The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-04-27

~ 1 L CttSI tI MS
system of cultivation is very heavy.
put the ~financial returns are compen-
Satofy. Some Of the first shade grown
tobacco in Connecticut was sold for
S1.65 a pound, being a net profit OF
$1,000 an acre.
The benefits conferred upon the TO-
bacco Industry by the department of
agriculture are almost ~incalculable.
The department carries on
tive work with the State Agricultural
Colleges and experiment stations in
Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Florida.
Alabama, Texas, Maryland, Virginia.
Kentucky, North Carolina and South
Carolina.
h work is most varied in char
acter. Government experts have
made soil surveys of the several tobac-
co districts and determined what
kinds of soil will produce certain va
rieties Of tobacco Good tobacco lane
must be rich IN lime and potash.
Cigar wrapper tobacco requires a
light alluvial soil, such as is found
along h banks of the Connecticut and
the S~usquehanna rivers, in Pennsy1va-
MIA, and in the Florida peninsula.
Cigar bind and filled obacc grows
best in silly and loan soils in the
Miami Valley, Ohio. and in certain
parts Of Wisconsin and western
Florida. Sandy soil is ideal for the
famous bright leaf, such as thriVes in
Virginia and the Caro!inas and which
is used in cigarettes and to wrap plug
ObaccO.
The limestone soil of the Rlue Grass
region is best for Kentucky white
hurley, used in the manufacture Of
smoking and chewing mixtures, while
the heavy, dark varieties of tobacco,
for export purposes, thrive only in the
silly soils Of western Kentucky and
tennessee. Parique, q particularly
strong tobacco. is said to grow in
Louisiana. Maryland tobacco is most
1y made into snuff.
The government experts say the
American tobacco croD can be increas-
ed wonderfully in acreage, Yield per
acre, quality ard value. BY The judic-
ious use of fertilizers bad soils can
be made rich. Crop rotations helps
greatly in this section. Seed selection
offers a wide field for Improvement.
Under the departments advice the
best ObaccO plants in a field have pa
per bags ted Owe their flowers. The
Se1f-fertilized seed thus obtained is
put through a machine by q
government expert. which fans out
the lighter seed. leaving only the
heaviest, which is best for planting.
Cuban SEED has been acclimated in
Texas and is Yielding 500 pounds to
the acre. good Havana wrapper and
filler. The government is encouraging
the growing of tobacco from Cuban
seed in Alabama and is meeting With
success. 1t is believed the yield of fire
cured Virginia tobacco can be double
intensive cultivation. In Ohio the
agricultural Department has been ear
rHinS on tObaccO Investigations for q
number Of years, and good filters and
from Havana seed are be
grown. Recently the department
has been testing a patch of 1000
cigars made from its OhiO-grOwn to-
acco. One cigar is made from each
plant and carefully marked. A corps
of young men. who are willing to take
risk, like DR.. Yiley's celebrated
poison squad are given all the
smokers" they want. to pass juGg-
upon the flavor and aroma. The
burning qualities are tested in a
smoking machine. II cigars aver
aging the best are traced back TO the
plants that bore them, the seed of
which are to be planted next year.
the strain is improved.
Some Of the worst enemies the to-
bacco grower has to combat are de-
stfuctiNe insects. These include the /
flea-beetle. which attacks the lower
leaves of the plant, the horn worm or
:: hOrnblOWer,' with which the farm
children become familiar in the
'wornling'' process; the bud worm, the
name of which describes it; the suck
which draws the juice from the
leaves; the split worm, which burrows
inside the leaf; the cut worm, which
the roots; tobacco thrips, tree
plant lice, slugs, n others. +
The weed is liable to insect attack al
-er being dried. Some persons prefer
cigarettes that are infested with the
cigarette beetle. because that little
oeast imparts a distinctive flavor TO
he cigarette. This is admitted to be
IN ACQUIRED taste. With the help OF
he government experts these insect
pests are being overcome with poisons