The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-01-13
sNOL. VII.-NO. II
White Bureiy Tobacco.

Qaite an excited controversy has re-
Gently been raised by the publication
~ letter in the Ricnond Dispatch
written 10y Mr.. Jno. OFT, one Of the
best informed men on agricultural sub
jects in Virgins, telling of the imper-
tancc OF growing this character OF to-
bacco Among others our former
lown.man, Captain Ed NJ Pace, takes .
hand and furpishes the l., nchburg Ad-
cdno, the following.
LYNCHnuRa. VA, Dec. 2S, 1890.
Editor iiunRcs.-fn your issue Of
Yesterday YOU have a leader calliag at
tention 10 a very timely letter fre0 Mr..
John OFT. of Richmond Ito the Lhs-
patch who is known throughout The
tobacco sections of Virginia aud North
Carolina As the best IN formed man in
the State on everything pertaining 70
the wants of the tobacco growers, sAd
nv observations during any trip thrsogA
Tennessee, part CT Kentucky, IiiasiA
Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and the
great State of Texas, selling dns chew
OF tobacco of our manufacture tAnd Dot
u trip for my health as you were led TO
say during my absence satisfies me-
that his letter of advice 10 - true u
preaching and good preaching, tos--
no Beecher III it. To give you al idea:
One firm in St. Louis worked over -
500. coo pounds OF the 'Whits Burlsy,
and with that cannot supply the dc.
mands of their increasing trade. Tboy
have now In course of erection another
mammoth factory, which they hope
will enable them to work ten million
\ pounds the coming year. There Are
other factories OF equal capacity IN st.
Louis, and doing driving business,
and employ, with but few exceptions,
/ white girls as stemmers and rollers, ana
/ white men and boys as prizcrs; and In
every place where visited and tobacco
! was mentioned, without solitary ex-
ccpti on, they would not talk about any
thing but the Star, White Buriey
/ aud the Horseshoe White Burlsy.
Now one word to our planters who
|raisc dark tobacco-by all means eur
!. tail your crop Of tobacco-make less,
and what YOU do make, make fine, for
/ the manufacturers Of the West ara
! bound to look to Virginia and North
! at-arolipA for their wrappers, and JOG
FTill hive no trouble in disposingof sli
such at good paying figures, but II you
persist going on year after year making
\ worthless, common, dark stuff, 1t 10 on-
1 ly a matter of time, and short time at
that, before you will! be pushed to the
/ wall in attempting to compete with
4 Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri tobaccs
raisers
The "Burley' is planted as We plaat
/ tobacco here, with this exception: they
plant in hills eighteen inches apart, and
! in rows three feet wide Gust vide
enough to enable them to pillow between
/ the rowsJ, and top at twelve to sixteen
/ leaves and when cutting time comes,
if they have no sheds, for very few have
barns like in our country, they hang on
| sticks in the corner OF the fences, and
cover with brush If the sun is very hot.
! That's the extent Of their curing. No
sitting up for weeks over coal fires
or watching ''hues." No fire is used
at all, and their tobacco sells, crop
round, at S.. 30 to S22 per hundred.
It's true it s poor, and ifeless. but will
| hold "sweetening like sponge will wa
/ ter. and that's what the trade now de-
mands. There is no trouble about far
mers selling early l saw one maaufae-
turer in ST. Louis last Friday who tsld
me he had just returned from the soua-
try. where he had just purchased over
one million pounds rang ing from - .
! SIT-ali White Burley.' in fact, he
told me he would not look at, naca
less buy anything else.
heartily commend Mr. OTIS letter
! to my planting friends, and hope the
press will give it publicity, and urge
| our people to avail themselves Of the
I turn Of the tide IN raising tobacco.
| Your friend, truly,
I'm n pIda