The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-10-28
AN IMPORTANT UNDERTAKING,

- OSOAS-
and any information that may be
gathered and published doubtless will
not only be interesting but of great
value to those engaged in raising to-
bacco or IN manufacturing 1t.
Prof. Thos. N. Conrad, formerly
President of the Virginia Agricultural
and Mechanical College, and recently
Professor of Agriculture of the Mary
land Agricultural College, has been
selected by the Department of the In
terror to prepare the report on the to
bacco crop of the United States for
the eleventh census. He uas been
travelling through our State looking
after this important industry, and Is
now 10 u city.
We trust that our people will cheer
fully render Prof. Conrad any and all
aid that he may desire to carry out
this undertaking. He has full author
ity from and is working under the
direction of the Superintendent of the
Census and the Secretary of the In
terror. He will visit many of our to-
bacco men, and in order that they may
know something of the object in ad-
vance, we give a list of the questions
he wants answered. Blanks will be
furnished to be filed by any n who
is sufficiently interested. The ques
tions to be answered and topics to
discuss are as follows:
VARIETIES OF TOBACCO.
What varieties of tobacco are cult
waited in your district? Your first
choice and second choice, and why :?
If any new varieties have been sue,
cessfully introduced since 1880, please
name them, and state their merits. If
If any Of the old varieties have been
abandoned, please name them, and
state the reason. What varieties are
regarded as most reliable, and what as
most proftabIe2 What class, type,
and grade 30 you seek to produce 2
Class-Smoking, chewing, exporting.
Type-Yellow, red, dark, etc. Grade
Wrappers, filters, cutters, etc. Has
the quality of the product improved
since 1880? Further remarks on va
rieties of tobacco.
CLIMATE.
Character of your climate, particu
larry in spring, summer and fall. Pre-
vailing winds. Any protracted
droughts. Early frosts.
CHARACTER OF SOIL.
What is the character of the soil
| Won oT7l+Iry,% 20 -, %OLoooo9 IT, 11--
under cultivation in tobacco; It's pres
ent condition and yield 2 If any new
ly cleared land IS in tobacco, how
much, and how does it compare in
yield and quality with the old ? Gen,
eral remarks on soil.
COMPARISONS IN AREAS.
What proportion of your farm is
planted in tobacco in comparison with
wheat and corn? Has the tendency
in your district been toward an in
crease or a decrease ia the acreage OF
tobacco Do large, medium, or small
areas in tobacco pay best, and why ?
What "rotation," if any, is followed
by the planters OF your locality ?
COST OF PRODUCTION IN YOUR DISTRICT.
Wba5 number of acres Of tobacco
can be successfully cultivated ami
housed by one trained man2 What
wages are paid to such a man per
month ? What rent is paid per acre
for the land What is the average
yield per acre in pounds ? Average
price per pound ? Annual cost of fer
J~ilizers per acre2 Annual cost of cul
tivaUlng per acre? Annual cost of
handling crop per acre? What profit
is expected and usually received by
the landlord on each acre What is
the cost of cultivating, handling, etc.,
n acre of tooacco from the making
of the seed bed to the delivery Of the
crop at the nearest market ? Is a
"share system " practic@d in your 10.
cality toward tenants ID laborers ?
If so, give the terms. What is the
range of prices per Blu red pounds
from "lugs" to your 4sG product ?
What is the cost to tie planter of in.
speeding and sellina IA the distant
market ? General re,n1rks on COST of
proQucG1on.
FERTILIZERS BARNS.
If you use fertiliz~ss 5, please state
why. what kind, Quantity per acre,
how applied, and cost per ton. If you
use barnyard manure, please state
Quantity per acre, cost per acre, how
applied, increased yield made, et;.
If o use both, please give relative
merits and reasons therefor. If any
improvements have been made in cor.
struction of tobacco barns since 1880,
please state them.
CURING.
If any improvement has been made
in curing tobacco since 1880, please
state them. Have patented meth,
DDS" of curing tobacco been more
largely introduced, or are the old