38 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER VI. 

 CULTURE AND CURING OF TOBACCO IN INDIANA. 



The counties in Indiana growing the largest quantities of tobacco for market are Brown, Dubois, Gibson, 

 Greene, Perry, Pike, Spencer, Warrick, and Wayne. Of tbe total product of the state in 1879, over 85 per cent, 

 was grown in the counties of Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Spencer, and Warrick. This block of counties lies in 

 the southwestern part of the state, between the Ohio river on the south and White river on the north, being 

 adjacent to the Lower Green River district of Kentucky. 



GEOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



Excluding the ash-colored alluvial bottoms, which are formed of the tine silty deposits gathered by the streams 

 from the highly-comininnted material of tbe drift and clay, this block of counties belongs to the carboniferous 

 formation. Along the Ohio river the lands in the eastern part of the district are broken into hills more or less 

 abrupt, which rise to an equal height with the great interior plateau which forms by far the largest part of the 

 surface of the state. These elevations sometimes form long, winding ridges, which constitute the watersheds of the 

 numerous tributaries of the Ohio river. The lowlands on the streams sometimes spread out to a great width, rising 

 gradually for the most part by easy slopes to the summits of the ridges, and these ridges are frequently almost 

 severed by the beds of smaller streams, making a succession of knobby hills. At other places the crests of the 

 ridges are broad enough to give a wide expanse of gently-rolling laud, and these continue to widen as the distance 

 from the larger streams is increased, forming large plateaus by uniting one with another as the heads of the 

 smaller streams are passed. In the western part of the district the surface is more level, there being but few high 

 lulls. 



In Dubois county one-tenth is estimated to be creek and river bottoms, one-half modified drift and alluvium 

 of ancient lakes and rivers, and the remainder bold hills and ridges and elevated plateaus, made up of the 

 conglomerate sandstones and slates of the coal measures. The eastern part of the county is very rugged, but in 

 the southern and western parts plateau lands are of frequent occurrence, sometimes level, but generally rolling. 

 Some of the best soils in the county are derived from the loess, which generally forms a saudy loam of brown 

 color. Many of the highest plateaus and hills are capped by this soil, which suppjies a tree growth of walnut, 

 sugar maple, wild cherry, and papaw. These plateaus are usually called "walnut levels'* which are noted for the 

 excellence of the crops grown upon them. The soil of many of the creek and river bottoms is very wet in winter, 

 and bakes to great dryness in summer. It has an ashen color, is very flue-grained or powdery, though pebbles 

 and broken shaly material often occur, imbedded in the finer silty deposits. The usual timber growth is elm, red 

 maple, and gum, and where there is a considerable proportion of sand and gravel beech, sugar maple, overcup 

 oak, and the tulip tree are found. 



The surface in the western part of Gibson county is generally level or gracefully undulating. About one-half 

 of this portion of the county is bottom land, lying on the Wabash and the White rivers. Some sandy barrens 

 also occur. Elevated plateaus are characteristic of the eastern and northeastern boundaries. These are often 

 pierced by deep valleys. The soils of this county are fairly typical of the soils of the principal tobacco-growing 

 area of the state, and may be divided into four groups : 



1. River bottoms, made up of sands aud clays spread out by overflows, generally fine silt or impalpable 

 sands, but often gravelly or slaty. This soil is formed by a commingling of materials derived from the various 

 beds through which the streams pass with a large amount of vegetable matter. Where there is not an excess of 

 argillaceous matter the soil is warm and rich, but local beds of "erawfishy" soil occur, as well as beds of sand. 



2. Second bottoms. This soil generally rests against the terrace beds or ancient alluviums, which may be 

 recognized by the beds of sand and gravel, reaching to a considerable height. The texture of this soil is much 

 coarser than that of the river bottoms. 



3. Coming next is the loess, consisting of ashy-gray siliceous clays, often containing minute shells. When 

 undisturbed it has a buff color, but under culture it rapidly assumes the gray ashen color mentioned, and becomes 

 compact in structure. 



4. The bowlder drift next succeeds. This is a heavy bed of blue and gray clays, very tenacious, and containing 

 a large amount of pebbles and bowlders foreign to the region. 



The yellowish loam which rests upon the ridge coming in from Pike county constitutes a broad belt of very 

 fertile lauds about Princeton and Owensville, and its characteristic timber is oak and poplar (tulip tree), maple, 

 beech, hickory, ash, gum, etc. ; in the river bottoms, walnut, sycamore, cottonwood, papaw, elm, and honey -locust. 



Perry and Spencer have many more rugged hills than the counties described, and Perry, Spencer, and Warrick 

 have the largest areas of good alluvial soils, the two latter counties producing five-eighths of all the tobacco grown 



in the state. Spencer grows the best tobacco, but Warrick makes the largest quantity. 

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