The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-15
American Tobacco Culture
By Frederic J. Haskia.

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 The tobacco growers of the United
 States are entering upon their crop
 season with every prospect that the
 production of the weed this year will be more profltable than ever before.
 Competing among themselves. in the light of the best scientific Knowledge, and with Federal and State Govern
 ment aid, there Is every reason why feel satisfied with their lot, even
 though the tariff bill may not alto
 gether suit them. ~
 As Is usually the case. the growers of cigar wrapper tobaco can look for-
 ward to the largest returns from their
 labor. albeit their initial investment and subsequent expenses may be great CT. The production of wrapper tobac- co has been most successful in the Con- necticut River Valley and in Florida. The product of those districts has been pronounced equal to the best Sumatra wrapper tobacco, and that Is the
 worlds standard quality. It seems strange that two climates 50 different as are those of New England and the Land of Flowers" should foster sim liar crops as well as the tropical islands of Cuba and Sumatra do. but such Is the case.
 To accomplish so much the Connect icut and Florida growers have had to pass through a struggle that was dis heartening at times. Through stead- fast perseverance, the Connecticut growers have almost reached the point where Connecticut's tobaco is as well known as her mythical wooden nut, megs, or her clocks, which tick around the world. Twenty per cent. of Con- necticuts population is interested financially in her tobacco, crop. Al though the acreage of that crop Is only 3 per cent. of the total acreage of the American tobacco crop. it yields one fifth of the gross returns from the to. tai tobacco production of the United States. A few thousand acres in lit- tie district in Connecticut and Massa- chusetts have been producing one or the most valuable crops in the country. Last year the production was over 3l,- 900, 900 pounds, valued at more than s5, 900 900 on the farms. which value was increased greatly through the va rious processes of curing. marketing and misunderstanding. This value was greater than that of the entire cotton crop in some Southern States.
 To produce wrapper tobacco success fully in the Connecticut Valley re- quires constant care from start to hn- ish. First seCl beds are prepared ana steriliaed with steam. or are burned over, to kill fungi which attack the roots of the young plants. The Held Is heavily fertilized. sometimes at cost of $200 per acre. The seedlings are transplanted and cultivated with great care. Probably the best results are obtained in producing wrapper to- bacco by the use of Havana seed which has been acciimated in New England, and is grown under shade. This shade is usually tent about nine feet hign covering an entire field. In Florida growing under shade is also practiced, but Sumatra seed is said to do best. The shade in Florida may be obtained from lattice work built over fields. The latter plan is not satisfactory in Con- nActicut because the structure IS broken. down by the winter snow. The dam age to the crop from hall stones is sometimes great.
 When ready for harvest Connecticut wrapper leaves are stripped from the stalks, strung on strings and hung up in barns to dry. The drying and cur ing processes are most delicate. and many fine crop has been ruined bee cause climatic conditions have been unfavorabie or the grower was mex perienced. During those processes an even temperature, good ventilation ana a certain degree of moisture are neces- sary. After the leaf is dried it cannot be packed until damp weather comes, so that 1t will not break when handled. Then the leaves are tied into hanusT and ready for curing.
 This latter process is said to be a sort of fermentation. The tobacco IS arranged in huge piles in warm, hu- heat and at times reaches a temper ature of 14o degrees. This is ascer- tained by a clever arrangement where- by thefmometer Is lowered Into the center of the pile. When high tenn perature is reached the pile Is takep down and the tobacco carefully rear ranged, with the outside hands" on the inside of the new pile, and vice versa. This process may be repeated several times before the tobacco is ready for the market.
 Good wrapper tobacco is being grown in Hawaii without shade, the heavy fog blanket hanging over certain portions of those islands serving as substi- tute for tents. Tobacco is grown un- der shade in Porto Rico and Cuba Of course. the cost of this system of cul- tivation is very heavy, but, the finan- cial returns are compensatory. Some of the first shade-grown tobacco in Connecticut was sold for $1.65 pound, being a. net prAit of s1.0o0 an acre.
 The benefits conferred upon the to- baeco industry by the Department of AEr1cuiture shTe almost lHCalcutaDies The Department carries on cooperative work with the State agricultural coll, ieges and experiment. stations in Con- necticut, New York, Ohio. Florida, Ala bama, Texas, MaryIand, Virginia, Ken- lucky. North Carolina and South Car olina.
 This work is most varied in charac- ter. Government experts have made soil surveys of the several tobacco dis tricts and determined what kinds of soil will produce certain varieties of Good tobacco land must be rich in lime and potash. Cigar wrapper tobacco requires light alluvial soil, such as is found along the banks of the Connecticut and the Susquehanna rivers, in Pennsylvania. and in the Flor ida peninsula. Cigar binder and filler tobacco grows best in silty and loamy soils in the Miami Valley, Ohio and in certain parts of wisconsin and West ern Florida. Sandy soil Is Ideal for the famous bright leaf, such as thrives in Virginia and the CarolinasA and which Is used in, cigarettes and to wrap plug tobacco.
 Tine limestone soil of the Blue Grass region is best for Kentucky white bur- ley, used in the manufacture of smok- ing tobacco and chewing mixtures, while the heavy. dark varieties of to- bacco, for export purposes, thrive only in the silty soils of Western Kentucky and Tennessee. Perique, particularly strong tobacco, Is said to grow only in Louisiana. Maryland tobacco Is