St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-05-13
FIRST TOBACCO GROWER.
job. Ro,fe,- Important work 4, 1913
In the ;EnxiisA Colony RI -
Virginia.

In another way (than as the husband
Of Pocahontas) Rolfefs connected with
the early history of Virginia. In the
spring of 1912. the fifth year of the col
ony. he performed an action which. il
we were to Judge it by its consequence
only. we migkf pronounce the most i'm
portant deed ever done in colonial Vir'
ginia. Beingan old smoker. he had the
curiosity to know whether white men
could raise good tobacco in Virginia
and. accordingly, he planted some to
bacco seed at jamestown. 1t grew well
during the .summer. and when the
leaves were ripe, he cured them as best
he could; for moi person in the colony
was acquainted with the proper proc
ess. When the feaves were dry, he
tried them ip his pipe. and pronounced
the tobacc6 excellent. His friend,
Ralph Hamor. secretary of the colony
tried it. andsfinding it very.much to his
taste. planted some seed in his garden
in the following spring. Mr.. Hamor, in
his tract upon Virginia, published in
l6l5, gave Virginia tobacco strong in
dorsement.
IL dare AFFIRM" he wrote. that no
country under the sun can or doth
afford more pleasant. sweet and strong
tobacco than have tasted there. on my
own plantation. which. howsoever. be-
ing then the first year of trial thereof.
we had not the knowledge to cure and
make up; yet are there some men resi-
dent there. out of the last years we'll
observed experience, which both know.
and. l doubt not. will make and return
such tobacco this year. t1615) that even
England shsll acknowledge the good
ness thereof"
He further says. when urging emf.
grants to Cd to Virginia, that any mar
in the coloal could. earn his clothes by
raising tobecco-clothes having to be
bought in England. +
The secretary's prediction proved
correct. English smokers so well appre,
ciated the tobacco of Virginia that'the
price of The article ranged from three
to five shillings pound. A colonisi
needed to send only very few pounds
of tobacco loue to get an excellent suit
of clothes; Naturally enough. every
one was eager to plant tobacco: and we
read of tobacco growing luxuriantly il
the very streets and public places OF
jamestown. Nothing could draw tn,
people off, says. an old historian
..from their greedy, land immoderate
pursuit of tobaeco;" although hun
dred and fifty people were sent out
from England to set up three iron
works. and an attempt was made te
introduce the culture of hemp, fax and
silk. Tobacco became, and for two cen.
turies remained. the great staple prod
uct of Virginia. For . century and
more. it serve9 in part as the currency
of the colontr We read of men be.
queathing hundreds of pounds of to-
bacco for endowing college or con.
verting the heather. Clergymen were
paid salaries of SO many thousand
pounds of tobacco per annum. Taxes.
debts and rents were paid i'm tobacco.
No colony can flourish. if, indeed, il
can exist, unless it produces something
which can be sold i'm other and older
countries; since it cannot, for many
years, manufacture the implements.
utensils. fabrics and apparel, without
which it must either perish. or lapse
into barbarism. Virginia now had such
\ commodity; and from this time for
ward ii could make return to the COM
pany at home. and buy with its OWL
produce Indispensable articles manu-
factured in England. Such were the
consequences of John Rolfe's planting
of tobacco seed in the spring of 1612.-
James Par.on's "Triumphs of Enter
nriSe y