Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-20
KENTUCKY TOBACCO RAISING
Lessons to Be Learned From
One Who Has Had Many
Years of Experience.
BY RICHARD THACKER.

III southern KENTUCKY, III liie ihAoS'
OF the dark tobacco district, ] was born
nearly forty-five years ago, and only
one time in my life have 1 ever been
beyond it's limits.
have seen many newspaper and
magazine articles written on raising
tobacco, but have never seen one yet
that was correct.
Not long since / read an article or
the culture of tobacco. The writer
knew SO little of his subject as to say
that April was the month for drawing
the plants and setting them out in the
field.
grew up on farm and have
worked in tobacco most of my life,
but l have never yet seen a plant of it
set out in April.
Why, we sometimes have consider
able snow here in April. The goth of
last April we had snowfall of about
four inches. Wouldn't the tender plant
of the tobacco, which can stand no
frost at all and but very little cold
wind look cute peeping UP through a
four-inch snow?
The first step in raising a crop of
tobacco is the burning of the seed beds,
Until recently this work was in most
cases done in February, but of late
years the farmers have found they can
be successfully burned in the autumn.
This is great saving in both labor
and wood, as the ground is usually dry
at this time of year and requires only
about half the burning as if done in
the spring.
The burning of the seed beds is done
nrinCinQ1lU IN ri 1,n Ac
tobacco plants grow very slowly in
their early stage the weeds would
choke them out if the seed We're not
burned or destroyed some other way.
The rule for burning seed beds is to
burn 200 square yards to every ten
acres of tobacco that is expected to be
planted. When the seed is sown--in
February usually-the beds are covered
with coarse cheesecloth in order to
protect the young plants from cold
winds and from bugs which often eat
them when they are tender.
Usually ~ the middle of May the
plants are ready to set out They are
then about four inches in length. The
ground must be very wet when they
are transplanted or they will not live.
Until late years most Of the tobacco
was planted between the LIST and 18th
of June but our springs are a little
earlier now than formerly and the
bulk of this crop is now planted the
latter part Of May.
1t requires very fertile ground to
successfully grow tobacco and even
on the richest of soil it pays largely
to use fertilizer. The ground is first
broken and pulverized nicely and then
made up into small hills about three
and a half feet apart
Only one plant is seen in a hill. To-
bacco requires constant attention from
the time it is planted until it is housed
There has never been any successful
machinery introduced for the cultiva-
ton of tobacco. The hoe and the pillow
were the only tools used in antebellurn
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 nothing much
prettier than a field of tobacco about
ten days after the topping process is
completed.
Every plant seems the came height
every leaf the same size and the long.
broad leaves reaching from row to
row form solid mass CT light green
turning to a gold color as it ripens.
After the topping the hoe and the
plow are laid aside and the "worming"
and the "suckering" begin.
AT every leaf near the stalk a sucker
grows out and has to be pulled off
once week.
Tobacco has to be suckered three
times usually, for as soon as one suck
er Is pulled another begins to grow il
the saE.e place. If the sucker is all
lowed to remain longer than week
1t greatly stunts the plant and reduces
1t both in weight and value
Suckering tobacco is very laborious
work, causing the laborer to constant
ly stand in half-bent position while
the not August sun pours down a flood
OF heat on his unprotected back.
august is the month for the worms
During the light nights a 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 lad on plant at time. 1t takes
only few hours for the eggs to hatch
ana about six days for the worm tc
oeVelop,f at which time it is as large
as mans little finger and about a 9
long.
They must be destroyed when very
young, for half dozen grown worms
can ruin plant of tobacco in ono
day and night
Until recently the worr-1 had m ha
picked off with the fingers and their
heads snapped off, but the farmers
Fave lately discovered that thew can
pc DESTROYED by spraying the plant
with paris green.
This process is not very expensive
and lessons the labor of raising a cron
OF tobacco considerably.
Tobacco usually has to be cut in
September. The cutting is done with
long knife made for the purpose
The stalk is split little more thar
half way down and cut off near the
ground After it willis it is hung astride
of a stick four and a half feet long
Nine or ten plants are usually huns
on each stick.
These sticks are hung on a Network
of crossbeams in unf1oored barns built
for the purpose of firing
The firing has to be done very care
S fully, especially when the tobacco be-
Gins To 6rv h of ri.