142 



TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



the average price was 3| cents per pound. From 1842 to 1846 the price ranged from 3 to C cents per pound. After 

 1846 farmers ceased to prepare their tobacco for market, but sold in the leaf to dealers, who assorted, packed, 

 pressed, and shipped it to Baltimore. 



The following statement, taken from the books of Mr. John Bradford, of Barnesville, Beluiont county, an old 

 dealer, will give the prices paid for loose crops since 1845. The quantity produced in the district was furnished by 

 Messrs. Gierke & Niemann, tobacco merchants in Baltimore: 



In the above table is included all the eastern Ohio and West Virginia tobacco inspected and sold in Baltimore 

 for the years named, the proportion of West Virginia tobacco being estimated at a yearly average of 1,000 

 hogsheads. The table represents, not the year the tobacco was grown, but the year in which it was inspected, the 

 inspection generally comprising the crop of the previous year. 



About the year 1875 the White Burley was introduced into this district, and it has extended until it has become 

 the principal variety grown in Belmont and in the counties immediately surrounding. About 300 cases of 

 onnecticut Seed-Leaf are produced annually, but the culture of this variety is not extending rapidly. 

 On the Muskingum the Peartree tobacco is principally grown. There are three sub-varieties of this, namely: the 

 White Stem, the Yellow Stem, and the Large Peartree. The first two get their names from the color of the stem 

 while growing. These varieties are characterized by a wider space between the leaves than in the Burley or other 

 compact varieties, resembling more the Connecticut Seed-Leaf in their habits of growth. The White and Yellow 

 Peartree, when planted upon sandy white-oak soils, will make yellow tobacco, but the Large Peartree produces a 

 heavy red leaf. In Vinton county the Maryland Thickset is principally grown. It grows a large, heavy leaf of fine 

 texture. In Athens county the Four Stem is the favorite. This variety is said to be thick set, leaves close on the 

 stalk, large and slender, and is preferred because of weight. 



Of the varieties now planted in the district the White Burley is preferred on account of its tendency to cure 

 fairer and more easily than the older ones. It yields from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per acre when well cultivated, 

 newly-cleared lands producing the finest colors and quality. 



The tobacco grown upon heavy limestone soils is mostly "red" and "brown"; but on the clay soils it makes 

 finer colors, such as go in the grades known as "bright reds", "yellow spangles," and "fine yellows", the latter being 

 the highest grade made in the district. 



The Connecticut Seed-Leaf is planted only to a limited extent, and, being cut before fully ripe, cures a dark brown 

 and goes into a separate classification, the grades being wrappers, fillers, and binders. 



The crops of 1874 and 1879 were the smallest that have been grown for twenty -five years. That of 1874 

 failed for want of plants, which were destroyed by frost in April, and by the ravages of the flea-beetle, but the 

 comparative failure of the crop in 1879 resulted from the extreme drouglit that prevailed during the planting season. 

 The knowledge gained as to the influence of particular soils and exposures has aided in improving the quality, and 

 no one would now attempt to grow a fine leaf on bottom lands. The gradual substitution of air-curing for fire has 

 modified many grades, and made them more suitable for domestic manufacture, rather than for export trade. 



Fertilizers are applied upon old soils to a larger extent than formerly, and the size and body of the leaf have 

 been greatly improved. The question of fertilization is one, however, that demands more attention than it is 

 receiving, for a wise policy ought to restrict the further cutting away of timber for growing tobacco. 



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