THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



83 



Mr. Minor in the course of his report makes 

 an accurate estimate of the expense of preparing 

 the hot bed for tobacco plants, and finds it to be 

 very nearly the same with that of preparing 

 plant beds in the usual way. In making the 

 hot bed he estimates the labor of two men and 

 three women, an ox cart and four steers, one 

 day, at three dollars ; seven cart loads of stable 

 and two of cow-pen manure, four dollars ; a cart 

 load of mould from the woods, twice weeding 

 the bed and watering, a bushel and a half of 

 poudrette, one dollar covers the entire cost. — 

 The manure used in the bed, after having per- 

 formed its functions, still worth three dollars. — 

 The nett cost of this bed, then, is about five 

 dollars. 



Mr. Richmond Terrell also made an experi- j 

 merit on growing tobacco plants in hot beds, j 

 which, from various causes, was imperfectly! 

 conducted, and with but partial success. As to , 

 the fact, however, of the plants in hot beds j 

 drawing with better roots, and living and grow- j 

 ing off better, when transplanted, he fully bus- j 

 tains the result of Mr. Minor's experiment. 



WHEAT. 



On top-dressing wheat, by Dr. Wm. G. Carr. 

 I top-dressed with equal quantities of stable 

 manure, six lots of wheat in the first week of 

 October, November, December, January, Febru- 

 ary and March. The land manured is thin, 

 gray highland, with a considerable admixture of 

 sand. Without manure it might have brought 

 from three to five bushels of wheat to the acre. 

 The manure was spread very thin, at the rate 

 of not more than ten cart loads to the acre. — 

 From the time it came up until harvest the 

 wheat, top-dressed at the lime of sowing in Oc- 

 tober had the advantage of all the other lots. — 

 It came up better, grew faster, filled better and 

 ripened some days earlier than the other lots. — 

 In spite of a thick crop of blue grass, this lot 

 yielded at least fifteen bushels to the acre, while 

 that adjoining, of the same character, but not 

 manured, did not yield three. I was unable to 

 discover any difference in the other lots. The 

 top-dressing had a decided good effect on all in 

 hastening their maturity and improving the 

 quantity and quality of the product over the 

 unmanured land adjoining — the crop being fully 

 doubled on all. 



The several experiments have been, for the 

 most part, conducted with highly commendable 

 care and accuracy, justifying the fullest confi- 

 dence in the results. 



H. Minor, 

 Wm. W. Minor, 

 Frank Carr. 



The report on Col. Randolph's farm, will ap- 

 pear in the May number. 



From the Whig. 



VIRGINIA TOBACCO INTEREST. 



Reflections of a Virginia Tobacco Planter on the present 

 situation and f uture prospects of the Tobacco Growers 

 in Virginia. 



Until within the last ten or fifteen years, the 

 average crops of the United States were about 

 as follows : 



Maryland, 30,000 



Virginia, 45,000 



Western States, 



At present — 

 Maryland, 

 Virginia, 

 Western States, 



30,000 



105,000 hhds. 



185,000 



80,000 hhds., present in- 

 crease of production, in comparison with that of 

 ten to fifteen years ago, or about 76 per cent., 

 without a corresponding increse of consumption j 

 it is evident ihere must be a decrease in prices. 

 Does such increase of consumption exist 1 It 

 certainly does not ; indeed the increase of con- 

 sumption is comparatively small, which is proved 

 by the excessively large stocks now in the Eu- 

 ropean markets, and the unparalleled low 7 prices 

 in those markets. 



The recent increase of production in Virginia 

 may be attributed mainly to the uncertainty, of 

 late years, of the wheat crop, causing a much 

 larger exten-t of land to be appropriated to the 

 culture of tobacco. The average of the Vir- 

 ginia crop of tobacco for the last four years has 

 been fifiy-five thousand hogsheads, which is ten 

 thousand hogsheads increaseupon former produc- 

 tion. The produce of the last two years would 

 have been much larger but for the very unpro- 

 pitions seasons. It seems to be very plain, that 

 at the present prices of the lands and slaves, 

 that the present prices of Virginia tobacco will 

 not pay the cost of production. Is there any 

 good reason to calculate on better prices ? It is 

 thought not, until the production is lessened. — 

 W T ill the production be lessened ? The Western 

 States produce more than half of the entire crop 

 of the Union ; it is believed that the crop of the 

 West will continue to increase, and force Virgi- 

 nia to abandon, in a great degree, ihe culture of 

 the plant. The greater fertility of the lands of 

 the West, their comparative cheapness, and the 

 comparative cheapness of the necessaries of life, 

 enables the Western planter to produce tobacco 

 at lower prices than it can be produced in Vir- 

 ginia. The Western tobacco has been growing 

 in favor in all foreign markets for the last few 

 years, and for general uses it is now preferred to 

 that of Virginia. Until within the last few years, 

 Western tobacco was not used at all in France, 

 nor in Great Britain. France now uses much 

 more of it than of the Virginia growth ; about 



