The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1912-1984, 1917-01-19
Important Tobacco Test
Is Being Made BY Government Ex-
perts Near Lexington

recent Tobacco Show in Lexington by
the display of a hand of the weed
which was an exhibit in a test being
made by government experts on the
land of Earl f. Shropshire, in the
suburbs Of Lexington. The result of
the test will 90 far towards being a
benefit to every tobacco grower in
the country, and embodes possibil-
ties of revolution in the hurley
growing industry.
AS far as the test has proceeded.
established theories are upset, and
the chief conclusion that appears to
De justified is that the land of the
Limestone Region will grow tobacco
many successive years if root-rot can
be eradicated.
1t is an accepted tenet i'm tobacco
culture that land is exhausted after
the production Of several crops of to-
bacco--usually two and has TO be
brought back" through rotation and
| fertilization The tobacco produced
in this test is the fifth consecutive
crop on the same land, and follows a
near-failure due to rOot-rot last wear.
| Fifteen rows, each three hundred
feet long-about half an acre-this
year yielded 9l5 pounds. which sold
at an average Of $3.50 Per hundred.
The seed was furnished by the gov
eminent and is known as Resistent
burley 1t is the result of expert
ments covering long period and
costing many thousands of dollars.
The theory that the infestation of
the soil with Shilavia, known as root
rot is the cause of crop failures after
land has been in tobacco several
years, and that failure is not due to
depletion of the soil, appears to be
borne out in results here.
The land is on the Maysville road.
just beyond the city limits. 1t has
been in cultivation almost ever since
Lexington was town. When Mr..
Shropshire bought it it was in rye
stubble. When he proposed to grow
tobacco, he was told that it was too
badly worn to produce it, He could
not get tenant on the share basis
| because of this condition,
His purpose not changed by these
opinions, Mr.. Shropshire employed
capable man on salary, had the land
dressed with manure, and the tobac-
co planted. Only a fair crop the first
year, was due to drouth. Manure
again was used, md the second wear
he had a better yield. The third crop
was one of the best grown in the
county. The fourth crop paused for
several months, and the yield was
much below normal
The Experiment Station reported
the incident to Washington, and ar
engagements were made with Mr..
Shropshire by DR.. Garner, Depart
ment of Agriculture, for a test of
the immune type seed that had been
produced at the Wisconsin Experi-
ment Station.
The preparation of the seedbed and
the setting and cultivation of the crop
were under the direction of James
johnson, Of the Department., and r.
II. Milton, a tobacco expert. Three
seed beds were sown. One was steri-
Iized with steam, the apparatus being
sent here from the Wisconsin Station:
one was burned with brush and the
other was not treated against weed
seed and soil germs.
The steamed bed came through free
from weeds. There was not much diff
ference i'm the burned bed and the
one not treated, both being foul with
weeds and believed to contain the
root-rot bacteria in abundance.
Rows of Resistent Burnley were al
ternated with ordinary white hurley
tilu olnNl val ltlitSs ne lHl-
mune tobacco thrived from the
start and grew to heavy weight The
other rows appeared sick from the
beginning and remained stunted I'M
til frost, few of the plants maturing
at all Photographs made by govern
ment agents show the patch in sew
eral stages of growth, and the con-
trast between the Resistant tobacco
and the product of the untreated
seed is proof of the tremendous diff
ference in results.
If the government has found a
means of removing the root-rot men
ace, and through its removal has ex-
tended the viability of tobacco land
to numerous years, results to the in
dustry will be far reaching.
Mr., Shropshire now expects to put
the land back in tobacco for the sixth
consecutive crop next year, and to