The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-03-25
RAISING sUMATRA TOBACCO UNDER
COVER.

kins-A Report Of Special Interest Because
Of Tests Soon to be Made in North Carolina.
A bulletin on the growing of to-.
baooo under shade is of interest at
this time. It has not as yet been
conolusively demonstrated that to
bacco can be raised profitably under
shade. Is is known that few of the
most careful growers in New Eng
land have produced some of the
finest tobacco ever grown, but it bas
not as yet been sold, nor will it be,
until cold weather is past. The so
acres raised last summer will in it.
self be largely an experiments in the
working up by manufacturers. The
leaf is very thin, delicate to handle,
is affected by cold weather, but for
the highest grade cigar is just the
thing. The tobacco raised last year
is of such extra quality it is esti.
mated that 1000 acres will be Gov
cred with cheesecloth this year. An
increase of acreage from 80 to 1000
acres in one year, where it is esti-
mated capital of 81, 900 per acre must
be available, or 100000, shows
business enterprise not exceeded in
any line of trade.
In 1901, the Connecticut Expert
ment Station undertook to determine
whe ther wrapper-leaf of the Sumatra
type, and which would compare
favorably with the imported article,
could be raised in Connecticut, by
other meth DDS than those commonly
employed. The object of the expert
ments was to raise larger crop of
SumatrR than was raised in the
previous year, to learn more def
nitely both the extra cost of raising
a crop under shade and also the yield
of tobacco, and to test both the con-
venience and the effect on quality of
QUITTING and hanging the plants in
the usual way instead of picking or
priming the leaves and curing them
apart from the stalk. The expert
ments indicate it is not likely that
the growing of Sumatra type of leaf
in Connections can be made COM
plete success without some years of
experience and intelligent expert
ment.
The framework already standing,
built in 1900, was extended so as to
cover an acre of land. In this ex-
tension the 4x4I-inoh uprlghts sup.
porting the frame we're set II feet
10 inches apart in the row, the rows
of posts themselves being 1879 feet
apart. The posts in each row we're
fastened together by 2x4-inoh soant-
ling, nailed fat on tops of She posts,
and each post was fastened TO the
posts opposite to it in adjoining rows
by 2x4-inch scantling nailed on the
sides of the posts, with the edge of
the scantling flush with their tops.
Scantling 2x5 inches and 30 feet long
were also nailed to the outer rows of
posts, close TO the ground, on the
outside. At one end of the shaded
field was an 8-foot doorway, closed
with cheesecloth, through which
teams could enter.
Wire was tightly drawn over this
frame lengthwise and also crosswise
of the structure, midway between
each row of uprights. This served
as a further support to the cheese
cloth cover. The cheesecloth was
142 inches wide, four one.yard
breadths being sewed together, and
covering the space between the trans
verse rows of posts, which had been
set IL feet 10 inches apart. The
was fastened 80 the
frame by lath wherever the cloth
came in contact with the frame. The
land was manured in the fall of 1900
with New York stable manure, 10
tons to the acre, and fertilized after
plowing in the spring of 1901 with
500 pounds of dry fish scra :, 400
pounds of vegetable ashes" and
1900 pounds of oottonseed meal.
Four different strains of Sumatra
tobacco seed were tested in 1901, the
main body of the crop, however, be-
ing from seed which was grown on
the same land in 1900. The seed for
she 1900 crop was produced in Florida |
from seed which came from the
island of Sumatra. The plants were
act under shade, in rows 81 feet
apart, the plants IL inches apart in
the row, or about 1890 plants to
the acre. About 81 weeks before
,-o..inn tha whole WAS topped by ]