72 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



(May, 



among farmers as a saudy loam, resting upon 

 a limestone formation, is much the best to- 

 bacco land. Fine alluvial soils, such as are 

 found along river bottoms, excel all others. 

 In many of the northern counties of this 

 State there are fine tobacco lands along the 

 Susquehanna and its tributaries while those a 

 few mites distant are comparatively valueless. 

 Perhaps the best tobacco land in the world is 

 furnished by the islands in the Susquehanna. 

 New Ground the Best. 

 It is equally well known that new ground, 

 a virgin .soil that has never been made ac- 

 quainted with the plow and the harrow, is 

 far better than laud which has long been un- 

 der cultivatiou. It is on such ground that 

 the best results in tobacco culture have been 

 attained. In the Southern tobacco growing 

 States, where lauds are plenty and cheap, and 

 where forests still cover much of the country, 

 new lauds are commonly used. In fact, their 

 system of culture necessitates such a course. 

 With us here in Lancaster county, this course 

 is practicable only in exceptional cases. Our 

 forests are nearly all gone, and new lands 

 seldom attainable. During recent years, 

 however, the limited woods still left have been 

 heavily drawn upon to supply tobacco ground. 

 It seems a pity that our forests should be 

 felled solely for this purpose. 



The Best Localites, ■ . 



Tobacco ground should be chosen as well 

 for its localities as for its richness and pro- 

 ductiveness. It should have a southern ex- 

 posure, if possible. It ouglit to be slightly 

 rolling, rather than flat, on account of the 

 better drainage, which is of no little impor- 

 tance. Lands sloping gently upwards from 

 the water courses are preferable to uplands, 

 although these are frequently damaged by 

 heavy rains -and floods. Dry, well-drained 

 soil is of much value and importance in this 

 matter. In many places this brown or choco- 

 late colored soil of this county rests upon a 

 sliivered instead of compact limestone forma- 

 tion, affording a most excellent natural drain- 

 age downward, which reheves the ground of 

 its surplus moisture. This is another of the 

 many natural advantages which the farmers 

 of this county have for the production of this 

 crop. Although tobacco requires a liberal 

 share of rain, an excess of moisture is fatal 

 to a good crop and to fine leaf. This is why 

 a loamy, friable soil is best suited to the cul- 

 ture of the tobacco plant. This also makes 

 slaty, sandstone and free-stone formations ap- 

 propriate for tobacco -growing. The color of 

 the Soil has also much to do in influencing the 

 crop. Just as the dark-colored soils of this 

 county are largely to be .credited with the 

 rich, chestnut-colored leaf of which we boast, 

 a light-colored ground will be likely to impart 

 to a certain extent its color to the tobacco 

 crop grown on it. In the northeastern portion 

 of Lancaster county there are red sandstone 

 districts in which the earth and rocks are 

 fairly red, but buyers assure us that when 

 these lands are heavily manured the tobacco 

 grown on them is of excellent quality and 

 hardly distinguishable from that grown on 

 more favored soils. 



A Change of Ground Desirable. 



Most farmers are accustomed to change 



their tobacco ground from year to year, 



although some plant on the same ground two 

 or more years successively. There is no good 

 reason why the same ground should not pro- 

 duce good crops continuously, if well fed and 

 cared for. Two years ago we saw a crop taken 

 off an alluvial field on the Conestoga, which 

 was the ninth in regular succession. The 

 grower told us it was equal to the first one, 

 and it was really hard to beat. But while 

 these repeated croppings are possible, we do 

 not think they should be encouraged. They 

 are likely to work harm to the rest of the 

 farm, and in this way: If tobacco is grown on 

 the same ground for a series of years, an un- 

 due share of the contends of the barnyard are 

 carried to one spot instead of being distribu- 

 ted in the course over the entire farm. When 

 the manure is carried upon the same spot in 

 excessive quantities year after year the re- 

 maining acres are bound to suffer and the gen- 

 eral condition of the farm will in all proba- 

 bility run down. There can be no doubt that 

 except in special cases a new. site every year 

 or two for tlie tobacco field is advantageous. 

 In this way all the fields in turn get their heavy 

 coating of manure and the average feitilityof 

 the farm is kept up. The tobacco grower should 

 ever bear in mind that a time may come when 

 tobacco growing may be no longer desirable 

 or profitable, and when he will have to fall 

 back on his usual farm crops. If he discov- 

 ers that this special crop has, through the un- 

 due prominence given it, lowered the general 

 productive capacity of his acres, it would 

 have been well for him perhaps, if he had 

 never grown a single tobacco plant. 



Fall and Spring and Plowing. 

