Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-08-23
Tobacco Planting
Takes Special Skill
A. P. Brantley of Blackshear Sounds
A Warning


ested in agricultural development in
Georgia, have been watching for some
time tobacco planting experiments in
this state, particularly in South Geor-
gia where soil conditions have appear
ed to be peculiarly favorable to the
growth of the new crop.
Some of thesh Experiments have
been highly successful. Many of
them have been failures. Archi-
bald P. Brantley of the A. P. Brant-
ley Company of Blackshear, ginners
of and dealers in Sea Island cot
ton has studied the question OF to-
bacco raising in Georgia for the
last SIX years and is prepared to dis
cuss the matter from personal expert
ence. Tobacco in Pierce ard Brantley
counties, it is Mr. Brantley's expecta-
ton, will bring in as much money this
year as Sea Island cotton ever brought
in single year.
In spite of this success, Mr.. Brantley
sounds a warning against excessive
tobacco planting and against under
taking this crop without the special
expert knowledge which is necessary
to insure its being profitable. Tobac-
CO, he says, cannot be planted and
cured as corn and potatoes are plant
ed and yield a profitable return.
He gives the following account OF
his study of the matter, his expert
ence and his conclusions:
ut is six years ago this summer
since l came to the conclusion that
our people farmers) could not ex.
st and pay their debts if the plant
ing of cotton was their only chance
to do OF Six years ago there was
a considerable development in to.
bacco planting in Coffee county and
| went over there and investigated
conditions at first hand, or thought
| had investigated them q found
later there was a great deal l didn't
find out.) At any rate | came back
and decided that we would make {
big effort to grow tobacco in Pierce
county, but l found there were many
difficulties.
THE worst trouble was that the
people knew nothing whatever
about growing and curing tobacco
and they were loath to make any
change and particularly to go into
the planting of what is at best ar
expensive crop to cultivate. 1t die
not take me long to reach the con-
clus on that the proposition was
hopeless unless, we were willing tc
bring in sufficient number of ex-
perts from the old belt in North
Carolina to instruct our , people
Having reached this conclusion we
brought down the experts and put
them to work and we have contin.
ued this work 1--WE call it demon.
stration) until the present time. We
progressed rather slowly the first
second, third and fourth years, bu
this year, our fifth, we have made
splendid progress.
Have knowledge Now
LAS the result of the work of oul
demonstrators we have now a good
many farmers tnatives) who have {
idea of what it requires to grow and
cure a good crop of tobacco and cure
a good crop of tobacco. Without this
knowledge and information the grow
ing of tobacco is hopeless PROPOSE
ton. Growing toabcco successfully
should be classified as a trade and il
has to be learned You can not lust
grow and cure tobacco as You car
grow corn and potatoes boom, but
number of these sections are nc
longer planting it. The reason.
think, is due to the fact tat for a
year or more during the war any sort
OF tobacco would sell from fifteen to
thirty cents and higher to be maN.
into cigarettes to go to our dough-
hoys il France When, however, tn s
demand ceased and tobacco had t. sell
on its merits and common tobacco
would only bring from one to five
cents per pound number of sections
in the state gave up planting tobac-
co During this period or immediately
following this period, there were a
great many farmers who were abso-
lutely sru ned
THE first requisite in planting to-
bacCo is to be sure that the sol is
suitable and it is rather singular fact
that our poorest, sandy sol, at one
time regarded as ALMOST worthless,
makes the highest grade of tobacco.
We have gone on the idea here and
intend to continue to go on the idea
that our farmers must be educated how
to grow and cure tobacco before they
attempt it. | believe that we have
turned the corner in Pierce and Brant-
ley counties and that tobacco this year
will bring in as much money as Sea
Island cotton ever brought in any one
wear and this, to, in face of the fact
that perhaps not more than a third
of our farmers have planted tobacco
this year. Many are still clinging to
cotton.
"A great idea of misleading infor-
nation about tobacco has crept into
the public print of late and ! think
is calculated to do a great deal of
harm. | read news item recently Civ
ing the value of tobacco solo on a
certain number of acres, 5 or E, and
the statement was made that the ex-
pense of growing this tobacco was
around 4 hundred dollars. This is
very far from being correct. In the
first place, a curing barn to take care
of 4 or acres of tobacco will cost
around two hundred and fifty dollars
The State College OF agriculture got
out a bulletin March, 1922. entitled
Cost of Producing Bright Tobacco in