The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-01-21
written Tor IL FS0nnsAH.l
Notes ~a Teoacoo 0rewanx.
M INV. -. DEE.

Nstes 81 Tsoacee Grswiax.
1T KDw. ". DEE.
Much favorable comment has been elected
frsm the farmsrs and business men Of this Sec
ton Of Florida BY the recsnt o6sr Of the Land
Department or tho Pensacola and Atlantic Rail-
road OF three money premiums 10 farmers west
Of the Apaachicola river for the three best cases
Of tobacco TO be grown 10 that locality the ensu-
ing season. II is . move In the right direction,
and must result In gain TO all concerned.
Meanwhile, are the growers In 0adsden, Leon,
jefferson and Wakulla counties to be iefe In the
coldf Some Of our business men think not; and
q proposition 70 offer In the Same way two pre-
miums aggregating $500 or 900 is being con-
sidered. Five or six dollars from each of our
business and professional men. who are all inter-
ested in the growth and prosperity of their por-
ton of the State, would pay the premiums
and insure success to the undertaking. The
competition should be open to the State, the idea
being TO make Tallahassee the market and place
of exhibition, as well as to encourage tobacco
growing. Let the tobacco that is awarded the
prizes Of the p. & A. h. r. come right here and
compete with the growth Of this section. The
nV0lTy resulting Will Uc suUutottuS, W iuuuo-
try, and healthy in its effects.
Tobacco IL surely the coming crop for Middle
Florida 1t grows magni6cently, and OF hne
quality there h little danger Of poor crop from
climatic difficulties, and the question Of profit
able market-one that seems TO trouble many
is the least concern. Let's figure a little; The
number of cigars manufactured In Florida for
the last fiscal year ending June S0th, 1885, was
sixty millions. The allowance made by the rev.
enue laws ID Is pounds Of tobscco for every
1000 cigars Therefore, II the cigars made in
this Stale for the period above mentioned had
been made of home grown tobacco there would
have been consumed in their manufacture
100000 pounds OF tobacco, or a. much IS
could be grown on 10000 acres oil land.
The quantity Of cigars manufactured Is In ex-
cess of Florida's total in many States. great
deal of this tobacco-the filters largely-was i'm
ported, but the bulk was Of American produc-
tion and in this latter portion are the grades that
can be best grown here, viz the Wrappers and
seconds. OF the former grade there is always
comparative scarcity and corresponding in
crease in price, and the demand is fully up to
the marketable crop.
Two conditions are in favor of Florida against
the Northern tobacco growing States. In the
latter, the area of land that will produce good
tobacco is relatively small, while it commands
price from five to twenty times that OF this
section. Again, Northern farmers often lose
entire crops from early frosts and fire.
quent drouths, while these disadvantages
are at minimum here. and the
first crop is ready TO be cut here
almost before Connecticut and Wisconsin farm
ers dare plant, and second or sucker crop can
be raised in Florida equal in quality TO the orig
inal growth The average yield per acre is
from 900 to 1900 pounds, sucker crop includ-
ed The average price from 10 to IL cents per
pound. The cost OF raising is from $50 to $50
per acre, leaving a net profit of from $50 10 $3.50
per acre. Compare this with cotton. Pennsyl
vania plants % 600 acres of tobacco, leading the
list of cigar-tobacco growing States, and her
tobacco growers are, q class, rich and pros
porous. Florida can excel them all in quality
and yield per acre, both of which are vital points
Energetic efforts on the part of her farmers will
secure all in addition that is to be desired,
namely a reputation among buyers and con-
sumers for Florida Havana seed, which is the
proper term instead of the Cuba tobacco" so
commonly used. The great objection to the to-
bacco grown in past years, is that il is not grad
ed al all, the three grades being packed indls-
crimnatey together in a case or cases, without
any effort whatever toward the selection and
separation of proper classification. As help
toward overcoming this with other defects, and
for obtaining the best results the following hints
are given
Plant only to produce third years growth;
that is, use seed that Is descended two years
from the original Cuban seed by having been
planted here two seasons. This will produce q
large leaf and large percentage of wrappers,
which is the end to be desired
Get the plants out at the earlist moment possible
after danger from frost Is over. and set them out
AKA. or at least 3}x3} feet, which allows only
sufficient room for proper cultivation and growth.
Allow not more than eight leaves to the stalk.
1his VIII obviatc curing by the stem-apliiting
process, which ruins tobacco for quality.
color and sale.
Cure with the leaves on the stalk removing
AZ L. e. ~,.I
Sort into three grades-frsts or wrappers; sec
onds and thirds; and do it in q manner 90
thorough that you can guarantee any hand Sc
lected at random from q case to be q sample, and
one which represents fairly the quality of the
entire case This is the secret of quick sales
and good prices
Pack from 300 to $50 pounds in q case; never
less and subject it to heavy pressure, forcing it
solidly and compactly into the box. If the to-
bacco is held for any length of time 1t will be
gteatly benefited by repacking by the above
process, when damp to proper degree, at inter-
walls of two months
Plant at least one and one-half acres. Unless
this much is grown it will be impossible to get
enough of each grade to I'll separate cases.
To sum up, give all the care and attention pos
sible to the matter, as good results can be
achieved in no other way; and be certain that
there is no need OF clearing new land on which
to plant Old land Is just as good Fine crops
twenty consecutive years But make up your
mind to fertilize highly with stable manure, cot
ton seed, &c. but on no account use any manu-
featured fertilizers. The more the land is fer
tilted the greater will be the YIELD and the bet
ter the quality of the crop.
If no seed grown in Florida Of the descrip-
ton given, is procurable, II may be ordered
from Connecticut through E. w. Clark, at Tai
lahassee This seed will give as good results as
anything else and can be depended on.