The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-10-19
Talk About Tobacco,

FLoRENOE, S. c., Oct. 1.-THE inside
OF q tobacco warehouse on salesday pro-
sonts some interesting as well as ANUS
ing sights to the novice in the tobacco
industry. TO hear the everlasting voice
OF the auctionoer and the quick and snap
pish bid. of the buyers induces one to
come to tho conclusion that cotton Is no
longer king in South Carolina. The
buyer eagerly seeks the article and pays
good price for it, instead Of the article
seeking the buyer and getting a small
sized nothing.
Florence can boast Of having the larg-
est tobacco warehouse in South Carolina,
which fact indicates that this industry is
assuming size in this particular section
of the State.
Florence County farmers have wisely
come to the conclusion that tobacco Mt y
cents pound beats cotton at conts, and
the consequence of this conclusion is
that tobacco has almost entirely super
ceded cotton. Other Counties should
initiate Florence in this particular limo,
and they will soon shake off the "shack-
les Of poverty"
You say you will hayo to hire some OK
perienced man from North Carolina or
Virginia to teach you the business. Hear
what one says who learned the business
himself, in answer to the reporters ques-
tions about learning the business
"Do you mean to say that you had 10
one to instruct you III tho tobacco Cul-
ture?"
"Well, sir, I used common sense, to-
gethar with information gathered from
books and papers devoted to tho culture
OF tobacco"
"Tell me something about your farm"
"There Is nothing much to toll, but
what there Is, you are welcome to it.
Three years ago I commenced to plant
tobacco, simply as an experiment. / did
not have much faith in it as a profitable
crop in South Carolina At the end OF
the first year came out so we'll that I
was induced to try it on larger scale,
and the third year finds mo planting only
ten acres of cotton, just ior the sake of
'beforo the war Tho first crop brought
me in about Sl50 per aero, and the second
and the third crops have netted me about
q thousand dollars for eyery ten acros
or, in other words, clear about one hun
dred dollars per acre."
"What peculiarity docs this soil pos
sess which makes it good for tobacco ?"
"Nothing, sir. Tobacco will grow just
as we'll anywhere in South Carolina.
Good cotton land is good tobacco land"
"Well you put too much expense in
building your tobacco barn ?'
"No, sir. I built 1t with my own
hands, and at very little expense
"In transplanting your crop, do you
havo to wait for rainy weather2'
"Not at all. Dry weather is just as
good. The tobacco plant is almost as
Tobacco farms are becoming very num-
erous in this section, and we are getting
better prices here than the planters OF
Virginia and North Carolina"
The question propounded by the re-
porter and answered by this planter show
that the tobacco culture is power in this
section.
A buyer of Virginia says: "South Car
olina tobacco Is very fine and commands
the best prices. It brings as high as S24
per hundred pounds"
The planters bring their tobacco to the
Florence warehouse, where 1t Is auotioned
off in piles. Each pile Is Of different
grade. The Florence warehouse, one OF
the largest of any tobacco State, holds
about seven hundred piles. Sales are
made every day during the tobacco
season. About eight thousand pounds Of
tobacco is sold at this warehouse each
day.
If the cotton oranks would stop picking
short while and visit Florence or Dar-
lington and seu how much they are max
ing out Of the universal weed" in two
years South Carolina would not produce
enough cotton to stuff pillow.
Florence and Darlington, the pioneer
Counties in tobacco culture, started on q
small scale, and gradually they have
grown to be known as the tobacco Coun-
ties of South Carolina. Why can't other
Counties join this small band?
The Florence tobacco factory sends out
as good stuff as docs the factories Of Vir-
ginia and North Carolina, thus showing
THAI we can produce first-class raw ma
terial and frst-class manufactured stuff.
Let 1893 be the tobacco year and mark
the downfall of His Majesty King Cotton.
Columbia State.