CULTURE OF TOBACCO. 
119 
Want of space compels me to cut my epistle 
short. 
1 might say much more in relation to means of 
improvement, and go more minutely into the charac¬ 
ter of some lands that I have merely alluded to ; but 
I think from my own observation, reading and ac¬ 
quaintance with men who have travelled over those 
portions of the Union which 1 have not, that Eastern 
Virginia presents greater inducements to Northern 
men to emigrate there than any portion of the United 
States, and I should recommend any one wishing to 
change his location to at least look at it. I fear I 
shall tire your patience by my hurried epistle. 
G. P. Lewis. 
Huntington, L. I., Feb. 28, 1845. 
CULTURE OF TOBACCO. 
The growing of tobacco is becoming an important 
business in the valley of the Connecticut, and yields 
a better return to the farmer on rich land, than almost 
any other crop. This crop was greatly increased the 
last season, and I think I do not exaggerate, when I 
estimate the amount grown in the towns bordering on 
the Connecticut, between Hartford and Northampton, 
at from 1,500 to 2,000 tons. The price, the last sea¬ 
son, for large growth, and in good condition, was 
eight cents per pound. We have two varieties—the 
narrow, and the broad leaf. The latter is the most 
productive, and sells in market much more readily 
than the former. 
Soil Preparation and Sowing. —We select for our 
tobacco plants a rich, moist (but not wet) spot, and 
sow the seed as early in April as the ground can be 
prepared for it. Our beds are well manured, made 
mellow and line, and the seed should be sowed at the 
rate of one table-spoonful to the square rod, before 
the earth gets dry ; after this it is raked so that the 
dirt may stick close to the seed. It should not be 
covered, but let a man go on and tread the surface of 
the bed as hard as possible. The bed must be kept 
tree trom weeds. The plants should get leaves two 
or three inches long before being transplanted. They 
grow faster in the beds at first than in the field, and 
are less exposed to the cut worm. 
Transplanting. —We commence transplanting the 
fore part of June, and often set out the plants as late 
as the 20th or 25th. The ground should be made 
meilow and level. The broad leaf plants should be 
set in the rows 2$ feet distant from each other, and 
the rows be 3 feet 4 inches apart. If it rains at the 
time of setting, we take the advantage of it, and get 
out as many as possible. If not, we make the hiils, 
and pour in to each about half a pint of water, and 
follow immediately after and set the plants. They 
will live as well set in this way in sunshine as in the 
rain. The ground should be looked over two or three 
times afterward, and re-set the vacant plants. 
After Culture. —As soon as the plants are well 
growing, we go through with the cultivator, and 
again fill up the vacant places. The crop should be 
hoed three or four times without hilling the plants. 
When the green worms appear, they must be watch¬ 
ed and killed, or they will in a great measure destroy 
the crop. 
Topping. —Commence topping the tobacco when 
it is in the bloom, and manage to top as much as pos¬ 
sible the first time going over, that it may all ripen 
at once Leave about twenty leaves to the stalk, and 
make the field as even on the surface as possible. 
If you have late plants in consequence of re-setting, 
break them low, and they will grow faster and ripen 
sooner for it. The suckers should all be broken off 
and the plants kept clear of weeds till they are cut. 
Cutting and Curing. —We should never cut more 
than can be hung the same day and next morning, 
while the dew is on. After cutting, it should lie ami 
wilt on one side, then turn it and wilt the other; then 
throw it into heaps of six or eight plants each, and 
let it lie till carted to the sheds, where it is hung with 
cotton twine on poles twelve feet long, and about 
twenty plants on each side. It must hang till th* 
stem of the leaf is thoroughly cured to the stalk. It 
is then taken down in a damp day (to prevent the 
leaves from crumbling), and stripped and tied in three 
small hands, keeping the broken and poor leaves by 
themselves. It is then packed, and pressed hard with 
the hands in a double row, with the butts out, and 
if not sufficiently cured in a few days, it must be* 
shaken up and re-packed, to prevent heating. When 
lit for market it is bought in large quantities and 
pressed in boxes containing about four hundred pounds 
each, and sent to the seaports and shipped to foreign 
countries. 
Value of Poudrette —I used one barrel of poudrette 
from the Lodi Manufactory in your city, sold by Mr. 
Dey, on my plants while on the bed, leaving a small 
piece without it. The effect was astonishing. The 
plants at the time of setting were twice as large where 
the poudrette was used as where it was not, and they 
were not as much attacked by the worms, which is an 
important consideration. I set the last season about 
two and a half acres in tobacco, which produced 5,100 
lbs. I sold it for $408. P. 
South Hadley Falls, Mass., March 3, 1845. 
We had the pleasure of visiting our intelligent cor¬ 
respondent above, last year, and saw his tobacco crop 
growing. We recently met with an enterprising 
farmer from Windsor, who estimated the crop grown 
the past year in the valley of the Connecticut and its 
vicinity, at 5,000,000 lbs. He said he could get 
from 12 to 16 cents per lb. for his; and although u 
was used for a different purpose, he did not know 
why it was not al good as the Cuba, which sells from 
25 to 35 cents per lb. Prirae tobacco-land rents hign 
at present in the valley of the Connecticut—from 
$25 to $50 per acre per annum. A rich, friable 
loamy clay is considered the best soil for this crop, 
which must be highly manured and deep and well 
worked. We think it ought to be subsoil-plowed, 
and that guano as well as poudrette would be an ex¬ 
cellent manure for it. The latter is the most lasting, 
and is said to keep off the fiy. Coarse barn-yard ma¬ 
nure makes too rank a growth of stalk and leaf, and 
injures the quality of the tobacco; whereas, poudrette, 
guano, and other fine and highly concentrated ma¬ 
nures, would add to its aromatic flavor. We should 
be glad to see carefully conducted experiments mads 
the present season with these manures, on the to¬ 
bacco crop. The different kinds might be tried side 
by side on separate rows, with a view of testing 
which was best for that particular locality and kind 
of soil. We should be pleased to learn whether the 
culture of the finest Cuba tobacco has ever been 
attempted in New England. This is frequently worth 
from 50 cents to $1 per lb. 
