The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-09-04


houses in the country as SO much use
less expense.
We also charge to the mistaken pol
icy of curing on the stalk the loss ol
vegetable manure equal to ten dollars
per acre on every acre of tobacco cul-
tivated by robbing the fields OF the to-
bacco stalk and suckers which right
fully belong to them and should be re-
turned to them, instead of being carted
away and wasted. Allowing one
thousand pounds to the acre, which is
a liberal estimate to grow 22o, 900, 900
pounds, we had tobacco growing on
100000 acres last year at ten dollars
per acre, and we sacrificed S2,2oo,ooo
to the stalk cure last season. This
sum must be added to the $4,000, 900
already charged, making S15,2oo,ooo,
which can be correctly computed and
rightfully charged to the stalk cure.
While we cannot compute in figures
the damage to the industry by reason
of loss in color and unsound tobacco,
which we may justly charge to the
stalk cure and nowhere else. 1t would
seem that we had charged the stalk
with misdemeanors enough and more
than it can bear, but we have more
charges yet to make. Indeed, Mr..
Editor, we are not half done with the
culprit that filches our money on every
side. We have another charge Of a
very serious financial matter. 1t is no
less than 8 per cent. interest on all
the capital invested. l don't see, says
one, what the stalk cure has to do
with the interest on the capital invest
ed. Let me tell you, the tobacco
stalk imparts its bad qualities to the
leaf while curing. The biting, bitter,
pungent element found in all new
stalk cured tobacco comes from the
stalk and from the stalk only. Add
up the interest at 8 per cent. on all the
capital invested in the manufacture OF
tobacco and you will be able to guess
at the full measure of the financial
mischief which the stalk does the leaf
by the foolish notion that men have OF
curing the two together. If your cook
should boil the stump or stalk on
which the cabbage head grows you
would think the cook was crazy when
you come to eat your dinner. The to-
bacco curer commits a mistake equal
in magnitude when he puts the filthy
poison tobacco stalk into the curing
barn with the leaves. When the to-
bacco is two years old it is possible to
use. 1t takes two full years to neu-
tralize the poison; to mellow the nj
trates; to decompose the nlcotiannin ;
to repair the mischief; to take out OF
the leaf what was foolishly put in by
the stalk in curing, because the curer
did not know any better.
No wonder, Mr.. Editor, that a good
Crew of tobacco costs one dollar per
pound. Two men out of every five
you meet will admit these things to be
true; the other three have never
thought of them. The subject is Of
the greatest importance to the indus
try. 1t involves more than thirty mil
lions annually. The tobacco stalk is
the vortex, the maelstrom' into
whose capacious nav has gone the
sweat, the toll and the hopes of many
planter, and the dollars of the buyer
and the manufacturer. The business
of the stalk is to grow tobacco leaves.
The stupendous blunder of the age
was made when the stalk was first used
to cure leaves on. If there was one
rcdeeming quality in the stalk cure the
case would not look so foolish, but We
have looked in vain for one redeeming
point in its favor. Ifspeed or cheap
ness is the desired end then moving
machine and pitchfork will beat the
stick -straddling out of sight.