Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1902-11-28
TOBACCO IN
NEW MEXICO
Experts Say the Soil and the
Climate Will Produce
Finest in World.
TWO CROPS YEAR POSSIBLE
Santa Fe Railway Company Has
Taken the Matter Up and
Will Encourage it in
Every Way.

The growing of tobacco on an exten
sive scale through the southwest is be
ing advocated by Wesley Merritt. in
dustrial commissioner of the Santa FL
Railway Company, and he has ad
dressed letters to the commercial clubs
and board of trades Of this. city, La:
Vegas, Albuquerque, Ration and point:
on the Pecos Valley division. He viii
visit the cities named in short time
and will bring with him the data hi
has collected on the subject.
Tobacco has been successfully growr
and is now, in limited quantity
through the Rio Grande valley, ant
Mr.. Merritt states that General Pear
son, late of the Boer army, says the
soil and climate of New Mexico viii
produce the finest tobacco in the
world. S. E. Edmunds, at present
manager of the Kentucky Leaf Tobac-
co Company, of Cincinatti, o., has
written to President Ripley of the San
ia Fe Railway, on this subject. Mr.,
Edmunds is an expert in tobacco rails
ing, having been born and raised on a
Virginia tobacco farm and for twenty
years having been in the business. He
has written many articles on the sub
ject and prepared a very complete
pamphlet on tobacco raising for the
United States department of agricul-
ture.
He say the irrigated lands of the
southwest will not only produce the
finest tobacco in the world, and more
pounds to the acre, but will produce
two crops year from the same stalk.
When the first crop is cut the stub
will put out a shoot and produce an
other plant. The best blue grass land
in Kentucky produces 1000 pounds to
the acre and he believes the irrigated
lands of the southwest in the two
crops will produce at least 1000
pounds to the acre of Virginia, Ken
lucky and Ohio styles of tobacco. A
warm climate gives fine flavor to the
tobacco that it can never get in the
more northern latitudes as is demon
Egypt and Turkey. Kentucky, Virgin
la, North Carolina and South Carolina
last year produced tobacco which was
manufactured into 29S,04S, ,339 pounds Of
smoking and chewing tobacco that was
consumed in this country; in addition,
POI 1886, ,635 pounds were exported to Eu-
rope as we'll as large quantity to
Japan and China. Japan has placed
buyers in the states named.
The reasons why Mr.. Edmund be-
lieves the irrigated lands of the
southwest will produce the finest to-
bacco in the world are: the planting
season in the east may be delayed on
account Of long winter and late
spring, and a late planting will catch
the dewey and cool weather in the fall
and cause the leaf to thicken and cure
a dull semi-bright color. Rains, which
are frequent in the east will cause the
tobacco to take second growth and
turn green again, thus destroying the
color. Then there Is the danger from
frost.
In order to make fine bright crop
the plants should turn very yellow on
the hill as it will then cure up bright
and be more valuable, but the plants
in Virginia and the Carolinas never
become very yellow on the hill, always
having greenish cast. 1t is necessary
there to cut the plants, place them in
barns and subject them to heat to Sc
cure the proper color. On irrigated
lands the water could be cut off when
the plants begin to ripen and the
bright yellow color would follow. The
warm dry atmosphere would cure 1t in
sheds and no artificial means would
have to be employed; nor would to-
bacco raised in the southwest be sub
ject to the dangers of the crop in the
east, Even with the use Of fertilizer
in Virginia and the Carollnas, but
600 pounds to the acre is raised while
the blue grass land of Kentucky is
too valuable to put tobacco in as 1t Is
very exhausting to the soil. 1t Is Mr..
Edmunds, opinion that II tobacco cul-
ture is once introduced in the irrigated
lands Of the southwest, Virginia and
Kentucky, as tobacco states, will be
things Of the past. The work should
be taken up at once as plant beds
should be sown In January.
1t is the purpose OF the Santa Fe
Railway Company to afford every pos
sible assistance to this comparatively
new industry for New Mexico and the
results Of its careful investigation
prove conclusively that it will be a
paying product for New Mexico. Mr..
Merritt wifi bring with him all the
data the company has secured. Until
very recent years, practically all the
tobacco consumed In New Mexico, was
raised here and has been for 150 years.
Within the past five years tobacco Of
the finest quality has been raised near
Bernalillo and Albuquerque, and near
Belen, Valencia county. This tobacco
is raised under improved methods and
the result has been most satisfactory.
I can sell you nobby iron fence
cheap. It knocks wooden fences out OF
sight. Davis, the plumber,
i /. 4