New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-19

Tho tyranny 81 tobacco was not dreamed or nj
the outset When Il became obvious 1, was re-
sented But the plant had its own way. 1t de-
manded the best soil the best care and these IL
repaid by being alwrys an object OF eager pnr-
chase In the markets II Europe. From the De-
ginning everything contributed 10 perTf tuate liz
sway In the n.st place. the English OF the carry
sixteenth century were bcggars rather than
chooeers IN the matter II colonization. Their"
were too many OF them in the old homes The poor
were very pool. and idccs for their relief wer"
vague enough. Great Britain. nov the greatest
producer Of iron In the world. had - buy iron
then because coal was unknown and the dep'e-
ton Of the forests for charcoal alarmed the ma
ton The hope Of the time WAS by transplanting
incubation 10 create "A colony that would fur
nlsh the mother country with the vast array ~
commodities which II now had 10 buy from
strangers II It's own people settled In new
lands could give II the tar pitch rosin. fax.
cordagc masts yards timber. the naval stores.
the glass and ashes. which II bought from Rus
sa and Poland: the copper that Sweden FUR
nished: the wine salt and canvas OF France:
the spices Of the Fast: the SILK and velvet OF
Italy: the iron steel. figs and raisns. ana. above
all, the gold Of Spain; even II II could CIV" some
OF these things or the raw material the KING
dom would soon be free Of It's ncghbors. IL In
almost pathetic now 10 think OF the care with
which the ancient explorers secured the new
country. making n note Of everything which they
thought useful and even reporting as one OF them
| did. What commodities sOever. Sraine, france.
| Italy or the East parties doe yecld urto MS In
wines OF all sortes. In oyles. in fake in rosens.
pitch. frankenscence. correns sugers and such
like, these parties doe abound with the growth
of them ALL and suncry other rich commodities
hat Of world D.
| Indies have here we find great abundance Of
| They eagerly observed the COPPER ornaments OF
| the Indians. never thinking that the metal had
been handed on from tribe to tribe. the chain OF
| barter r. aching to the shores OF Lake Superior
| They loaded vessels with what they supposed
| to be precious ore only to find that II was re-
| jected In England worthless. The grapes
| that looked tempting were found unit for
| wine, and n little later experiment showed that
| imported plants. for example. the olive did not
| flourish as 1t hoped they would.
| But II Virginia was not just the paradise that
1t had been painted still 1t might contain a gold
| mine and 1t might furnish vantage point from
| which to reach the South Sea. Thus in the early
| years OF the colony much labor wasted In
| the search for gold The belief that the country
| was a comparatively narrow strip of land between
| two great oceans led to much exploration. which
| proved Indirectly useful. But 1t did not open a
| royal road 70 the spices Of the East All the first
| anticpations OF England to the value OF her
| colony were disappointed. The colonists, aided at
| times from England. settled down to agrcul-
ture that In Its distinctive features was borrowed
from the Indians. For the better part of three
centuries maize was planted and cared for on
large areas after the fashion adopted by the
Indians In their small "clearings" All the diff
ference there was lay In the character OF the tools
1t was from the Indians that the colonists learned
how to kill trees by "girdling" them without the
heavy work Of the axe The Indians abandoned
their farms and settled In a new spot soon as
the land lost Its fertility What vas necessity Ia
them was adopted IN measure by the colonists
for the latter far they were able. strove Ia
enlarge their plantations and to turn from old
fields to new ones instead of trying to renew the
vigor Of soil which had been long In use. 1t was
only when II came to the growth OF plants un-
known to the savages and to the raising Of focks
and herds that the newcomers began to diverge
from primitive methods In a noteworthy degree
Even In tobacco culture the chief mysteries were
impaired by the Indians. They knew how fai
apart to set the plants how to constrain thcii
, growth, how to keep them healthy and how &c
prepare the leaves for use
The gradual increase Of tobacco farming was
, 10 be observed In the very geography OF the new
. | commonwealth. The Itch wet marshes on Sea
and river we're deserted Tor the high terraces