94 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER X. 

 CULTURE AND CURING OF TOBACCO IN MISSOURI. 



The French anil Spanish settlers of Missouri raised tobacco for their own consumption, but it was not until 

 about the year 1822 or 1823 that it began to be grown as a staple crop. This cultivation was begun in Pike and 

 the adjoining counties by emigrants from Virginia. It became a staple crop in Oharitou county about the year 1834, 

 and continued to increase in quantity until that county produced fully one-third of all that was grown in the state. 

 No other state in the Union, however, has shown such rapid fluctuations in the amount of tobacco produced as 

 Missouri, and this makes it rather difficult to point out with any degree of precision the tobacco growing districts. 

 When tobacco commands a good price, two-thirds of the counties of the state produce it as a staple crop, but with 

 the fall of prices stock-raising and grain-growing are substituted iu its place. In 1850 Missouri ranked as fifth 

 among the states in the production of this staple, raising 17,113,784 pounds; in 1860 it fell to seventh, though 

 producing 25,086,196 pounds; and in 1870 it took the sixth place, though falling off in production more than one-half, 

 reporting for that year 12,320,483 pounds. The following table will show the production for the past four years: 



Pounds. 



1876 43,245,000 



1877 33,978,000 



1878 22,560,000 



1879 12,015,657 



Only the figures for 1879 are from census returns. 



In 1876 Missouri ranked third in production, Kentucky and Virginia only excelling it, but it fell to the ninth place 

 in 1879. The very rapid decline for the few years past is due to the overproduction in the country at large of the 

 types which are specially grown iu Missouri and to the heavy decline in prices; also in part to the revolution which 

 has taken place among the plug manufacturers of the United States in the substitution of White Burley for fillers. 

 The seed of the White Burley was introduced into the state from Mason county, Kentucky, in 1878 and 1879, but 

 from some unknown cause it failed to germinate well, and. as a consequence, the acreage in tobacco was very largely 

 decreased in every portion of the state. At least one-half the crop of 1880 is estimated to be of the White Burley. 



CHARACTER OF MISSOURI TOBACCO. 



As a tobacco state, Missouri, previous to the change alluded to, presented some original characteristics, to some 

 extent still prevailing. All types, except those used in the manufacture of domestic cigars, are grown, from the 

 heaviest, darkest shipping leaf to the light, bright wrapper, so much sought by do7iiestic manufacturers. The heavy 

 tobacco of Missouri has also great absorbent or "drinking" qualities. 



Missouri lugs make the best ordinary smokiug-tobacco, this grade from the districts producing manufacturing 

 tobacco being lighter than the lugs grown in the shipping districts. The shipping tobacco of Missouri is rather 

 coarse, with large steins and fiber, being grown generally on the rich bottom lands. It contains less gum than that 

 produced elsewhere, and is put up as dry as is possible without breaking. It resembles the Henderson (Kentucky) 

 tobacco, but is not so uniform iu color, varying all the way from a bright yellow to a dark red or brown. The color 

 is naturally from a rich dark brown to a high-colored red leaf. When cut green and cured up it is generally very 

 dark, while that which is allowed to ripen fully cures up a more desirable color. Grown on lowlands or prairies, 

 it produces a rich brown and large leaf, which is much sought for export. The manufacturing leaf is grown on the 

 hill lauds, particularly on the white-oak soils. The chief difference between the manufacturing and the export 

 tobacco is that the former is of fine fiber and texture, brighter in color, and is not so heavy as the latter. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES AND SOILS. 



The heavy tobacco district occupied by the counties of Carroll, Livingston, Saline, Howard, Chariton, Linn, 

 Macon, Randolph, Shelby, Monroe, and Boone is one extended plain, with a rolling surface and a gentle declination 

 toward the. southeast-. Through this plain the Missouri, Grand, Chariton, Lamiue, and Salt rivers have cut their 

 valleys to the depth of 200 feet, while numerous smaller streams intersect all parts of the district, with channels 

 deep and wide in proportion to the water discharged. The undulating character of the surface and the channels 

 of the streams furnish a complete drainage. For the most part the coal measures underlie the whole district, save 

 in portions of Saline, Howard, and Boone, where the Subcarboniferous, Devonian, and Silurian rocks successively 

 appear, and also in the largest parts of Shelby and Monroe, which are underlaid chiefly by the Subcarboniferous 

 rocks. All of these consolidated strata are so deeply covered by the Quaternary deposits that they have exerted 

 little or no influence in the formation of the soil. Resting on the consolidated strata are thick beds of glacial, 

 lacustrine, terrace, and alluvial formations. The glacial strata of bowlders, sands, and clays are sparingly developed, 

 and rest upon the coal measures and older rocks where they come to the surface. The lacustrine strata, known 



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