The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1899-10-25
THE TOBACCO FIELDS OF CON-
NECTICUT.
The Boston Transcript.

N'Nb v ia ~ GOIlpOl III W
the use of man." as Ben Johnson de-
rlared tobacco to be, finds Il congenial
in the lovely valley of the Con-
necticut river, between Springfield
Mass, and Hartford, Conn, where the
rich, red soil peculiar to the region
more nearly approaches tho tropical
requirements of this agricultural exotic
than any other portion of Il is part of
the country. Tobacco farms of from
one to twenty-five acres, producing an
average of seventeen .nrdred pounds
to the acre, are scattered along both
banks of the Connecticut river in a belt
about twenty miles wide, the east side
of the river being devoted to the pro-
duction of what is called the "Connecti-
cut broadleaf tobacco" and the west
side to the "Havana seed tobacco"
which is raised from seed brought
from Havana.
The soil devoted to this industry is
enriched annually with an immense
amount of fertilizing material, as the
plants require rich food, and sap the
soil tremendously. The tobacco seed
is planted in the spring, and after it
attalns a height of about six inches 1t
is tranplanted into ows like corn. 1T
is a handsome plant, with broad, CLOS
! So leaves, shaped like those of the rub
Der plant, and reaches IN maturity to
a height of four CIR five feet.
A growing tobacco field is a pretty
sight, with It's long, even rows of plants
with their shining, dark green leaves.
The plant usually has from ten to twenty
leaves, its full growth being reach
ed by the middle of August. The leaves
around the base of the plant are coarse
and iibrous, and are used for filling
cigars; the top leaves are also tough
and coarse, ever more SO than the bot
tom leaves, and are used in the man
ufacture of "stogies." The cente.
leaves are the choicest, and are used f. [
cigar wrappers, which call for the est
quality of tobacco leaves.
An immense amount of care and
labor and expense is involved in the
r~aisiLg of these crops, as the plants
requires constant watching to protect
them from ~encroaching weeds, bugs
and various plant ailments that con
nive against the profits of the tobacco
growers. A curious climate feature of
the tobacco belt is the frequency of
severe summer hailstorms, which are
a constant menace to the tobacco crop,
as the wind and hailstones tear and
mutilate the leaves, lnjuring their
salcable value to a great extent.
From the middle of August to the
middle of September the crop is har-
vested. The plants are Gu. off close to
the ground, and hung upside down on
poles about SIX feet long. Skeleton
wagons, built for the purpose, cart the
filed poles which are laid across their
frames to the great tobacco sheds,
which are such a common sight through
out this region. Here the tobacco is
stored, row upon row, tier upon tier,
until the shed is filled, where il is left
to dry, or "cure." The denuded root
of the plants left in the ground IN.
mediately start a second growth OF
rank little f~eelers, which are called
"suckcrs," but as yet no use has been
found for this supplementary growth
Of the plant,s as it is too tough anG
fibrous. The harvested crop remains
, in the sheds until December, when the
!: leaves are stripped from the stalks and
sorted ac~cordingsto condition, and then
[ packed in bales and shipped to tho
, warehouses;, in Windsor and Sunicld
where they are stored. BY the follow.
, ing July the balcd tobacco begins what
is called II "sweating" process, when
the leaves look as though they were
rotting. This continues for three
months, when it dries off again and
the tobacco is ready for the market. In
= September the crop of the previous
September is ready for the buyers
, Each box or bale is sampled and sold
individually, as the quality is very
variable and can only be determined Ivy
t testing it. The cheaper grades of this
, Connecticut tobacco are worth from
!, four to six cents per pound; the better
grades, called the "bindcr" and "wrap.
per" tobacco, brings from 10 to 40 cents
per pound, and some of the choicest
!, are sold as high as 60 cents per pound
, This season has been a very profit.
able one for the Connecticut tobacco
, growers, the crop yielding between
fifty and sixty thousand cases. Each
case or bale weighs about $50 pounds.
The buyers come from New York and
the West in the early fall to negotiate
with the growers for their crops, usually
doing SO after they have been harvest.
ed, although when the demand Is bcisk
~ 10 IL ohuou'i " SoLiDStiSC DuJCIs
to make an offer for the field of tobac
CO as it stands. This is a great risk
however, as it IS difficult to determine
what the quality of the tobacco will
pro yed until it has been thoroughly
"cured."
For the last few years there has been
a great demand for spotted tobacco, as
most of the nice imported tobacco has
that appearance, SO the dauntless yam
kec tobacco growers produce the de-
sired effect on their best crops by
spraying the growing leaves with pot
ash, which eats into them, giving them
the requisite spotted appearance. The
wal with Cuba has advanced the price
of Connecticut tobacco somewhat, but
not SO much as the buyers expected as
there was a large amount on hand when
The war began. A very considerable
feature of this industry is the demand
for tobacco stems, after The leaves have
been stripped from them, which are
used for fcrtilizing purposes, being
shipped 10 New York in bales by the
Hartford boat, which runs between
fhof pifu onJ Nou Vn,L o,l "a -: