Tobacco  Culture  in  Ohio.  253 
THE  CULTURE  OF  TOBACCO  IN  OHIO. 
BY  BENJAMIN   T.   CREIGHTON,  PH.G. 
[From  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
The  culture  of  tobacco,  in  Ohio,  differs  somewhat  from  the  de- 
scription given  in  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  this  latter  applying 
to  the  mode  of  cultivating  the  plant  in  Virginia.  A  large  amount  of 
the  finest  tobacco  found  in  our  eastern  market  is  from  the  fields  of 
Ohio,  hence  some  knowledge  of  its  growth  may  be  deemed  inter- 
esting. 
The  eastern  and  southeastern  part  of  the  State  affords  the  best  soil 
for  tobacco  growing,  and  in  these  districts  this  product  has  become  a 
staple  article,  affording  the  main  crop  of  the  farmer,  and,  as  a  rule> 
rarely  failing  pecuniarily,  for  even  in  seasons  when  the  yield  is  small,, 
the  price  of  the  article  is  proportionately  large. 
In  growing  this  much-used  vegetable,  the  first  step  is  the  preparing 
of  the  ground  for  sowing  the  seed,  by  burning  logs  of  wood  or  brush 
on  the  section  of  land  chosen  for  tobacco  beds.  This  is  done  to  warm 
the  soil,  as  well  as  to  supply  the  ashes  needed  in  nourishing  the  young 
plants.  The  burning  takes  place  either  in  the  fall  or  spring  previous 
to  sowing.  If  in  the  fall,  the  ground  is  slightly  reburnt  in  the  follow- 
ing spring.  The  time  required  for  burning  the  beds,  if  logs  of  wood 
are  used,  is  generally  from  two  to  three  days.  If  brush  be  used,  a 
much  Jess  time.  The  earth  is  then  dug  up  and  raked  to  a  proper 
consistency.  After  the  seeds  have  been  deposited,  the  bed  is  thor- 
oughly tramped  or  walked  over,  in  order  that  it  may  retain  sufficient 
moisture.  In  about  three  weeks  the  young  plant  makes  its  appear- 
ance, but  it  remains  quite  small  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  and, 
in  fact,  the  growth  is  scarcely  noticeable  from  the  time  of  its  appear- 
ance above  ground  (about  the  first  of  April,)  until  shortly  before  trans- 
planting, which  is  generally  about  the  latter  part  of  June.  It  then 
grows  with  astonishing  rapidity,  as,  when  transplanted,  it  may  have 
been  but  from  1  to  2  inches  in  height,  when  ready  to  collect  (latter 
part  of  August)  it  generally  measures  from  3  to  6  feet,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  10  feet  in  height.  The  transplanting  of  tobacco  is  not  unfre- 
quently  attended  with  much  difficulty,  dry  weather  being  very 
detrimental  to  the  plant,  and  too  much  moisture  equally  as  injurious. 
In  the  former  case,  the  young  plants  wilt  and  die,  and  in  the  latter 
instance,  the  earth  becomes  hardened  and  baked  around  the  roots  of 
Am.  Jour  Pharm.  ^ 
Jnne,  1876.  J 
