CULTURE AND CURING IN WEST VIRGINIA. 227 



below the freezing point and live. Sheltered spots on southern slopes and hillsides and hot-beds will furnish 

 the needed supply of plants, and by topping low they may ripen and be cut before the usual time for frost. 

 Fertilizers expedite growth and maturity. 



The average annual rainfall along the central zone is about 40 inches, and, as usually distributed over the 

 tobacco belt, is admirably suited to this crop: gentle in spring, more in the growing season of early summer, 

 and less in August and September, allowing the plant to ripen when excessive rains would do harm. 



The lands everywhere in this region are richer than they seem, and produce crops beyond the expectation 

 of those inexperieuced in their capabilities. Green fields may be seen upon steep declivities and on rugged 

 escarpments, even to the very tops of the mountains, proving that the soil on these apparently unfavorable and 

 almost inaccessible localities may be mn.de to yield abundantly. 



West Virginia enjoys comparative immunity from storms, aud the consequent damage therefrom, and the 

 tobacco crops are rarely injured in the sheltered positions of the larger number of the fields, being protected by 

 woods and hills from winds or driving rain-storms. 



VARIETIES OF TOBACCO. 



In the Kanawha valley the varieties mostly grown are Orinoco, Frederick, Pryor, Brittle Stem (Little Orinoco 

 f Virginia), White Stem, and White Burley, one or the other being a favorite in different neighborhoods, according 

 to the preference of the planters, or because of supposed adaptation to certain soils. The Burley has been recently 

 introduced, and some farmers are pleased with it, while others are not. This variety is gradually growing into favor 

 wherever the soil is suited to its proper development, and bids fair to succeed in the valley of the Kanawha, as well 

 as in the Ohio river counties, where the soil is mellow and rich. Along the Ohio river the varieties in use are much 

 the same as those grown in middle Virginia, with a sprinkling of Kentucky and Ohio names. Not much attention 

 seems to be given to the selection of varieties, nor is there much care taken to keep desirable ones pure. As many 

 as three varieties are sometimes seen growing in the same field promiscuously, showing that the planter had sown 

 mixed seed, or had drawn his plants carelessly from beds sown with different varieties. In the Red and Spangled 

 district there seem to be no fixed varieties. In Tyler county the Orinocos, White Stem, and Maryland Thickset 

 are found. The "Yellow Spangled "is only another name for the Orinoco, and its product sells well next in price to 

 the bright yellow and a first-class Burley. The Burley, however, has not been successfully grown on the gray 

 uplands of this state, such as produce a fine spangled or bright yellow leaf. 



On old, rich, or highly-manured lauds the growth is rank and the stalks and stems large, the leaves coarse, 

 brittle, and full of sap when ripe, and consequently cure dark in color. On raw or fresh land, or on old land of 

 medium fertility without manure, the plants are smaller, the texture of the leaves finer, the leaves ripen with less sap 

 and of a yellower color on the hill, and cure brighter and with less body. Fresh land produces the finest tobacco, 

 and that best suited for manufacturing purposes. 



During the past ten years there has been a marked change from the dark to the colored types, the latter, 

 bringing better prices, having increased in production, while the former has diminished. This is especially the case 

 in the section south of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway, where most of the crops are now cured with charcoal, a 

 lew planters using flues, aud the quality has greatly improved, due mainly to the better methods of curing. The 

 same may be said of the counties growing the White Burley. The product is improved by the introduction of 

 this variety, and the mode of curing it by air, without fire, is the cheapest of all. Where the crops are cured 

 with open wood fires, there has been no improvement in quality, and lower prices have lessened the product. 



In Mercer, Monroe, Fayette, and Raleigh counties the improvement in product, consequent upon the better 

 modes of curing, has been more than a hundred per cent. 



THE USE OF FERTILIZERS AND PRESERVATION OF TOBACCO SOILS. 



Neither commercial fertilizers nor domestic manures are much used on the tobacco crop of this state, except in 

 the Yellow district. In this district commercial manures have proved of great benefit, and their use is increasing. 

 These are usually applied in the hill, as this is found to produce the greatest good at the least cost. These fertilizers 

 increase the yield, hasten ripening, aud improve the color; but opinions differ here, as elsewhere, whether or not 

 there is any improvement in quality, different effects of fertilizers upon the quality of the cured product being 

 attributed to the differing character of soils and the quantities of fertilizers used. Heavy applications contribute 

 to the production of large, coarse leaves, particularly on some soils, and the product is unfitted for the finest types; 

 but where applied in limited quantity, and on suitable soils, early growth and maturity without excessive stimulation 

 is the result, and the product is increased without injury to the quality. 



Usually two, and sometimes three, crops of tobacco are grown on newly cleared lands. The second crop is, 

 in most instances, the best larger in yield and of about the same quality as the first ; aud the third, when the 

 land is not too poor, pays about as well as the first. Planted upon the same land for a series of years, without the 

 application of manures in sufficient quantity, there is a heavy decrease of yield and a very marked falling off in 



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