CULTURE AND CURING IN ARKANSAS. 



25 



CHAPTER III. 

 CULTURE AND CURING OF TOBACCO IN ARKANSAS. 



The production of tobacco in Arkansas is comparatively a new industry, and is confined to a few counties r 

 hicfly in the northwestern corner of the state. The quality of the tobacco grown is very similar in every respect 

 to that produced in Virginia. The tobacco-growing portion of this state is in the same latitude as that portion of 

 North Carolina which produces the finest yellow leaf in the United States, and the heavy, dark types are taking a 

 liigh rank for the Regie trade. 



While the chief agricultural products of the state are cotton and corn, there are large areas which, in soil and 

 climate, are well adapted to the growth of small grain and of tobacco. This is especially true of the elevated plateaus 

 in the northern part of the state west of Black river, comprising the counties of Randolph, Izard, Newton, Boone, 

 Madison, Carroll, Benton, and Washington. These counties in 1870 produced two-thirds of the tobacco grown in 

 the state. The soil on which the great bulk of the crop was grown is chiefly derived from the disintegration of 

 the magnesiau and subcarbouiferous limestones. The weathering of these limestones does not at any place give 

 a heavy or impervious soil, as the siliceous constituents in both formations give porosity and furnish sand enough 

 to make the soil loose and of easy cultivation. With a subsoil of red clay they retain manures for a long time, and 

 no soils in the United States respond more readily in all seasons to manurial applications. 



The census of 1840 returned for the state of Arkansas 148,439 pounds ; of 1850, 218,936 pounds; 1860, 989,980 

 pounds ; 1870, 594,886 pounds ; and by the returns of the enumerators in 1880 the state, in 1879, produced 970,220 

 pounds, showing a small decrease as compared with that produced in 1859, but an increase of 63 per cent, as 

 compared with the crop of 1869. Of the product of 1879 the counties of White, Independence, Madison, Boone, 

 Washington, and Benton produced '531,494 pounds, the last-named county alone producing 395,982 pounds, being 

 more than three-fifths of the amount reported for the whole state by the census of 1870. 



BENTON COUNTY DISTRICT. 



The surface of Benton county, the only one in the state that produced over 100,000 pounds of tobacco, is 

 rolling, with numerous tracts of elevated table or prairie land. Alike in surface features are Boone, Madison, and 

 Washington. The town of Fayetteville, in the latter county, has an elevation of 1,350 feet above the sea, and a 

 prairie in Madison county has an elevation of over 1,000 feet. The streams run in deep valleys, cut down through 

 these plateau lands, from which they are fed by never-failing springs. 



No extensive series of observations have ever been made in the tobacco-growing region of Arkansas. The 

 elevation of Benton county is between 800 and 900 feet greater than that of Fort Smith, the latter being 460 feet above 

 the sea. The center of Benton county is about one degree farther north. At Fort Smith a period of observation 

 covering nineteen years and three months shows the temperature of spring to be 60.79 degrees ; of summer, 78.48 ; 

 of autumn, 60.65 ; and of winter, 40.55 ; mean for the year, 60.12. The difference in elevation and in latitude would 

 probably make a difference in the annual temperature of between two and three degrees. The rain-chart 

 constructed under the direction of Professor Joseph Henry shows that the annual precipitation in Benton county 

 varies from 32 to 44 inches. 



VARIETIES OF TOBACCO GROWN. 



The White Burley, which grows in the tobacco districts of Arkansas, is very large, giving it a rough appearance, 

 and, in consequence of its size, many of the leaves, in growing, touch the ground. The Virginia Golden Leaf is also 

 grown to a considerable extent, and is very rich, oily, and smooth, with stem and fiber small. It also matures 

 early and cures easily, and is the favorite for fillers. The Yellow Pryor and the Orinoco are nearly equal in good 

 qualities, but do not produce as fine a leaf. The two latter varieties are richer in oily substances than the White 

 Burley, and are not so fragrant or heavy in body as the Virginia Golden Leaf, but are very useful for plug work. 



The relative proportion of types has varied greatly within the last decade, as illustrated by the following: 



It will be seen that the nondescript and shipping leaf have been largely reduced, while the higher grades have 

 all increased, except bright wrappers. 



In northern Arkansas this improvement has been very marked since 1877, especially in grades suited for 

 domestic consumption. The production of the heavy shipping qualities is avoided as much as possible. The 



till) 



