Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-05-22
TOBACCO IN NEW MEXICO.


Capt. W. r. pcuick, the Maxwell
Grant Company'S agent 1T Denver. has
been gathering data whereof; ne may he
guided in his worthy undertaking Of nj
tempting the cultivation d the timer
grades of tobacco in New Mc>i3o. He
He has many choice yaritio, vi the weed
now growing in hot beds. winch are to be
set out on the Maxwell land, within the
coming two weeks In his search for i'm
formation Capt. Pedrjck got into core
spondence with Mr.. H. l.. RalIand, Of
Hyeo, Halifax county, Va, and with Mr.
S. Z. Carr, Of Richmond. The former
writes:
The varieties of tobacco mostly used
and which give the greatest satisfaction
in the high attitudes OF western North
Carolina, about .islivile, are Sterling,
Hyco, Hester and yellow DrlnOro. For
Colorado, at the altitude YOU name, $500
feet, you want the earliest to grow, rlpen
and develop. development should pre-
cede rpenng, so the crop may be gather
ed before frost. The Maxwell grant lies
between parallels which include east,
the fine yellow tobacco belt, but owing to
elevation the isothermal lines show it to
be rather colder than any of the golden
tobacco belt, except western North Caro-
lima and West Virginia. both heavy pro-
ducers OF the grades. West Virginia uses
more Hyco and yellow Orinoco than any
other kinds, and with great success in the
hands of skilliul planters.
'In addition to fine, bright leaf, the
Hyco variety makes good cigar tobacco
This type is always cured without artlti-
cial heat, generally by air drying after
being cut and housed, therefore you can
test the capacity OF the grant to grow
both the yellow and the cigar type. My
farm is within three miles Of the degree
$3.50 north, but the elevation here is
under 1000 feet. Low southern slopes
can not fail to produce a superior grade OF
tobacco.
"With the varieties you now have, you
will, if properly assisted in growing
tobacco, be enabled TO test the capabili-
ties Of New Mexico for producing the
weed"
Mr.. Carr, Of Richmond, writes Mr.
Ragland on this subject also, wherein he
says;
81 am deeply interested in the tests
your friends are making i'll Colorado and
New Mexico, since | am certain the south
ern elevations of both those sections are
perfectly adapted to the growth Of smok-
ing tobacco OF the highest flavor, especial
ly New Mexico. spent year in travel
ing in Old Mexico, and found that tobacco
of very superior quality for cigars was
raised on the table lands Of central Mex
leo by irrigation, and the high elevation
you speak OF rather favors the prospect OF
success.
"The Incas OF Peru cultivated tobacco
on high elevations, and maize on the low
grounds and foothills. They were really
further advanced at the conquest than
their conquerers in the art OF scientific
farming We may profitably initiate then:
since many of our useful plants in this
country came from them, and tothem
we are indebted for maize, beans, pump
kins, tobacco and numerous other prod
ucts of the soil. Mexican agriculture was
very SlIllldl, 81 NOII llltllNio wiz are
planting tobacco at such high elevation
are only repeating the efforts Of this peo
pie many centuries ago.
'If you will only think for moment
you will find that high attitudes furnish all
the aromatic woods and vegetation in the
world, while the low lands produce the
flat favored kinds, ever in the same fam
lilies. Java coffee is raised on terraced
hills by irrigation at an elevation OF 1000
feet. Mocha, which has higher flavor,
is raised in the province of Yemen in Ara
bia, also by irrigation at high attitudes;
q country famous for its frankincense and
myrrh in scripture days. The Corea coffee
is grown at elevations OF 5000 feet, and
has an excellent aroma. Rio coffee is
grown on the plantations near Rio de ia
metro on approximately low lands; it is
raspy and strong, and bears the analogous
relation to Java and Mocha that our
strong James river IVA. tobacco does to
the high favored Granville or North Caro-
lima grades. The best nutmeg is grown
at high attitudes and onp porous soil. Sumat-
IA tobacco is raised on oozy low lands
and you know has no flavor, while Its
fine texture is owing to an absolutely vir-
gin soil with nothing but surface tillage.
So you see what high attitudes in warm
countries with fertile soil do for the flavor
element, and also how much interested |
am in the Colorado and New Mexican
venture.