652 



TOBACCO 



TOBACCO 



are essentially the same as in the case of the 

 Connecticut Havana variety. 



North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia tobaccos. 



The methods of sowing the seed and of preparing 

 and caring for the seed-bed are the same in the 

 case of the North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia 

 tobaccos as those used by the Maryland growers. 

 The seed, however, may be sown at least a month 

 earlier than in Maryland. 



Two systems of harvesting are in general use, 

 both of which have certain advantages. One of 

 these systems is to prime the leaves as fast as they 

 ripen and string them on laths, allowing thirty to 

 thirty-two leaves to the lath. The other and more 

 common system is to cut the entire stalk and cure 

 the leaves on it, as is done with the Connecticut 

 Havana variety. 



The North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia 

 tobaccos are usually flue -cured or fire -cured, 

 for which purpose a special type of barn is used. 

 The essential points of this barn are that it be 

 practically air-tight and provided with one or two 

 furnaces having flues leading up through the center 

 of the barn, giving a large heating surface. There 

 should be at least two small ventilators on or near 

 the top of the barn. 



As soon as the barn is fllled with tobacco, flres 

 should be started and the temperature raised to 

 90° Pahr., where it should remain for twenty-four 

 to thirty hours, during which time the tobacco 

 becomes a uniformly bright yellow. Then .the 

 temperature is raised from 90° to 120° Fahr., for 

 fifteen to twenty hours. This process is commonly 

 known as "fixing the color." The temperature may 

 then be increased gradually to 125° Fahr., at which 

 point it should be maintained for about forty-eight 

 hours. By this time the leaves should be almost, if 

 not entirely yellow, but the stalk will still be green. 

 In order to cure the stalk, the temperature can be 

 raised to 175° Fahr., at the rate of five degrees an 

 hour, where it should remain until the stalks are 

 thoroughly dried. Great care should be taken 

 during the entire process of curing not to allow 

 the temperature to fall, for a lowering of the 

 temperature during the process of curing invari- 

 ably produces discoloration in some parts of the 

 leaf. 



White Burley tobacco. 



The seed-bed should have a slightly southern 

 exposure, in order to get the benefit of the warm 

 rays of the sun in the early spring, and the beds 

 should be protected from cold winds. The best soil 

 for the White Burley tobacco is a rich, friable, 

 virgin loam or sandy soil. The best method is to 

 burn and prepare the seed-bed on old sod-lands. 

 Many farmers select a spot in a vegetable-garden 

 and cover it with virgin mold taken from the 

 woods, and sow it, after thoroughly burning the 

 land until i1> has a reddish or brick-like appearance, 

 when it should be spaded up and thoroughly chopped 

 over with hoes until it is fine and even. The ashes 

 should not be raked off, but should be thoroughly 

 mixed in with the soil. As soon as the ground can 



be worked in the spring, it should be lightly spaded 

 and thoroughly loosened to a depth of two or three 

 inches with harrows or hand-rakes. When in good 

 condition, it should be marked off in beds about four 

 or five feet wide and seeded. It is the usual custom 

 with this variety to use a heaping tablespoonful of 

 seed for every 100 square yards of seed-bed. After 

 sowing, the best practice is to run a heavy hand- 

 roller over the bed or press it with a board or with 

 the feet.. As a rule, the bed is tramped over with the 

 feet until the surface is packed. The seed-bed is 

 usually protected by a canvas covering to prevent 

 the ravages of flea-beetles and to keep it moist 

 and warm. 



The preparation of the land for the field crop is 

 generally begun in the month of March, the usual 

 practice being to turn under the soil with a two- 

 horse plow to a depth of about eight inches. About 

 the middle of April, a revolving disk or harrow is 

 run over the land in order to cut the sod to pieces, 

 after which the field is smoothed over with a slab 

 drag. It is very rare for fertilizers or manure of 

 any kind to be used in the White Burley districts. 

 Tobacco stalks and trash from the barnyard are 

 preferred to any other fertilizer for this tobacco. 

 Owing to the fact that the crop is grown for two 

 years and the field is then put in rotation with 

 other crops, the fertility of the soil is maintained. 



The tobacco plants are usually set after a shower, 

 or, when there is no rain, they are set in the after- 

 noon. The land is cultivated with a bull-tongue 

 cultivator during the fir^t week or so, and then 

 cultivated every week with a double-shovel culti- 

 vator as long as it is possible to do so without 

 injury to the plants. As soon as the cultivation is 

 finished the plants are topped, leaving sixteen to 

 twenty leaves on each plant. Four to five weeks 

 after topping, the tobacco is usually fully ripe and 

 the plants are cut with a tobacco cutter or butcher- 

 knife. The stalks are split down the middle and 

 strung on sticks four and one-third feet in length, 

 after which they are taken to the tobacco barn 

 and hung twelve inches apart on the tier poles. 

 When fully cured, the tobacco is sorted, usually 

 into six grades, and the different grades are tied 

 into bundles of ten to twenty leaves and pached 

 for the market. 



Enemies. 



Fkorbeetle. — This insect is troublesome in the 

 seed-bed. It is combated by a light spray of Paris 

 green (1 pound of Paris green, 1 pound of quick- 

 lime, 100 gallons of water, constantly stirred while 

 in use). The same remedy can be applied to the 

 homworm when the seed-bed is open. 



Tobacco worm. — Two species of these worms 

 attack the tobacco crop, — Phlegethontius celeus 

 (northern), and Phlegethontius Carolina (southern). 

 The eggs are deposited on both surfaces of the 

 leaves and the young worms eat the leaves. Hand- 

 picking, dusting with Paris green or spraying with 

 Paris green (one pound to 160 gallons of water) 

 are effective. 



Cutworms. — Several cutworms are troublesome, 

 among them being Feltia jaculifera, F. gladiaria, 



