1881.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



119 



TOBACCO CULTURE. 



How to Manage the Coming Crop. 

 There is no pei-iod of rest for tlie tobacco 

 grower from the moment he sets the young 

 plants out in tlie field until he hangs the ma- 

 tured stalks with their wealth of rich green 

 leaves in the tobacco barn. The entire rea- 

 son is one long struggle with the enemies of 

 the plant itself, and continuous work in the 

 field with the plant in order tliat it may attain 

 its fullest and most prolitable development. 

 While he goes through the rows every few 

 days to see that the tobacco worms do not 

 damage it, in the fullness of time another and 

 very important stage of its development is 

 reached, and that is 



Topping. 

 This is an operation that requires not only 

 experience, but nice judgment. In ordinary 

 seasons, in six or eight weeks after setting' 

 out the plants they begin to develop the sged 

 bud at the crown of the plant. This, if left, 

 will develop into a large spike covered with 

 flowers, ultimately forming the seed pods. 

 But if these are permitted to grow michecked, 

 they draw to themselves that nutriment which 

 is required by the leaves for their fullest de- 

 velopment. It is well known that the final 

 aim of vegetable life is the propagation of its 

 kind, either as seed only or in the form of 

 fruit containing seed. The strength of the 

 tobacco plant is concentrated in the effort to 

 perfect the seed, and if this is allowed, the 

 leafy portion of the plant is deprived of those 

 essential properties which give them their 

 highest commercial value. It becomes all 

 important, therefore, that this deterioration 

 of the leaves shall be prevented, and the 

 operation by which this end is attained is by 

 the process known as topping. 

 When to Top. ' 

 Some plants grow more rapidly than others, 

 and send out the seed button, or head, earlier 

 than the rest. No certain period can there- 

 fofe be fixed to begin this operaition. Gener- 

 ally the grower waits until the seed bud can 

 be easily seen, wliile a few do not delay the 

 operation of topping so' long, holding that 

 even the earliest development of the seed 

 plume abstracts strength from the plant 

 which should be directed to the perfecting of 

 the leaf. We can only say it is far better to 

 err by topping early than in waiting too long. 

 The less the strength and energy of the plant 

 is permitted to go into the seed bud, the more 

 vigor will be imparted to the rest of the plant. 

 How to Top. 

 In removing the seed button, the all im- 

 portant thing to be considered is where to 

 pinch it off, how much of the top shall be re- 

 moved, and how many leaves shall be left. 

 It is not easy to lay down a fixed rule to 

 govern all cases. Much depends upon the 

 condition, size and vigor of the plant. If the 

 stalk is strong and vigorous, higher topping is 

 permissable than when it is small and weak. 

 The quality of the product is largely depen- 

 dent upon the proper topping of the stalk. If 

 topped too high, and too many leaves are 

 eft, there will not be sufficient strength to 

 manure the leaves properly, and the result is 

 a thin, trashy article that has neither the 

 body nor the color requisite to command she 



fullest market price. Tlien, too, neighbor- 

 ing stalks may vary, the one be able to ma- 

 ture from two to six leaves more than the 

 other. This also calls for the exercise of nice 

 judgment on the piirt of tl)e grower. A little 

 experience will, however, teach him the plan 

 that will secure the most favorable results, 

 and he will become more expert each suc- 

 ceeding season. 



How Low to Top. 

 Every grower must, therefore, decide from 

 the condition of his growing plants how low 

 or how high to top. We cannot instruct him 

 any further in this particular. The tendency 

 in most cases is to permit too many leaves to 

 remain. He desires the largest possible yield 

 and the temptation to allow more to remain 

 than the plant can properly take care of, or 

 that is consistent with the production of a 

 first-class article, is very great. The rule in 

 this county runs all the way from eight to 

 sixteen leaves, twelve and fourteen being 

 most commonly the number. A few farmers 

 are persistent advocates of low topping ; they 

 believe that more weight is secured in this 

 way, which, of course, implies a greater de- 

 velopment of leaf. The latter half of the 

 proposition is certainly true, and sometimes 

 the first half also, but where the ground is 

 very rich and the growth very rank, there is 

 a tendency to coarseness, which may lessen 

 the marketable value of the product. An 

 extraordinary growth of leaf carries with it 

 large leaf ribs, and these are inconsistent with 

 the production of fine cigars, and this latter 

 should be the point at which all seedleaf 

 growers should aim. The large quantity of 

 manure the tobacco growers of Lancaster 

 county put on their fields is another factor 

 which permits them to top higher than is 

 possible in some otiier sections, and growers 

 elsewhere should bear this in mind. The 

 kind of tobacco cultivated also governs this 

 matter materially. In the foregoing we have 

 had reference to the "Pennsylvania Seedleaf" 

 and the "Glessner," which may be taken as 

 the representatives of the varieties generally 

 grown here. Narrow-leaved varieties, like 



Havana seed," if topped as low, would 

 make a poor show in the matter of pounds 

 per acre. 



