 

 final result In view. A defective link any- 

 where in the season's chain may render all 

 previous or future etforts useless, and render 

 the cami>aign a failure. It is therefore of the 

 highest importance that a correct start is 

 made if final success is to be hoped for. It is 

 true that accident or a favorable season may 

 compensate for a blunder or two, but the to- 

 bacco grower must not rely upon any such 

 stray contingencies. 



Good, healthy, vigorous seed must be had 

 to start with. Too little attention is paid to 

 this anparently small but very important 

 matter by many tobacco growers even here i n 

 Lancaster county. At the proper season, 

 which is of course topping time, the strongest 

 and best plants should be allowed to develop 

 their flower stem. Not all the seed pods must 

 be allowed to mature. All of them except 

 about a dozen at the top must be removed. 

 This will insure much better and stronger 

 seed, and consequently more vigorous plants, 



a most important consideration at all times 

 and in certain seasons decisive of the quality 

 and value of the crop. It would not be amiss 

 if every seed plant had a stake driven into 

 the gnnmd by its side, to which it could be 

 tied and thus be secured against damage from 

 stomis of wind. The pod worm should be 

 carefully .searched for and destroyed. When 

 the bolls have turned black or a dark brown, 

 the sjiike containing Iheni must be cut off and 

 hung up in a dry place, with the tops down- 

 ward, and here they may be left until the 

 the time for sowing them comes round. New, 

 fresh seed should always have the preference; 

 it can be told by its dark brown color; iti 

 grows lighter in color as it grows older. A 

 few growers have suggested, and, we believe, 

 practiced, the planting of a few old seeds 

 along with fresh ones in order to have a bet- 

 ter succession of jilants when the time comes 

 for setting them out and in case they should 

 be needed. 



Old seed, however, must not be regarded as 

 vulueless. It preserves its vitality five or 

 more years. A good test is to throw some on 

 a hot stove; if it crackles or "pops" it may 

 be sown with confidence. There is an opin- 

 ion current that the quality of tobacco will 

 gradually deteriorate unless renewed fiom 

 outside sources evei-y year. There are no 

 good reasons to believe this of any of the va- 

 rieties cultivated here — with the " Pennsyl- 

 vania seed leaf" or the "Gleaner" varieties. 

 Farmers, we believe, have it in their power 

 to keep up and even improve the varieties 

 they have by careful cultivation. The plauta 

 set "apart for seed should .stand near each oth- 

 er; this enables the winds and insects to carry 

 the pollen from one to the other more readily, 

 and thus effect a more complete fructification. 

 This plan ought to be observed instead of the 

 present plan of letting the seed plants stand 

 ill every part of the field. These are appa- 

 rently trilling points, but they all contribute 

 their share to the ultimate success of the 

 grower who observes them carefully. 

 The Seed Bed. 



The seed bed may be fairly regarded as the 

 starting-point of the tobacco grower. It is 

 here that the future wrapper, rich brown in 

 color, generous in size, thinly veined and silky 

 in texture, Ls nourished into life. Its proper 

 management will demand his closest atten- 

 tion, and barring accidents, including the 

 contingencies of the season, his future success 

 depends in a large mea.sure upon his careful 

 preparation of it before planting the seed and 

 his unceasing attention to it afterward.s. At 

 no period of the entire year will watchfulnesg 

 and good management go further towards se- 

 curing a good crop. Knowing this, he must 

 spare neither time nor labor to get a good 

 start, and his seed bed is the place where the 

 work must be beifun. 



Growers of tobacco everywhere are agreed 

 in the opinion that the situation of the seed- 

 bed is a matter of the utmost importance. 

 On this will depend largely the full and timely 

 supply of plants needed. A southern sloping 

 exposure should be selected whenever possible. 

 Where this is not possible, then a southeastern 

 one ; a western one is not desirable, and a 

 northern one still worse. It must he sheltered 

 on the north and west from the keen blasts of 

 early spring. The southern exposure gives 

 the young iilants the full benefit of the sun's 

 rays early in the season and advances them 

 rapidly, enabling the farmer to set out his 

 fields earlier than he otherwise could, thus 

 avoiding the hot weather of summer. 

 Burning the Seed Bed. 



We desire to draw esiiecial attention to a 

 custom which is invariably fruitful in pood 

 results, which is almost universally practiced 

 in the Southern tobacco States, but which 

 hardly one farmer in a hundred in Lancaster 

 county practices ; we of course allude to burn- 

 ing over the seed bed prior to planting. 

 Anything that will burn may be employed 

 for this purpose ; brush wood, corn stalks, 

 old rails and logs, briars, in short anything 

 that is at hand. Several hours hard burn- 

 ing is not too much. This has the effEect 



