Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1852-05-03
AGRICULTURAL.


Mr.. Editor:--By an order OF the Hol'
and Corner Club of Albcmarlc the under
signed were appointed to write an article
for your paper upon "Tobacco-its Cul
ture and Management from the Plant Bee
to the Warehouse. with an exposition o.
the comparative Profits Of this crop and
other Siaplesl"
The object Of the Club being to get a
full account Of the management of this
crop in the hands Of the scmvr member oil
this com mit,ce, ii is impossible SO to con
desse What is to be said as to bring it with
in the limits of single newspaper article.
At your suggestion, therefore, we divide 1t
into several numbers, and begin with he
raries;e. If teJaece, plant beds, and Tie
preparation Of he soil far The crop.
The varieties Of tobacco are very nu-
merous, a selection from which must de-
pend upon the market proposed and the
character of the soil upon which ii is TO be
grown. On the rich lands within the range
Of the club we cultivate no iabacco for
manufacturing purposes, but only the
heavier kinds, which are intended for for
eign markets. The objects aimed at are
early maturity, weight of''plant, ease of
culture and non-liability te accident. The
varieties most IN favor amongst us are
Ruffle, White Stem. Johnson. Shockoc.
and the Priors. (yellow and blue.) OF
these we give most decided preference
to the Ruifle and White Stem-thc for
mcr. perhaps, being the .favorite of the
two. The Ruiiie is a rich. heavy tobacco,
and owing to its peculiar growth (the
leaves tucking up at the end can he Frlm
ed QUE leaf lower than the White Stem,
and is consequently week earlier IN RI
pening; while, on the other hand. the ruf.
a. upon the stem from which the variety
takes its nnme.) atfording place Of con
eealment for the horn-worm, renders il
more troublesome To worm than the Other
kinds. The White Stem is more liable to
fire than TIE Rufle, and the two being a
bout equal in weight and quality staple,
il 10 difficult 30 choose between them
They are both easily injured by ind and
in handling. as is the case, more or less,
with all heavy tobacco, from brit'lcness Of
stem.
OF the johnson we know personally but
little. 1t is highly esteemed by many of
our planters. particularly our friend aud
neig hbor. Mr.. VIM. W. Gimcr. whose
opinions upon all subjects connected with
this crop are worthy of high confidence
He claims for it weight, nonliablty to Sc
rious injury from storm and handling, and
q great length of leaf which makes it yield
large proportion Of strips. He admits,
however. the necessity of high printing to
keep it out of the dirt. 1t bears so close
n resemblance to the White Stem that it is
supposed by many to be the same.
The Shockoc we believe to be nothing
but the Yellow Prior, with reputation
acquired by falling into the hands offs good
manager We class il with the two Priors,
which find no favor in our eyes. They
arc light and trashy and have only their
toughncss to recommend them. They
may suit other soils. but we consider it
waste Of labor to cultivate them where the
other varieties mentioned will grow.
Sarimg Sced-We turn out few of
the earliest plants on rich land for seed,
printing them at the usual time. and as the
plant progresses trimming off the upper
leaves and shoots, leaving three or four Of
the top branches for seed. From these
we take off all late bloom and imperfect
bowls, which. il left on. not only Interfere
with regular seeding. but cause the plants
to "walloon' in the beds. Seed plants
are cultivated and suckercd as the rest of
the crop, aud after frost. must he cut and
hung in a dry place, ou; of the reach ol'rats,
until perfectly cured. when they are rub
bed out. cleaned and bottled up for use
Plant Beds Plants require close.
rich soil. In selecting land therefore care
should be taken to guard against cxccs.
si,c Wet or very dry seasons, by burning
some dry and some moist beds. THERE'S
Danger depending upon swamp beds,
a. plants require but little moisture, while
ap excess of wet is f. tai to them. II such
locations are selected the land should he
thoroughly drained the summer before the
bed is burnt The surcst chance for plants
isa rich mountain hollow with southern
or eastern exposure. The indications in
this neighborhood Of good plant land are
alder and napc on low grounds. dog
wood and hickory on high land. Where
land is NOT sufficiently rich it is good poll
cy to pen sheep upon 1t in the summer be-
fore you propose to burn; and this may he
done without injury to the flock by select
ing the heat of the day in summer, which
time sheep do not Craze. The best ma
nures for plants are hen house and chali
manure. This latter VIC make by littering
our horse stalls with chat and feeding on
provendcr perfectly free from grassseed,
When 1t becomes saturated with the H.
guilds Of the stable We apply it as top
dressing in the latter part of February,
covering the beds say one fourth of an inch
thick. Hen house manure should be chop
ped in at the time of burning. Our expe-
rimcnts with gnano on plants have not
been very extensive or accurate; they.
however, lead US to fear that this manure
cannot be depended upon. Any 9th er
strong. well rotted manure. free from grass
seed. may be used. Plant beds should
be burned as soon after Christmas as the
weather and condition Of the land will adj
NIT. 1t is difficult to convey an idea of
what amount of burning is necessary. II
It be done in the month Of January it is al
most impossible, the lands being in pro-
per Condition, to burn too hard. We have,
however. knowa tbs to happen a, letter
period. So much depends upon the con-
dition Of the land and the character Of
wood used, that every planter must be hi.
own Judge as to the amount of burning ne
ccssary-of course it must be sufficient tc
destroy the grass seed and roots which ar,
nearer the surface Of the bed. Our plan i.
l.. e frrnnp