San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-07-20
THEY APPEARED MYsTER,ouStY AND
BROUGHT A FORTUNE.
Story of the Origin of the white Bur-
ley" Tobacco, Which Has Almost Driven
Out the Dark yariety-The Singular
Good Fortune of Capt. Colt.

Good Fortune of Capt. Colt.
Kentucky raises 800, OoO, 900 pounds Of to-
bacco every year, half of the crop Of the
United States Most Of it is marketed in
this city. About dozen long leaves are tied
into what is called a "hand," and these
hands are compressed in hogsheads varying
from COO to 1000 pounds in weight Ten
years ago all this tobacco was of a dark
brown, or black color. Now the greater gor-
ton Of it is bright yellow. There has been
a similar change in color at Cincinnati and
other important markets The dark colored
article sells at from three to seven cents a
pound; the light from ten to twenty cents a
pound. The latter is sweet; the former is
strong and bitter. 1t is a curious story how
the tobacco crop Of the United States came
to change its color.
THE PLANT IN THE FIELD CORNER.
Brown county, O., lies opposite Mason
county, KY, and has long been famous for
tobacco growing. Many years ago there re-
sided in that county an industrious and intel
ligent German farmer, Capt. August Colt
Capt. Colt raised tobacco. 1t all then was
dark and strong and caused Inflammation in
the mouths of those who chewed it. The
sweet tobacco was brought from Cuba, and
could not be grown anywhere in the United
States. Its seed planted in our soil produced
the strong tobacco peculiar to this country
There was one kind here little better than
the other 1t was of reddish color and was
called Red Burley. How it got the name
"Burley" no one knows
In 1862 Capt. Colt had a field of tobacco
Just behind his house. One day early in the
autumn, when the plants had attained
height of foot or more, Mrs. Colt remarked
to her husband that she bad seen very pc
culiar tobacco plant in the corner of the field.
1t was like none she had ever seen before.
All others, when growing, were green, but
this was white. Capt. Colt said he would
look at it. Accompanied by his wife he went
to the field and examined the peculiar plant.
1t was indeed white, as she had said, and I'M
like any other tobacco. Capt. Colt gave his
workmen orders to take care Of It and allow
it TO run to seed.
To raise tobacco necessitates two processes
of planting. The seed is sown in q small bed
just like one for asparagus or lettuce. In
short time tiny plants, hundreds of them to
every square foot, grow up. These plants
are drawn out by the roots. Taken to a field
prepared for that purpose, they are set, one
in each, in little hillocks a foot and half
apart. One man punches hole in a hiiloek
with a stick, another inserts the roots of the
plant and presses the dirt around them. This
plant takes a second growth apd sends up a
stout stalk, with fifteen or sixteen branching
leaves, each of them often two feet long and
a foot broad This is the tobacco for COM
merce and use. Before it attains maturity
the farmer cuts off the top Of the stalk. 1t
makes the leaves grow broader. If the top is
not cut off it shoots up TO a height of five or
six feet, blossoms, and produces q handful of
seed. This is called allowing plant to run
to seed"
Capt Colt examined the white plant many
times while it was growing to maturity. In
the autumn it blossomed just as any other to-
bacco would when left alone, and after ripen-
ing Capt. Colt carefully gathered the handful
of seed it produced. The plant was cut and
hung away by itself in the barn to dry.
When it had undergone the latter process it
turned to bright yellow color and contrasted
remarkably in appearance with the other to-
bacco. Capt. Colt chewed a piece. 1t was
sweet and left an unusually pleasant taste in
his mouth. He called in number of his
neighbors, all old tobacco growers, to ex-
anime the plant and see what they thought of
it. They agreed with him that it was far
superior to any'otherNtobacco they had ever
seen, but they argued that the plart was
merely freak of nature. The seed from it
would produceitobacco of the familiar dark
color and strong taste. The captain was in
clined to that belief too, but he said he would
sow the seed and see.
PLANTS AT IS APIECE.
The following spring Capt. Colt sowed the
ha 70 MI ha al re
were carefully drawn and reset Then he
awaited with great interest the result The
plants grew rapidly, and to his intense de
light the leaves were white He had little
field of the white tobacco, and again in the
autumn he saved all the seed.
When the result of the captains expert
ments was known everybody in his vicinity
wanted the seed He refused to part with
any, but the next spring he sold the young
plants for s. apiece. The following autumn
some of the third crop, which was as bright
In color as the original plant, was taken to
market, and it sold for four or five times as
much as the common tobacco. Capt Colt
named it white Burley."
The farmers in Mason county, Ky, expert
mented more eagerly with the new tobacco
than did their neighbors in Brown county,
across the river They soon produced it in
considerable quantities. Most all of it was
shipped to the Louisville market, and White
Buriey became famous. For years its growth
was confined to these two counties. Farmers
thought it was peculiar to the soil there, and
could not he produced elsewhere. Thus the
quantity in the market did not amount to
more than the Lundredth part Of per cent.
of the total crop, and it was regarded as
rare and fancy brand, such as a rich man