The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-10-21

the old men, but let cur young men
lay hold and make it an honorable
calling instead OLA disgrace as many
of us consider it now. S. r.. II.
Tobacco Culture.
The following interesting letter, re-
ccivcd from Commissioner Butler, will
also appear in the rcgort of the State
agricultural department on the 18th
instant:
LANDSFoRD CHESTER Co., S. c.,
September 21, 1855.
Col. A. l.. Butler, Commissioner of
Agriculture, Columbia, S. C..-Dcar
Sir: Realizing, after eight years. cN-
pericnco, both in planting and renting
out land for the cultivation of cotton
in this section, the necessity of finding
another or rather additional money
crop, | began two years ago to invcs-
tigate and study the cultivation and
curing of tobacco. | soon became
convinced that Il portion of my land
was adapted to the growth of "bright
yellow" tobacco, the production of
which has done sc much of late years
to enrich certain sections Of North
Carolina and Virginia. Whether our
cttmute would prove equally suitable
could be proven only by actual cxpcr-
iment. This experiment l decided to
make.
In November last 1 employed in
Vance county, N. G., a young man
vcrscd in tobacco culture and curing,
and OH the first day of January, 1885,
began work to prepare for my first
crop. DESTROYS of giving it a fair trial
l cleared out and prepared for cult
vation seven acres of original forest
land of good quality and of The proper
kind for the growth Of bright tobacco,
viz, of gray sandy top soil with po-
rous yellow sandy subsoil. / also
selected about ten acres in different
lots of old lands, part in small pines of
second growth, part in broom scdgc,
and about two acres in a fine state of
cultivation, all of same character as
new ground already described. All of
this, by repeated plowings and harrow
ing, l reduced to the finest filth during
the months of March, April and May
and in the latter month prepared them
all for the reception of my plants-first
manuring them-thc new ground with
200 pounds of blood a%mmoniatcd sup
c~rphosphatcs, manufactured by the
domestic Fertilizer Company of Co
lumbia,") and the old land with a com
post Of stable manure, cotton seed,
kainit and acid phosphate ut the rate
of q little o than 900 pounds per
vcre, both applied in the drill and bed
ded III rs for cotton, and afterwards
'hilled' by checking with a struight
shovel and drawing ND with hand hoes
aud ''patting" to retain the moisture
and indicate the place for setting the
plant All of this work | sound easy,
and by the 10th Of May had all nv
tobacco land ready with two horses
and three extra hoe hands-two of
them boys under ID years. In addi-
ton | had planted twelve acres in cot
ton, about the same in corn, besides
garden and patches. My plant beds
were prepared in January and Fcbru-
airy, part on upland and part on branch
bottoms, the object being TO provide
for the extreme of wet or dry, and
with the hope of securing plants for
early setting from the warm upland
beds. The seed, all of best varieties
from yellow tobacco virgins of North
Carolina, came well and proved very
hardy, some even standing the severe
tast Of three or four inches of snow
without hurt in the middle of March.
From this date (Nlarch ~ to about
the 10th of June, however, we had
positively no rain, o even q shower
in April, proberbial for her smiles and
tears. In the latter part of MAY we
had two small showers, but not enough
to wet the ground halt an inch, so my
upland beds did practically no good,
the dry cold did practically no good,
the dry cold wind "blowing the plants
off the bed" as the Spying goes, and
the "nea beetle" and "dy" literally
eating up what remaindcd. My bot
tom beds, however, did their full duty
and furnished me all the plants | need
ed or had time and season to set.
The first shower in May (about the
2Oth) | set $4,000 plants, of which,
perhaps 10000 lived. The second
shower, about the 28lh, | set 24,OOO, |
saving not more than 12,0G0, the hot
sun and dry ground killing the half.
| then set about 10, 200 with water, On
slow, tedious and costly process y
two-thirds of these lived and did well.
About The middle Of June l succeeded
in getting all my land once ser, and
perhaps, had 10000 plants then living,
but the terrible dry hot weather i'm.
modiately thereafter killed 10 or ~.
600 of them, and it was not until the
4th of July that we had n season sniff
cient to wet the ground, and, late as it
was, | reset enough land to bring my
living plants ny to $4,000, or enough
scattered yer IL acres of land to plant
10 acres fully. From the 4th of July
Goth August VIC had not a drop of
rain, and, of curse the tobacco grew
but the ground having been
wet it did not die, aud / con-
inued 10 work ii, ploughing each way