Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1900-08-08
TOBACCO In SOUTH CAROLINA.
What the Weed Has Done for One Sec
ton of the State.

was anxious to look into that por-
tion of South Carolina that has in the
past several years gone into tobacco
growing and has thereby prospered so
greatly. | was glad therefore to stop
day at Darlington, S. c.. with my
friends, Mr.. and Mrs. c. w Hewitt,
who own one Of the finest homes in
this thriving town Of $500 souls Dar-
| lington sells now 5000. 900 pounds Of
tobacco leaf. Timmonsville over 4.0OO.-
600 pounds and Florence equally as
much. This leaf sells for from to z
cents per pound to 2S and 20 cents.
This difference in price obtaining priu-
cipally from differences in soil and
curing of leaf. The proporti II is this:
Ten OO) acres in tobacco is the equiv
alent of 100 acres in returning
say $50 an acre and the tobacco $50
60 $3.50.
The tobacco industry has brought n
large number of tobacco raiserS into
this county; and land that five years
ago was of only nominal value today
brings ready sale at greatly enhanced
values. Mr.. Hewitt told NE Of one
man who, for example. had been cot
4
bankrupt who in four years had under
tobacco raising now owned the place
having paid out nearly $1,000. These
people have found, too. that the best
tobacco lands are the light, worn-out
cotton lands
The season for tCb1cco growth is
much less than cotton. Tobacco plant
ed, say in April, is already coming 10
market. July and August in place of
being dead months. are I've business
months in Darlington. From July to
December are tobacco market months
The care CT the tobacco plant is a mat
ter of 90 to - days Now compare this
time with thu sX or seven months
needed FOR cotton!
To grow tobacco at n profit requires
more brain than to grow cotton. 1t
requires. too, experience. 1t requires
too, certain outfit that costs some
money TO the grower. Then enough
must be grown in a county TO warrant
the putting up OF warehouSe costing
each about $5000-in the nearby town
/ The drying houses to be put up on the
/ plantation are Of logs and mud. The
/ town warehouse is wooden long one
story affair with big windows in the
/ roof
/ 10 to 100 of cotton-that the cotton
acreage OF county need not be largely
| decreased because of tobacco growing.
/ Tobacco might be largely the surplus
J crop. The railroads running o. & of
/ Darlington have about as much cotton
as ever and yet now added to this have
100000 pounds of tobacco leaf. | b.
lieve it would be Il good ide1 for the
various railroads out of Augusta to
look into this tobacco business. Tho
/ opening of this new culture in new
county must come. | feel. largely
through the railroads. Primary soil
/ experiments must be made. n few to-
/ oacco culturiStS imported. farmers CO.
| Operation secured etc The railroads
can do this; and if the experiment sue
reeds they will he repaid leo fold. Tho
! Atlantic Coast Line a few years ago
/ abandoned the ne Of wood on its en-
sines between Wilmington and Wilson.
y. c.. and substituted coal To keep
.hese poor pincy woods choppers from
/ tarvation almost-the railroads look
ad up strawberry culture f1r them. The
BAD inauguratod the business success
/ fully. The poor wood sellers are today
far better off than ever and the road
hauled this past season 900 cars OF
]
h them) out of the territory
The advent of tobacco in and about
| Darlington has raised the county, |
might say, almost out OF poverty into
afiuence. All lines of business are
| good. After locking over the town
full Of $4,000 and $4,000 residences and
! all we'll kept said to Friend Hewitt
| that did not believe there was a moor
man in the town. He told me that il
one day he had counted 400 country
| wagons in town.
The advent Of tobacco in the county
! had done for the wealth of the county
! Just what the artesian wells have done
Tor its health. This used to be a very
! unhealthy district Chills and fever
came with each sumner and fall. The
artesian we'll has banlshed this Dar-
| lngton has nine or ten wells-all over
flowing wells. Their depth is about
! 325 feet. The water is quite cold and
has just enough Of sulphur and mag
nosia in il to be of constant medicinal
| help to all low country dwellers. The
| town has a good water system from one
! OF the wells. The last well bored by
the town only cost $1OO-an amount
that many an up-country we'll costs.
! Those of us who live outside o, the
| a. '''ifhi Ntil NlSAl lti hDOW HOtnlnR
| comparatively of the value OF these
wells TO town and county.
Darlington Is famous for her live
oaks. known as Darlington Oaks
| They are found only in and about the
town and are different in type from
! the coast live oak. They are as large
as our lower Broad street oaks. but are
more spreading ] am familiar with
coast live oak forests. but Darlington
! surpasses them all The tree is an