The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1882-01-13
Deer Creek Farmers Club.
Tobacco and Canning.

II. y. j. N.
Among the honorary members and guests were
S. NJ. Lee, Jas. NJ. Jacobs. DR.. Jas. NJ. Magraw,
John G. Rouse, Geo; Wilson, Harry Wilson,
Charles and Harry Coae, George Hays and John |
Hancock. In the absence of the President Mr.. |
VIM. MunniIhuysen was called to the chair The |
M0ores Archer and Thos A. Hays spoke in terms |
of highest praise of Mr.. Hays Short Horn cattle, |
which are as fine as any ia the State. His q head
of stock cattle We're well selected and in good |
order; his barn, which is of the best in the |
county has every convenience; he has an album |
dance of feed for his stock, which he is using in |
judicious manner by. cutting his fodder His |
wheat looks well, and altogether the committee |
thought no farm in the county had shown greater |
Improvement than Mr.. Hays during the six years
he has farmed II. The committee also referred to
the fact that Mr.. Hays stables are supplied with
Judge Wa tiers patent cattle fasteners.
The question selected by Mr.. Hays for discus |
sion was From which can farmers derive the |
greater profit-canniBg OF raising tobacco at the
same time increasing the fertility of their land?' |
VIM ! Hays said he would choose tobacco, be-
cause there is more money in it and you can in
which you can not do in canning. 10 grow to-
bacco You must fertilize heavily. 1t will cost, he
be perhaps 1000 lbs If well handled it will bring
from ID t" 20 cents per b. The proceeds would
therefore be from $500 to $500 tomatoes would
cost $50 per acre to grow, and 400 bushels might
be raised, which ut say % cents per bushel. would
leave profit of only $50 per acre, against from
500 t0 $500 from tobacco lie thought farmers
should manufacture their tobacco as well as raise
r. John Rogers preferred tobacco for the rea-
bile crop than tomatoes 1t had been observed
that You must fertflize heavily for tobacco, and
that. of course, would improve the land hut he
had never seen any land improved by raising can
ming produce
Il f'arris Archer believed there was more profit
in cunning, but the fertility of soil can be better
kept mp while growing tobacco. He did not think
il practical for farmers to manufacture tohac-
produce.
James Ice said he had never seen any land i'm
proved by raising canned goods year after year.
y u nf-
co.
Bennett II. Barnes would raise tobacco in pref
crencc 10 canning because it does not take so
much land, and there is not so much risk of de
teriorating your land. He did not think land
Go pe KEPT UP whe canning bo paSnE ts
money IN farming than in canning.
John G. Rouse supposed it would cost more to
situate yourself properly 10 manufacture tobacco
than 1t would 10 can. and it would he more diff
cult To obtain suitable labor, us well as to find a
profitable sale for the manufactured tobacco.
Dr. w. W. Virdin said he had had some expert
ence in raising tobacco but none in raising toma-
toes. II tobacco is properly handled it will pay
better than anything you can put in the ground:
There is no question that you can improve land
while raising tobacco. You can get your crop in
the house by the middle of August, and can then
pillow the ground, or i not too dry Immediately
In tobacco for two successive years. II was fol
lowed by wheat. the crop being the largest ever
1t Is an established fact that can raise tobacco
in Hartford Of as good qualityas they can in Penn
care from the very beginning of the plant bed to
the strippiag. For instance in stripping, the
leaves should be assorted to even lengths and of
one color. No leaf about which there is any
doubt should be put among the hrsts or seconds
One experienced hand can strip 200 lbs. per day.
The average yield in Pennsylvania is l50O lbs,
and his average yield has been iully as large. His
experience is that 800 per acre can be Noted on
tobacco He mentioned new enemy which had
racous flea He Ind one acre on which he raised
LIB lbs which, on account of being ien.hitten
was sold at only Q cts. per ID, yielding Sl55. One
man can attend to two acres and about ~
months of his time will be occupied in prepara-
ton Of the ground, Gu ture. stripping and housing
In ordinary seasons, in two months after setting
ont the plants the tobacco can be cut. Let it re-
main until it willis. He sometimes scafolds il in
the field, where it can remain safely several days.
One vantage Of this plan is that you can get
more Of Il in the house.
