Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-07-01

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ten and twelve leaves. The tobacco,
however, was a heavy black wrapper,
and there was at this time great de-
mand for such tobacco. Had a man
ufacturing leaf been in demand, it
might have been better to top to ten or
twelve leaves.
The Worming Of tobacco is very
Troublesome and tedious task. As
soon as it is transplanted little green
worm attacks the bud, and if not de-
stroyed ruins the plant. The plants
are afterward attacked by the regular
tobacco worm (Sphinx Carilina). The
moth Of this larva is dusky, brown
winged miller, nearly as large an
humming- bird, and my b. seen almost
any evening 10 July and August suck
ing Jlmpson weeds. This moth de-
poslts . small, greenish egg upon the
surface of the leaf, which will gradu-
ally turn to a cream, from which
tiny white worm issues, not larger than
coarse hair, and about one-eigth of
an inch long The process of hatch
ing embraces about twenty-four hours.
The worm begins to eat Immediately.
making first small hole in the leaf,
through which it passes to the under
side, if the egg is deposited on the top
of the leaf. For five days its appetite
is ravenous, but the damage done is
small. At the expiration OF that time
it undergoes decided change, throw
ing off the old skin and coming out in
a new dress. From this time on it is
very destructive, rendering plant ut
terly worthless in a few days. If
/ caught before it doffs its skin the to-
bacco will be but little injured, but if
left upon plant after this, its ravages
are terrible. 1t is, therefore, very i'm
portant to go over the crop carefully at
least once u week. There are usually
two showers" of worms; the first
comes on soon after planting and must
i be got rid of BY the careful examina-
ton of every plant. The second crop
I of worms is I'd be lookedior about the
middle of August, or rather during the
4 time Of full moon In that month. This
crop of worms is the most to be dread
/ ed, because 1T comes on at time when
the suckers begin to grow, and these
furnish q hiding place for many which
are thrown down alive upon the ground
with the suckers, and afterwards crawl
up on the plant. During the heat of
the day also they take refuge in the
ground or among the ruf1es of the
plant, so as to escape the closest scru-
tiny. They sometimes appear in great
numbers, as many as one hundred hav-
ing been found on single plant. Such
a great number, however, is exception
al. They are thought 10 be very bad
when there is an average of one to a
leaf. When this 'glut" of worms ap-
/ pears there is no time to idle. Early
aud late, through bad weather and
good. a constant warfare must be waged
against them, or the crop will be ruined.
Neglect or inattention at this period
may ruin the value of the crop, for
worm eaten tobacco is classed among
the lowest grades. All the proceeding
work, and all the work to follow, the
blowing, hoeing, topping, printing, cur
ing, bulking, and pricing, are of less
importance than keeping the worms
picked off. - r ..Fs7 -a
For this purpose drove of turkeys
will be found to be a valuable ally
When first driven into tobacco field
few worms should be pulled off and
thrown to them. They soon learn to
find the worms themselves, and it is
almost incredible how many will be
destroyed in a day by drove of fifty
turkeys. But the main reliance should
be placed upon good, steady, attentive
hands, who will give their entire at
tention to it. Where as many as five
hands are employed, the manager oil
owner should follow behind them and
: I II h 11pA H.,
pervision will insure the attention Of
each labOrer, and a sort of eompeti-
ton is kept up as to which one shall
leave the fewest number of worms.
The crop of worms can be greatly
reduced by catching the tobacco fly
every evening. A small premium of,
fered to the boy who will catch the
largest number, will cause the destruc-
ton of thousands. They can be pois.
oned by injectinga solution of cobalt
by means of a small syringe, into the
blossom of the JimsOn weed (stramo-
nium). Major Ragland, of Virginia
says Dissolve an ounce of the co.
bait of the shops in a pint and hall
of water, and mix it with molasses OF
other syrup, bottle it aud drop il
through quill into the heart of the
blossom. 1t should be done about
shutdown, and the poisoned flowers
pulled off next day, otherwise the
plant will be destroyed 1t has been
found that this weed, so treated, plant
ed around the edge of the tobocco lot,
and here and there through the patch,
will prevent to great extent, the raw
ages of the tobacco worm. All the
planters, however, in one neighborhoOd
must act together, and this can be ar
ranged through the local agricultural
club" Continued heavy rains wash
off the eggs from the plant, and largely
reduce the number of worms. Usu-
ally, however, the worms are always
worse the summer succeeding wet
fall. The reason is, that when the
ground is wet the worms can go down
below the depth of the freezes before
| they 90 go into the chrysalis state, and
are not subject to be destroyed by the
severity of winter On the other hand,
when the fall is very dry, and the
ground has a hard crust on the surface,
the worms are not able to penetrate it,
aud perish
The suckering is second in import
ance only to the worming of the crop,
and should be promptly and faithfully
done. These suckers put out at the
junction Of every leaf with the stalk
and will grow, in seasonable weather,
five or six inches in a week If per-
mitted to grow the leaves will bedwarf-
ed, and the plant will resemble mini
AZURE thicket, the suckers in the mean
while drawing all the substance to
themselves, and impoverishing the
leaves. The latter soon begin to spot,
and grow thinner and less valuable the
longer the suckers remain. The suck
ers should be pulled off at least
once 4 week, otherwise a great part of
the growth is lost, and the vitality OF
the plant is expended to be trouble
some after they have been pulled of
three times, only one or two after that
appearing on a plant. SO important
was this operation formerly regard
ed in Virginia, and so surely is it
that suckers, impair the quality OF
the tobacco, that at one time laws were
enacted to prevent negligence in this
: particular.
When the plant begins to grain and
ripen it becomes very brittle, and great
care is necessary in passing between
the rows to prevent the leaves from
being broken Of. 1t is, for the same
reason, more troublesome to worm the
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