THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 



BeboteK to ilcjrtculture, JgovtCculturc, unit tlxt JMoxtBtholD em. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 



Xeno'pkon. 



Vol. III. 



TOBACCO. 

 Any thing upon the cultivation of this im- 

 portant plant is of more or less interest to a large 

 portion of oar readers ; we are, therefore, much 

 obliged to Mr. Garnett for the pamphlet referred 

 to in the following note. It attracted great at- 

 tention at the time it was written, is nearly out 

 of print, and is worthy of republication. A 

 great deal of it is useless to the old planter, but 

 is not the less valuable to those who are com- 

 mencing the growth of " the weed." We shall 

 publish the whole in parts, and shall complete 

 it in two or three numbers. We are very de- 

 sirous that our pages should afford full, complete 

 and correct directions for the cultivation of to- 

 bacco, in all its phases ; we will, therefore, be 

 obliged to any of our planters who will review 

 and correct Mr. Minor's work. 



November 2, 1842. 

 To the Editors of the Southern Planter: 



Gentlemen, — In looking over some old papers 

 the other day, I found a small pamphlet prepared 

 for the press in 1822, by Peter Minor, Esq. of Al- 

 bemarle, in this State. It is "on the cultivation 

 and management of tobacco from the plant bed 

 to the prize ;" and I now send it to you in the 

 belief that you will like to republish it in your 

 paper, as it contains many excellent recommen- 

 dations on the subject. Not that I am, or ever 

 was an advocate for the culture of this plant, 

 which I have always considered a great destroyer 

 of land, of timber, and of human constitutions; 

 although I do not think quite as badly of it as 

 King James of Scotland, and old Burton, the 

 celebrated author of the Anatomy of Melancho- 

 ly* But since there is no probability that its 



* As this queer old writer has some odd notions 

 about tobacco, which are quite as oddly expressed, I 

 here give them to you in his own old-fashioned spell- 

 ing: — " Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, 

 which goes farre beyond all their panaceas, potable 

 gold and philosopher's stones, — a soveraigne remedy 

 to all diseases. A good vomit, I confesse, a vertuous 

 hearbe, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and 

 medicinally vsed, but as it is commonly abused by 

 most men, which take i t as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, 

 a mischiefe, a violent purger of goods, — lands, — 

 health; — hellish, develish, damned tobacco, the ruine 

 and overthrow of body and soulc." 

 Vol. 3-1 



Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 

 State. — Sully. 



No. 1. 



cultivation in Virginia will ever be discontinued, 

 it is desirable that every thing in regard to it 

 should be made known as generally as possible. 

 I remain, gentlemen, 



Your obedient servant, 



James M. Garnett. 



NOTES 



On the Cultivation and Management of Tobacco 

 from the Plant Bed to the Prize — according to 

 the most approved practices in Albemarle and the 

 adjacent counties in Virginia. 



1st. Of the Choice of Land for the Plant 

 Beds and Mode of Preparing it. 



A rich virgin loam with a slight mixture of 

 sand is ascertained to be the best soil for raising 

 tobacco plants. Such spots are indicated by 

 the growth of alder and hazle bushes in bottoms 

 and on the margin of small streams, and if the 

 situation has the command of water for irriga- 

 tion it is on that account to be preferred — the 

 spot being selected, the first operation is to burn 

 it with a strong fire. For this purpose the 

 growth of every kind is cut off, (not grubbed 

 up,) and the whole surface raked very clean. 

 The burning should be done before Christmas, 

 or as soon after as the weather will permit — and 

 if done thus early it cannot be well too heavy, 

 even bringing the soil to a hard cake. The 

 wonderful fertility imparted to soil by fire, has 

 of late years been clearly proved and devel- 

 oped by various experiments in this and other 

 countries, but judging from long established 

 practice, we suppose it is a fact that has been 

 long known to tobacco planters — that this ferti- 

 lity is imparted by the fire, and no ways depend- 

 ant upon the ashes left by the process is clearly 

 proved from the fact, that the same results will 

 ensue if the ashes are swept off entirely clean. 

 Or take another piece of ground of equal qua- 

 lity, cover it with as much or more ashes, and 

 prepare it in every respect similar, except burn- 

 ing, and plants cannot be raised in it. Hence 

 the necessity find propriety of regular and uni- 

 form burning, the want of which is always ma- 

 nifested by a diminutive yellow and sickly 

 growth of plants in those spots not sufficiently 

 acted on by the fire. 



After the ground becomes cool from burning, 

 the whole surface should be swept with a coarse 



C. T. BOTTS & L. M. BURFOOT, Editors. 

 RICHMOND, JANUARY, 1843. 



