Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1902-12-06
NEW MEXICO TOBACCO.
Experts Say the Soil and Climate Will
Produce Finest in the World.

Produce Finest IN the world.
The growing of tobacco on an exten- |
sive scale through the southwest is be-
ing advocated by Wesley Merritt, in
dastrial commissioner of the Santa Fe
Railroad company, and he has ad-
dressed letters to the commercial
clubs and boards of trade Of Abuquef-
que Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Ration and
points on the Pecos Valley division.
He will visit the cities named in a
short time and will bring with him the
data he has collected on the subject
Tobacco has been successfully
grown and Is now In limited quaint
t. through. the Rio Grande valley, and
Mr. Merritt states that General Pear
son, late of the Boer army. says the
soil and climate OF New Mexico will
produce the finest tobacco in the
| world S. T. Edmunds, at present
manager of the Kentucky Leaf Tobac.
co company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. has
written to President Ripley. of the
Santa Fe railroad, on the 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 very complete
pamphlet on tobacco raising for the
| United States department of agricul-
ture.
| He says 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
ether 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
ops 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 II can never get in the
more northern ATTITUDES as Is demon
strated in the fine tobacco raised in
Egypt and Turkey. Kentucky. Virgin
ia. North Carolina and South Carolina
last year produced tobacco which was
manufactured into s9S,04S.339 pounds
of smoking and chewing tobacco that
was consumed in this country; in ad-
dition. 201 $40 635 pounds were ex.
| ported to Europe as well as a large
quantity TO Japan and China. Japan
has placed buyers In the states named.
| The reasons why Mr.. Edmunds be.
| 1tnuno tho trr tod lanIp 90 hn
west will produce the finest tobacco
in the world are the planting sea
son In the east may be delayed on ac-
count OF a long winter and late spring.
and a late planting will catch the
dewy and cool weather In the fall
ard cause the leaf to thicken and cure
o dull. semi-bright color. Rains. which
are frequent in the east, will cause the
tobacco to take a 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 q greenish cast. II 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 on when
the plants begin to ripen and the
brigh 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
least. Even with the use Of fertlliser