 It is hardly worth while at the present 

 time to more than simply allude to the fall 

 plowing of tobacco ground ; but we cannot 

 allow the opportunity to pass to advocate its 

 more general practice. Spring plowing only is 

 the almost exclusive rule amoni; our farmers, 

 but we believe they would find it to their ad- 

 vantage in many respects to give the ground its 

 initial plowing in the fall. We say initial 

 plowing because more than one plowing is 

 almost indispensable to a good crop, and is 

 largely practiced by tobacco growers in Lan- 

 caster county, As a rule tobacco is put on 

 the previous years corn groimd. A few old 

 growers, however, turn down sod, and do it 

 in the fall. Their testimony is conclusive 

 upon a very important point : they are agreed 

 that the cut worms are far less numerous in 

 the following spring and consequently less 

 destructive. This is in itself a most import- 

 ant consideration and deserving of attention. 

 Of course, the land should be turned before 

 the grass has withered and died. Unless this 

 is done little or no advantage is derived from 

 the grass crop turned under. The heavier 

 the vegetable growth on the ground the more 

 satisfactory the result the following year. 

 Then, too, to let the turned up furrows lie in 

 ridges during the winter, expo.sed to the va- 

 rious weather changes, has a most happy 

 effect upon the soil. No good results could 

 come from turning sod in the spring for to- 

 bacco. There would be no time for the vege- 

 table mass to decompose and become availa- 

 ble as plant food for the tobacco plant. No 

 doubt corn stubbles would be all the better j 

 for like treatment in the fall, although in the | 



latter case it would be best to plow under the 

 manure, so that in the following spring it 

 would be brought to the surface again better 

 prepared by the decomposition to feed the 

 tobacco plants. 



Use of Fertilizers. 

 The general rule, however, as we have 

 already stated, is to plow corn ground in the 

 spring for the purpose of preparing the tobacco 

 field. Two or three weeks before the plowing 

 is to be done haul out your manure, and let 

 us say right here, put on nothing but stable 

 manure. The experience of the past quarter 

 of a century in this county has unmistakably 

 pointed out that no other fertilizers so far 

 used give such excellent results. ■ We do not 

 think we err in saying that much of the repu- 

 tation the tobacco of Lancaster county has so 

 justly acquired, is due to the almost exclusive 

 use of barnyard manure. We cannot impress 

 this fact too earnestly on the minds of our 

 tobacco growers. We do not -say artificial 

 fertilizers have not given good results. The 

 tobacco grown by their use is, however, not 

 in favor with packers or manufacturers. It 

 burns with a darker and less compact ash, 

 whereas with a good soil and well rotted barn- 

 yard manure a tough, liglit-colored ash is al- 

 most certain to result. These are the requi- 

 sites demanded by cigar manufacturers, and 

 the grower must cater to their needs. If the 

 buyer is aware that artificial fertilizers have 

 been used, he will rate the crop lower than if 

 barnyard manure had been put on the field. 

 Let no tobacco grower lose sight of this fact. 

 Let him not be deceived by attractive analyses 

 of this, that or the other artificial fertilizer. 

 They may be just as represented ; but if he 

 he wants to grow the) best tobacco and com- 

 mand the top market price, he must stick to 

 barnyard manure. That, and that alone, will 

 enable him to produce the best article that 

 can be grown. 



Quantity of Manure. 

 It is unnecessary to go into minute details 

 as to the proper quantity of manure to be 

 drawn on an acre of tobacco ground. A good 

 rule to go by, is to bear in mind that you 

 can't well put on too much. Two years ago 

 Col. Young, of Middletown, hauled it so 

 thick that the men who spread it declared 

 they could hardly find place enough on which 

 to put it ; the ground was completely covered, 

 but the crop proved the wisdom of the plan 

 and amply repaid the outlay. Besides, it 

 must be borne in mind, the manure is not in- 

 tended for the food of the tobacco crop alone. 

 Wheat commonly follows tobacco, and it is a 

 well known fact that the crop of this grain 

 grown on tobacco land is commonly the best 

 raised on the farm. Therefore, in manuring 

 tobacco land you are at the same time pro- 

 viding for the .succeeding crop as well. Al- 

 ways bear that in mind, and then haul out a 

 few loads more. What the tobacco cannot 

 make use of will most likely give you an in- 

 crease of five bushels per acre in your wheat 

 crop. 



Plowing the Land. 

 Tobacco ground must not be scratched 

 over, but plowed, and plowed deeply, espe- 

 cially at tlie first turning of the soil. The 

 roots go down a considerable distance, and 

 the ground must be prepared to that end. 



