American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1857-03-21
LETTER FROM OHIO.

M LETTER FROM OHIO.
The following extracts are from
letter written by w. d. Siegfried to
the Messenger and Recorder" Of this
place:
Cambridge, o., March 10, 1857.
will give you few items of secu-
lar news, which may be of interest to
some of your readers.
Noble county, as we'll as the adioin.
ing county of Monroe, & part of W ash
ington, is q great tobacco country
One would wonder Ito see the wagons
loaded with hogsheaids of tobacco pass.
ing along the roads daily) where it was
all worked up or consumed. [ was
surprised at the extent of the tobacco
trade, and elected from an intelligent
merchant and tobacco packer in Will
liamsburg, Noble county, few facts
which | sketch here. The counties
already named constitute the principal
tobacco region of Ohio. Last year
there was but half crop, and yet the
yield In these counties was 900 hogs
heads, which sold for $420,0O0. Thus,
on the same field, with a full crop, the
yield would be nearly million dollars.
Beaver township, Noble county, turns
out an average, yearly, of $50, 600
worth of tobacco. The average yield
per acre is 1000 lbs, when ready for
market, and it isnow selling at So. to
1926 per hundred. One gentleman
in that township raised, last season, Ia
poor season at that, on IL acres of
land, about $4,000 lbs. tobacco, which
he sold for 81 400, and his clear gains
were q lietle over $1,000. In cultiyat-
ing his crop, he was assisted by two
other hands. This was on ground not
before broken up, and tobacco grows
finely on such ground; & farmers tell
me that two or three crops of tobacco
tend to prepare the soil for other crops
to great advantage.
Tobacco is planted in Juno, and is
ready for gathering by the latter part
of August or first of September.
have seen four or five drying houses on
one farm, and from the facts, as | get
them, it must truly be profitable bu-
siness. The farmers here ask, "Do
not the farmers of Western Virginia
raise tobacco for market" They are
surprised that, with as good tobacco
soil, and other advantages, no more of
the weed is raised in Western Va
Indeed / have heard several tobacco
raisers here talk of removing to the
Kanawha region, and going into the
business of raising and packing extcn.
sively. 1t would certainly prove pre-
ftable business for your farmers. /
heard one Buckeye farmer (who came
to enquire of me about Western Va.
lands, &c.) talk favorably of buying e
large tract of land in N. w. Va, and
beating his neighbors who had gone
west,' in making location, and doing
o good business. lie told me that at
tention was being turned to the large
tracts of land well adapted to tobacco
growing in your section of country, g.
further, that one man here, who owns
q large tract there, was talking in ear
nest of forming q colony Of Buckeye
farmers for Virginia, and showing your
people "how to farm, as he said
They cannot get land cheap enough
here, and think their plan wonld work
better than going west. And L was
pleased at this idea, and did not know
before that w. Va. was SO celebrated
abroad for it's good soil and climate. -
BY the way, these farmers say that
the seasons are more favorable for farm
ing generally, along the Kanawha, Mo-
nongabela, Hughes River, &c., than
here. ! drop these facts hero that your
farmers may learn to look out for ''bct-
ter times" Only think Of the fact,
that farmeps who wish to enlarge their
borders, arp talking seriously of selling
ont here, and moving into N. w, Va,
in preference to going west. Yet this
is so, for several have talked to me ON
this subject, and know Of several who
intend taking o journey through the
counties along the Ohio river, below
Parkersburg, and also along tho other
rivers and valleys of your country, this
Spring, on the look out. ] give them
all tho information md encouragement
] can, of course. The greatest objcc-
ton among them to the move, is "thc
peculiar institution = but this they say
they will ayoid, and "show tho advan-
1a ona &c ,,.1.11 Ii