52 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



cultivated, healthy in constitution, and cure readily. The Yellow Pryor is especially popular on account of its habits 

 of growth, the plant being of medium size and good height, with leaves set well apart on the stalk, and maturing well 

 early in the season. All the Pryors are useful for stemming into strips, having a small and light stem and smooth 

 leaf. The Little Hill has a rounded leaf, not very wide, of fine fiber, and ranks among the best varieties for 

 stemming and for general purposes. The Orinoco is hardy in constitution arid not liable to diseases of growth ; 

 is most valuable when grown on soils which develop oily consistency and heaviness of texture, making a grade 

 suitable for the better German consumption. The Twist-bud makes a heavy yield, cures easily into bright or red 

 colors, makes excellent plug-fillers, but is not fit for wrappers nor for making strips on account of its narrow leaf 

 and heavy stem. Tennessee Bed is coarse, and derives its value from its heavy weight. Long Green is largely 

 grown by some on account of its weight. The leaf is coarse, of good length, but rather narrow, and when of 

 sufficient length it is valuable for shipment to Africa. 



Even in the same neighborhood, and upon similar soils, there is no attempt at the production of any uniform 

 type. The multiplicity of varieties grown in a single neighborhood, and often upon one farm, has resulted in cross- 

 fertilization, and a consequent production of variations. No valuable varieties can be expected from this miscellaneous 

 inter-fertilization, and even the most careful attempts to that end would be difficult and uncertain amid such 

 surroundings. 



The best planters use much care in propagating the seed and preserving the purity of desirable kinds. Some 

 frequently procure seed from other sections of the country, hoping in this way to produce a plant true to name 



GEOLOGY AND SOIL FORMATIONS. 



The whole of this district lies within the western coal-basin. All the members of this formation are exposed 

 upon the surface at one point or another of the district. In some places the sandstones appear ; in others the 

 shales, conglomerates, or carboniferous limestones are found near the surface in some' localities ; in others, some one 

 of the coal measures is exposed, exhibiting within a narrow territory frequent and abrupt changes of surface 

 configuration, and equally abrupt changes in the composition and character of the soils. 



A feature, of some uniformity in the geology of this district is the prevalence of salt-bearing sandstones, 

 underlying almost its whole surface. All the soils are more or less saline, and in parts of Henderson and Hopkins 

 counties this peculiarity is very marked. 



There are also considerable deposits of iron ore, principally in Daviess, Muhlenburgh, and Hopkins counties. 

 These ore deposits, when in any considerable body, lie at some depth below the surface, but throughout the section 

 of country where iron ores exist the upper soil is more or less ferruginous. 



The largest body of soil of uniform character is the alluvium of the streams, and is found chiefly in Daviess, 

 Henderson, and Union counties, along the Ohio river. In the two latter counties this formation is large, and in 

 Henderson county it is estimated to cover an area of 60,000 acres. McLean and Muhlenburgh counties have 

 considerable tracts of alluvial soils along the line of Green river. These alluvials are very productive, the soil 

 consisting of a very deep loam, overlying a solid red-clay subsoil. The growth of the forests is poplar, elm, 

 sugar-tree, gum, etc., with an occasional undergrowth of cane. 



A small area in Muhlenburgh county deserves special notice, because of the peculiar capacity of its soil. It 

 consists of a narrow strip of land, extending outward from Green river, in some places so swampy as to be 

 impenetrable, and supposed to have been at one time a part of the channel of the river. The prevailing growth is 

 cypress, of which there are large and heavy forests still remaining. Such portions of this territory as could be 

 made available were originally settled by a colony of Pennsylvania Germans, whose descendants still occupy the 

 lands and continue the cultivation of tobacco. The soil is a dark loam on a subsoil of pale red clay. The tobacco 

 produced here is of a thin, light texture, of a very delicate fiber, with a natural tendency to cure into bright colors. 

 It is free from oil and gum, and the lighter part of the product has been much used for fine-cut chewing, and is radically 

 different from types made upon similar soil formations elsewhere. 



The better upland soils are mainly of sandstone derivation, modified by various outcroppings of the strata of 

 the coal group, and consist of a dark mold, mixed with sand, on a subsoil of yellow clay. The growth consists of 

 hickory, black oak, whiteoak, walnut, and a few poplars, with an undergrowth of dogwood, sassafras, and occasionally 

 sumac. Upon rolling or broken lands this class of soils is liable to serious damage by washing, requiring constant 

 watchfulness and good management to preserve them. 



The soils derived from the outcroppings of shales and conglomerates are not very productive. They are usually 

 gray in color, upon a subsoil of light yellow or blue clay. The conglomerate soils make a poor and starchy quality 

 oi tobacco, thin and harsh. The growth upon these lands consists of oaks and hickories, very few of which are 

 large trees. Considerable areas of this class of lands are found in Muhlenburgh, Webster, and Hopkins counties. 

 In Daviess county the ridge lauds have a soil of sandy loam, upon a subsoil of rich yellow clay, with a forest 

 growth of poplar, sweet gum, ash, white oak, and dogwood. These lands produce a tobacco of light body, delicate 



texture and fiber, which cures easily into bright colors, and on that account has been highly valued of late years. 

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