DIR. Virlin believed growing tobacco more prof
land can be kept up which can not be done while
canning. Stable manure is the hest fertilizer.-
He applies it in the spring then pnlyerizes the
ground as thoroughly as possible; throws it up in
ridges, and sets the plants % inches apart. Start
the seed bed as soon as the ground is dry enough
to work. Some use hot beds, but plants can be
grown early enough in the open air and are
stronger and better. Pulvcrize the ground and
use guano or fine stable manure Sow the seed
and cover with hog hair thickly. Then put cedar
boughs over the bed Water the bed every eve
ming after the plants show themselves, with
liquid manure. made by suspending n bag con-
tanning hen manure in barrel OF water. Some
protect the young plants by shading them with
sheet The principal PAL enemy is the tobacco worm
moth which lays the egg from which the tobacco
worm is hatched,l by poisoning the flowers of the
jamestown weed with a solution of arsenic.
There are also traps by which the moths can be
caught. DR.. Nirdn called the attention of the
club to the nature of the tobacco inspection laws,
under which farmer can not sell his crop unless
ii is first taken to baltimore and inspected. If
the law were repealed farmers could sell their
crops to better advantage.
5 NJ Lee said he could see that canning must
deterorate land and there is no assurance of con-
tinued success in it.. In raising tobacco one great
secret is to have plenty of large plants early in
the season. The crop will bring three times as
much if well handled than from ordinary hand.
ling Ha is, however, opposed to tobacco, and
thought growing it more useless waste of human
power than cutting wood at the wood-plo with
an axe
Jas IT, Ball has had no experience with tobacco
and regarded il as useless, while canned goodsare
useful Tie has had some experience in canning
and unless he is more successful in the future he
had better done nothing AS regards the eompar-
alive deterioration of land in raising tobacco or
canning produce, the old fields once so common
in Maryland afforded proof that tobacco is de-
structive 10 land. He would not admit that can
ming is more injurious to land than tobacco.
John Moorcs said a farmer with 100 acres Of
pr 1T, especially if he is feeding stock and max
ing manure. The Pcnnsylvanians who have made
money raising tobacco have been principally
graZiers. The want OF success in Maryland many
years ago was because they had no artificial fer
tizers and no manures to make tobacco with AMI
the farms became poor: In canning you must
have certain number of acres to produce enough
to keep your force employed, and the constant
pl wing wears out the farm
Harry COalo did not believe tomatoes or can
ming corn We're harder on land than field corn
The only reason canning crops are hard on land
is because they keep 1t bare year after year.
Harry Wilson said none of the members would
like to see Deer Creek lands growing nothing hut
tobacco or tomatoes We ought TO have mixed
husbandry and not apply ourselves to one thing
only. He thought we could raise tobacco to pro-
1T better than tomatoes, because you can make
double the money on small piece Of tobacco
tran in tomatoes If we were to put all Of our
land in tomatoes it would soon be washed into
A desultory discussion then took place as to the
relative merits of Maryland and Pennsylvania
lands Mr.. Wilson thought the Eastern shore
fifty years behind Hartford county in farming and
the latter fifty years behind Chester county, Pa.
in growing tobacco feeding CATTLE and raising big
crops of timothy. We have as good land as Lam
caster and Chester counties, but we don't farm IL
rs well. Mr.. Castner did not agree with Mr.. Will
son, and said Hartford county could boast of as
good farmers as there are in the United States
and that the best farms of Lancaster county
would not average as much as the best farms Of
Hartford. Mr.. Archer cited Mr. VIM. Woolsey's
farm as better than any farm in the counties
The discussion was brought back to the point
when Charles Coao said he did not believe to-
hacco was as hard on land as canning, because in
the latter there is nothing to put back on the
ground Canning is no harder on land than rails
ing corn.
man is situated whether he goes into one or the
other. He would not think Of canning on Deer
Creek lands. where the SOIL VIII WASH by constant
blowing. He was rather in favor OF tobacco here
In the Necks or near railroad he would rrefer
canning, for which there is yet room.
Thos A. Hays was rather inclined to tobacco
culture and hoped to try patch the coming sea-
son.
VIM. Munnikhuyscn thought Deer Creek far
mers could raise tobacco profitably without ex-
hausting the balance of the farm. Men who
stale cattle could do no better than to raise few
acres of tobacco every year They cnuld use
commercial fertilizers on their grain crops apply
the stable manure to tobacco and keep their
farms good In canning you must pillow too much
land. On level land II might be followed with
profit but Deer Creek lands will not stand it.
In reply to a question by Mr.. Wilson. DR.. Vir1in
said that the best tobacco is raised on loose soil
As to increase in production there are only GER
tain districts where the finest tobacco can be
grown, and that Hartford, it has been shown, was