As a rule the tobacco that matures earliest 

 in the season will bear the highest topping. 

 As the season advances fewer leaves can be 

 matured, unless, indeed, the latter part of the 

 on should prove unusually favorable. The 

 latest topping should be done at least a month 

 before the season of frost may be expected to 

 come along, in order to allow it ample time 

 to mature and be secured prior to that event. 

 The bud must be carefully pinched out with 

 the fingers, not removed with a knife, scissors 

 or other sharp cutting instrument. The 

 operation of twisting off the crown is highly 

 desirable, inasmuch as the cells of t)ie plant 

 are sharply comjjressed and the loss of the sap 

 or juices is greatly diminished, a vefy impor- 

 tant consideration. Great care must also be 

 exercised lest the leaves around the upper 

 part of the plant should be broken or bruised 

 and their growth be thereby retarded or their 

 value diminished. 



Learning to Top. 



IJnless one is an experienced hand, topping 



is rather a tedious operation. If the party at 

 work must go to the trouble of counting the 

 leaves on every plant in order to find out 

 where the seed-bud must bo pinched off, he is 

 likely to make slow work of it. There is, 

 however, a rule, which, if carefully observed, 

 will save him all this trouble and expedite 

 the business in hand very materially. Let 

 him look on the bottom leaf and then on the 

 one overhanging it in the third tier, and he 

 will find that nine leaves are below that index 

 leaf. If it is desirable to top higher, a glapce 

 above that leaf will at once enable him to add 

 as many more to the nine below it as he may 

 desire. Or, if high topping is warranted, the 

 index leaf may be selected one tier higher up 

 the plant, and the operator will then have 

 twelve leaves as a starting point, counting 

 the bottom and al.so the index leaf, and a 

 little addition or subtraction will give him 

 the required number. At first sight this may 

 seem a complicated process, but it is easy 

 enougli, and a little care and practice will 

 remove all the difliculties that may be en- 

 countered at first. Besides, we know of no 

 other way of getting at the end in view short 

 of counting the leaves, which is not to be 

 thought of when quick work is desirable. 

 Priming, 



This is almost universally practiced in the 

 great Southern tobacco States, but very rarely 

 among the seedleaf g^owe^.^ of Pennsylvania, 

 and we only mention it here to tell wliat it is 

 and the reason why it is performed. Prim- 

 ing, if done at all, should bo done at the time 

 the plants are topped. It consists in remov- 

 ing fiom throe to five of the lower leaves of 

 the plant, which from being near or on the 

 ground have sustained more or less injury 

 fiom the sand and dirt which rains may have 

 cast on them. In the South these are known 

 as the commonest class of "lugs." Priming 

 has its advantages, and perhaps more disad- 

 vantages. If not practiced, the lower leaves 

 protect the upper ones from grit and sand and 

 leaves them in finer condition. Their remo- 

 val may also lacerate the stalk and do injury. 

 On the other hand, it is contended that more 

 nutriment is sent into the remaining leaves 

 by priming the plant, more gum and oil. A 

 few things are very certain, the product is 

 considerably diminished thereby and the labor 

 the operation entails is also an important con- 

 sideration. Our Lancaster county growers 

 Save themselves this trouble and prefer to re- 

 move them at stripping time when these 

 "lugs" are placed among the loivest grade 

 into which the crop is assorted, "fillers." 

 Where priming is severely practiced very large 

 yields are out of the question, and a promi- 

 nent Southern authority recently told the 

 planters that if they wished tobacco farming 

 to become profitable they must give up prim- 

 ing. A loss of several hundred pounds per 

 acre, when the crop is sold at a fixed price 

 "through," means a money loss that our 

 growers here are unwilling to encounter. We 

 beli-ve priming possesses no compensatory 

 advantages and do not encourage it in this 

 part of the country. 



Suckering. 



By topping, the natural inclination of the 

 tobacco plant to propagate its kind through 

 the medium of flowers and seed is interfered 



