Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-08-12
OUR TOBACCO FIELDS.

OUR TOBACCO FIELDS.
How They Delighted = New Yorker
4 correspondent Of the Elmira, N. V.
Gazette, who has been travelling through
this county with the special object of OBJ
serving its modes Of tobacco culture, has
been writing q series Of letter, descriptive
and agricultural, to his paper. He says
in one Of them:
The CamerOns, father and son, grow
some fifty to sixty acres Of tobacco apiece.
The farm of the elder Cameron embraces
seven hundred acres, all neatly fenced,
and the fences white-washed, which is the
custom Of most Of the farmers, and which
gives them q neat and fresh appearance.
The crops look excellent and clear from
weeds, showing thorough tillasc. On the
farm is an old stone church over two hun
dred years old, having been used when the
preacher had to keep loaded rifle ut his
side, an attack from the hostile Indians
; being possible tany time in that locality:
The tobacco from Marietta to Lancaster
city is rather backward, not averaging
much, ii any better than that in Chemung
valley, only it has \ healthy appearance,
and is perfectly free from the effects of the
green worm. The farmers depend great
deal on the dGturu strdmOnium, James-
town wecd) to destroy the millcrs. Be-
sides they have patent trap for catching
them which seems to meet with much favor.
At all events We never saw SO little worm
eaten tobacco rs in this county. 1t has
rained here almost necessarily for two days
and a night, which will bring on the late
tobacco, as the land is thOrouhgly ma
nured before a crop is planted. There
fore, there is strength enough in the land
to produce u good crop, even ut this late
day.
Lancaster city is one of the Oldest town..
in the state and has population of about
2G, 600 inhabitants, and is the central heal
quarters for tobacco in this section, there
being some fifty warehouses located here;
ployment to 2, 500 men during the winter
months. There arc at least $4,000 eases
produced in this county, which takes to
the farmers Golfers, at an average of ten
cents per pound, some two million dollars.
entirely eclipsing all other farm prO,luc-
tiOns.
Through the kindness Of Col. Teller, Il
packer from Philadelphia, We were shown
through his immense warehouse, where he
has nearly 900 cases stored. The samI,-
lcrs were on hand, busily samplinS the
1879 crop, and the samples shown us were
as fine, and large and well cOlOred rs any
tobacco VIC ever saw. They sort it great
many times in the following qualities ::
A A A, A A, A, Il, and G, and some pack
| CTS go so far even to sort their AS in four
qualities.
think the growers here pay more at
tentiOn to their crops and try harder to
produce that which will find ready pur-
chascrs in the market than in York State
At least, for some reason Pennsylvania to-
baccO has the best reputation Of any in
the market.
Their system of harvesting is far differ
cnt from ours, and We are well satisfied
that our method of using twine is more
expensive and not as good for harvesting u
crop in its best condition as theirs is
here.
They use latl,. and u spear the spear il;
about five or six inches long and is put on
the end of Il lath and the plants forced
over it, when you take the spear off and
put on another latl, and SO on. 1t is put
Oh trestles or scaflOlds in the field, where
it may hang for some days without injury
They say Il smart active man can spear an
acre at least 4 day.
| am not prepared to say this is the best
way. Mr.. John Brand, Of Elmirs, has 4
system that may be as good or better.
His is Il small wire hook, to be driven in
the plant, and this hook hangs the plant
on the lath. Mr.. Martin KOlb, of Eliza
BEETHOVEN, Pa, manufactures the spear.
and from our own observation and expert
cncc VIC would certainly advise our tObacco
planters to investigate the matter, and see
both methods and then choose the one
that suits them best, and ut all events
discard the use of twinc. We cannot har-
vest a crop near rs sound by either Of the
methods heretofore mentioned, and il We
are to successfully compete with these
Pennsylvania Dutch We have got to find
the best methods, and use them. When
a plant gets ripe they so and cut it and
carry it out of the ''patch," and leave
what is unripe till it is in just the right
condition. Their rule is when the leaves
begin to yellow 4 trifle around the edges,
it is just the right condition, and they arc
careful to harvest before it gets too ripe,
rs they claim the quality and co!Ors arc
not as good as when cut ut an early stage
Of growth.
ouC CSpCCESHJ lbVOlbDly VIcsSCs'
one with Pennsylvania farming. and that
is the thorough attention the give to their
farms. The fields arc clear Of rubbish, and
weeds. Corn and potato "patclles y
everything is called patches here-are as
clean as village garden. No brush or
weeds allowed to grow along the fences.
Buildings arc in excellent repair and all
neatly painted, as are most Of the farm
fences. Their barns are as costly as most
dwelling houses, and arc models of beauty
and stability.
For the benefit Of crOakers who preach
that tobacco farming will destroy general
agriculture wherever it is grown, We give
the average yield Of the crops of this
"G:rtlcn of Eden" Wheat yields Oh an
average from thirty to thirty-five bushels.
Corn gives one hundred bushels OH the
average yield. 1t is Il common sight to see
fields of ten to twenty acres ON which the
stalks will average twelve feet high, with
from one to three ears to the stalk, and
not a spear of grass or weed to be seen III
the field. The fruit trees arc laden with
fine fruit. Farms will sell, on an average,
at $50 per acre. Several large farms were
shown US few miles out of Lancaster city
for which $500 and over Dcr acre had
offered. At an early date this sec
tion Of country was settled by the
sturdy Germans, and by thrifty economy
they have continually added to their
broad acres until nearly all Of them