The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-02-23

ONLY one plant is seen in a hlil. 10
bacco requires constant from
the time it is planted until it is housed;
There has never been any successful
machinery introduced for the cultlVa-
tion of tobacco. The hoe and h pillow
were the only tools used in antebellum
DAYS and the only ones used at pres
ent.
Tobacco is usually topped in July,
leaving from twelve to sixteen leaves
on a stalk. There IS nothlns na haa
prettier than q field of obacc about
ten DAYS after the topping process is
completed.
Every plant seems the same height
every leaf the same size, and the long
broad leaves reaching from row to
row form a solid mass OF 1lgnl sieeii
turning to a gold color as it rlpens.
After the topping the hoe and tho
plow are laid aside and the "WormlnS
and the t'suckering' begin.
At every leaf near the stalk q sucker
, grows out and has to be pulled OH
once a week.
Tobacco has to be suckered three
times usually, for as soon as one
sucker is pulled another begins 10
grow in the same place. If the sucker
is allowed to remain longer than a
| week it greatly stunts the plant ana
reduces it both in weight and value
Suckering tobacco is very iaborlouS
work, causing the laborer to constant
" stand in q half-bent position while
the hot August sur pours down a fiood
of heat on his unprotected back.
August is the month for the worms.
During the light Nights q large moth
| fully as large as a humming bird
makes its appearance and lays on the
plant, usually on the top leaves a
small green egg about the size of a
brass pin head.
Sometimes fifteen or twenty Eggs
are Laid on a plant at q time. 1t takes
only a few hours for the eggs to hatch
and about six days for the worm TO
| develop, at which time it is as large
as a mans little finger and about as
long.
They must be destroyed when very
young, for a half dozen grown worms
can ruin a plant Of tobacco in one
day and Ugh
Until recently the worms had to be
picked off with the fingers and their
heads snapped off, but the farmers
have lately discovered that they a
be destroyed by spraying the plant
with paris green.
This process is not Very expensive
and lessons the labor of raising a crop
of tobacco considerably.
Tobacco usually has to be cut in
September. The cutting is done with
a long knife made for the
The stalk is split a little more than
half way down and cut off near the
ground After 1t NltCS 1t Is nttflS dSlflue
of q stick four q and half feet long.
Nine or ten plants are usually hung
on each stick.
These sticks are hung on a network
OF crossbeams in unfloored barns built
for the purpose of firing.
The firing has to be done very care
fully, especially when the tobacco be-
gins to dry. A bit of carelessness often
causes a man's whole years work to
be reduce< to ashes in q few minutes.
It is a sad sight to see a man's barr
burn, especially if he has q large fam
lily whose winter food and clothes de-
pend wholly on his tobacco.
When the tobacco is cured it has to
be stripped-that is the leaves are
pulled off the stalk and tied into
small bundles, a worm eaten leaf be-
ing used for the tying.
This work also has to be done in
wet weather, for tobacco comes in
order according to the state of the
barometer.
1t cannot be handled in dry, cool
weather. After the stripping is COM
pleted, the tobacco is carried to the
pricing house, where it is put into large
hogsheads and sold usually to the
highest bidder.
Five acres is a full crop for one
good hand. A favorable year will make
about 5000 pounds. worth from 4 to
Is cents per pound.
Until recently tbs CROP was Guilt
waited by the negro, but the scarcity of
negro labor now and the present high
prices aredriving many whites to the
tobacco patch.