Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-07-10
NEW FIELD OPENED.
How the Tobacco Plant Thrives
in California.
THE FOOTHILLS SUITABLE FOR IT
There Have Been Some Failures In Its
Growth But 1t Was Owing to Lack
of knowledge.

The cultivation of tobacco will likely
receive great deal of attention in
California from now ON. 1t is claimed
by ID. Culp of San Felipe. San
Benito county, that it is an exceedingly
profitable crop and that the climate and
soil of this State are better adapted to
its growth than can be found in any
other State in the Union. Its cult
walton IN California is no new thing,
although complete success in growing
it has not often been attained. 1t is a
plant whose life and habits and whose
proper curing must be thoroughly un-
derstood to make its cultivation sue.
cess. 1t is quite probable that series
of expert as costly and as
thorough as were made in the cultiva-
tion of the wine grape in California
will be made with the tobacco plant.
am quite confident" said Mr..
Culp yesterday, that it will not be
long before California supplies the
United States with tobacco leaf. There
are many difficulties to overcome in
the growing of tobacco in the East
which nature has not put in our way
out here. For instance, heavy rain
at certain stage Of the plants growth
will destroy the entire harvest. A late
frost will kill the plant. A heavy
wind will break it down and ruin it,
While rain will injure the plant. it
must have sufficient moisture to make
it grow properly. Now. in California.
the long dry season. together with
irrigation. gives us the very conditions
that are needed for the successful Guilt
walton of the tobacco plant. Many
attempts have been made in California
to grow tobacco. but few of them have
been successful, because growers here
failed to attend properly to the plant.
| think can safely say that the culti-
vation of tobacco in California can be
carried on very successfully. There
are a great many localities suitable
for its growth.
''At San Felipe the soil is alluvia,,
a little sandy, and l think similar
soil in any of the valleys will do as
we'll as that at my place. l look. too,
to see very fine tobacco raised in the
hills of the State The foothills of the
Coast range and of the Sierra Nevada
mountains l think highly suitable to
the cultivation of tobacco.
"An acre will yield about 1000 to
1900 pounds of cured tobacco, and
sell my product at fifty cents pound.
| raise all the plants from seed and set
them out in February or March and
by the end of June the picking of the
leaves begins and continues until
about November. In planting. set
the plants about three feet apart
one way and about one foot apart
another way. The merchants here
have agreed to take all the tobacco
that can be grown here for twenty five
cents a pound.
GAS to the quality of tobacco grown
in California. I will say that it is
superior to that produced in any other
State in the Union. plant the Ha-
vana tobacco and think it is quite as
good as the Cuba article. In fact,
have sold my tobacco to people who
required me to keep quiet about where
it was grown, so that they could use
it as Havana tobacco. We have the
conditions here to grow the best to-
bacco in the world and l am satisfied
that some day the tobacco crop of Cali
fornia will be more profitable than the
wheat crop. / am told that there are
365, 900. 900 pounds of tobacco used il
making plugs in the United States
every year. That is an enormous
quantity. If we can produce the
, finest quality in this State and the
area is practically unlimited for it,
! growth, we can successfully compete
! enormous demand.
J "The one difficulty in the way O
growing tobacco is in knowing how
7 to cultivate and cure it. 1t is diff
: cult plant to grow, unless one is famil
: lar with its needs and habits. TIL,
cultivation here is different from tn
cultivation in Kentucky or in Connec
r ticut, and men from both these State
! who have tried to grow it here in tn
same way as they did back in thei
own States have failed. A gentleman
3 from Kentucky made an attempt t.
grow tobacco in Fresno county las
year, but did not succeed, because b
did not go about it right. He faile,
to irrigate at the proper time, and tn
: ground got dry and baked the life ou
of the plants / am sure that the Ian
/ he cultivated can be made to yiel
9 handsomely. if properly attended to.
1.-THE manufacture of tobacco int
l plugs and cigars will be a big industr
o in San Francisco again. At one tim
there were $4,000 workmen employe
here to manufacture tobacco into tn
u forms for use; now there are nc
e / 400 in the whole State. But if W
n can grow the best tobacco in the Unite
= States right here in California, an
a that, too. in large quantities. l thin
San Francisco will be the center of th