The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-30
THE CULTURE AND USE OF
FsLUE CURED TOBACCO

Washington, Oct. 3O-The normal an
nual production of fue-cured tobacco
on a farm-weight basis is es timated to
be about 215, 100000 pounds, according
to Bulletin No. 16 of the Department
of Agriculture. This type of tobacco.
is the only American grown variety
that has shown a tendency to expand
our exports About 40 per cent or
around 100000 pounds, is exported
and the remainder is used in domestic
consumption.
'tA11 things considered, this f1ue-cur-
ed type of tobacco is unsurpassed in
universal popularity" states the re-
port, H'and it is adapted to a variety
of uses, including granulated and cut
smoking tobacco, both paper and all
tobacco cigarettes, and plug filler and
wrapper: in fact, it is adapted to all
the regular forms in which tobacco is
used, except standard cigars and snuff.
In color and general appearance it is
very attractive, while it's low nicotine
content, ni1dness, aromatic sweetness,
fragrance, and good keeping qualities
render it very satisfying to the user.
The use of f1ueS in curing tobacco
became popular after the close of the
Civil War and -by the middle eighties
the demand had increased so that
about 20 counties in Virginia and
North Carolina had been planted to
varieties of f1ue-cured. tobacco, prom
inently among which are the Warne,
yellow Oronoco, Waite-stem Oronoco,
Big Oronoco, Adcock, Adkin, Willow
Leaf, Gooch, Tilley and Hester. The
Warne is the standard wrapper type
and perhaps the most popular The
AdcocEs is a great favorite i'm the noted
wrapper-produc1ng section of Gran
vile County, North Carolina, while
the Adkin is popular as an early ma
turing variety.
Apart from the natural character of
| the soil itself there is no more i'm
portant matter for the tobacco grow
Ter to consider than the management
of his fields. Indeed the character of
the tobacco produced will depend as
much on how the fields have been
Handled in rotation between the sue
eessfve tobacco crops as upon the fer
tilizer used or the cultivation given
directly to the tobacco crop Itself. To-
bacco land should be SO handled as to
Ebe kept in good life. A liberal supply
of vegetable matter in an advanced
stage of decay is highly desirable, but
it should be of the kind not excessive
" rich IN ammonia.
It is well known that the organic
matter of freshly cleared or broom
sedge fields is of a kind well suit
led to tobacco. It consists princi-
pal1y of dead leaves, twigs roots, pine
tags, broom-sedge and roots. Such
vegetable matter while poor in am
monia, by it's ample volume makes the
soil very melliw and friable and of
good holding capacity. There
is probably no better human crop
| for rotation than herds grass or red
| top. -.ss4f4s
/ Specking, or sesdiseasing,s' as it is gen
orally called, is the most common dis
ease injury to which tobacco in the
/ hue-cured district s subject. 1t is
believed to be fungus disease, dis
seminated by spores. The only prac-
stical method of reducing the injury to
/ the crop caused by the disease is by
using potash more literally in the fer
| tilizer, which seems to increase the
resistance Of the plant to the dis
ease