"On the island of Cuba any field selected for the cultivation of tobacco is divided into long beds (Canteras) twenty-five to twenty-eight feet long, and nineteen to twenty inches wide. The soil is then manured with a mixture of two parts of well rotten dung and one part of either sand or fine sandy earth. During the months of August, September, and even October, the beds are watered, and the seeds mingled with the nine-fold quantity of fine sand, are sown broad cast or through a fine sieve, and immediately after covered with a mixture of dung and triturated or molaxated earth, in such a manner that this mixture forms a covering layer of about 1-32 inches."The utmost care is taken to protect the seeds against the stifling heat of sunrays as well as heavy showers. To this end forked sticks about three inches high, are placedaround the tobacco beds, opposite one another, and into these forks thin twigs are laid, which are covered with palm-leaves in such a way as to form a slight roof."
"On the island of Cuba any field selected for the cultivation of tobacco is divided into long beds (Canteras) twenty-five to twenty-eight feet long, and nineteen to twenty inches wide. The soil is then manured with a mixture of two parts of well rotten dung and one part of either sand or fine sandy earth. During the months of August, September, and even October, the beds are watered, and the seeds mingled with the nine-fold quantity of fine sand, are sown broad cast or through a fine sieve, and immediately after covered with a mixture of dung and triturated or molaxated earth, in such a manner that this mixture forms a covering layer of about 1-32 inches.
"The utmost care is taken to protect the seeds against the stifling heat of sunrays as well as heavy showers. To this end forked sticks about three inches high, are placedaround the tobacco beds, opposite one another, and into these forks thin twigs are laid, which are covered with palm-leaves in such a way as to form a slight roof."
Covering Plant Bed.
Covering Plant Bed.
In Syria the tobacco seed is sown in ground free from stones, well manured with goats dung, and strewn over with prickly bushes to protect the young plants from birds. The plants are watered daily till they reach the height of eight or ten inches, when they are transplanted. In Persia where the celebrated Shiraz tobacco is cultivated, the seed is planted in a dark soil slightly manured; the ground is covered with light thorny bushes to keep it warm, and these are removed when the plants are a few inches high. The ground is regularly watered if required, and when the plants are six to eight inches high are transplanted. In Turkey
"the tobacco seed is sown early in the spring, in small beds carefully prepared for the early growth of the young plants. In a few weeks the plants appear thick; then begins the occupation of the farmer's wife, and their numerous children, whose little fingers are engaged day by day in thinning the beds, care being taken to leave the most healthy looking plants. The husband is engaged either in carrying water from the nearest well by the aid of his mule, or in preparing the land for the reception of the plants. The beds are well watered before sunrise and after sundown."
"The Hungarian peasantry always make their tobacco beds against the south ends of their houses. These beds are enclosed by hurdles two feet high, at the bottom of which stones are laid, and on the outside of these, thorns are thicklyplaced, to exclude the moles. They fill this enclosure to the height of eighteen inches with fresh, coarse manure, which they press closely by beating as they throw it on; covering with finely pulverized earth mixed with dung of the preceding year that had become soil. They do not regulate their time of sowing either by the moon, month, the season, but by the holy week of the passing year; it is on Good Friday that all of their beds are sown, and although this day may vary nearly one month in different years, they are faithful to their thermometer—their piety not permitting them to know any other. To the mysterious influence of the day, without regard to the season, they ascribe their success and they generally succeed."
Bickinson gives an account of the manner of making the plant bed in the East Indian Archipelago. He says:
"Not far from us is a hut inhabited by two natives, who are engaged in cultivating tobacco. Theirladangs, or gardens, are merely places of an acre or less, where the thick forest has been partially destroyed by fire, and the seed is sown in the regular spaces between the stumps."
After making the plant bed and tending through the weeding season, the next step to be taken is the
for the tobacco fields. Tobacco, unlike any other plant, readily adapts itself to soil and climate. The effect produced upon the plant may be seen in comparing the tobacco of Holland and France, the one raised upon low, damp ground, the other on a sandy loam. The early growers of the plant in Virginia, were very particular in the selection of soil for the plant. The lands which they found best adapted were the light red, or chocolate-colored mountain lands, the light black mountain soil in the coves of the mountains, and the richest low grounds.
Tatham says: "The condition of soil of which the planters make choice, is that in which nature presents it when it is first disrobed of the woods with which it is naturally clothed throughout every part of the country; hence in the parts where this culture prevails, this is termed new ground, which may be there considered as synonymous with tobacco ground. Thus the planter is continually cutting down new ground,and every successive spring presents an additional field, or opening of tobacco (for it is not necessary to put much fence round that kind of crop); and to procure this new ground you will observe him clearing the woods from the sides of the steepest hills, which afford a suitable soil; for a Virginian never thinks of reinstating or manuring his land with economy until he can find no more new land to exhaust, or wear out as he calls it; and, besides, the tobacco which is produced from manured or cow-penned land, is only considered, in ordinary, to be a crop of second quality. It will hence be perceived, (and more particularly when it is known that the earth must be continually worked to make a good crop of tobacco, without even regarding the heat of the sun, or the torrent of sudden showers,) that, however lucrative this kind of culture may be in respect to the intermediate profits, there is a considerable drawback in the waste of soil."[72]
In the Connecticut valley where tobacco is grown for wrapping purposes, the selection of soil will depend upon the color of leaf in demand (as the soil as well as the fertilizers determine in a measure the color and texture of the tobacco). If the grower wishes to obtain dark colored tobacco then the soil selected should be a dark loam; on the other hand, if a light colored wrapper is desired he selects a light loam, and with the application of proper fertilizers the proper color will be obtained.
The tobacco plant flourishes well either on high or low ground, providing the soil be dry and free from stones, which are a source of annoyance during the cultivation of the plants and especially in harvesting. When grown on very low ground the plants should be "set" early, so as to harvest before early frosts. The plant may be cultivated on such soil in almost any part of the valley excepting only near the sound, or other body of salt water, the effect produced by planting tobacco too near the sea, more especially in Connecticut, being injurious to the leaf, which is apt to be thick and unfitfor a cigar wrapper. In some countries, however, the leaf grown near salt water is equal in color and texture to any grown in the interior. But generally the plant obtains its finest form and quality of leaf—whether in the islands of the ocean, on the great prairies of the west, amid the sands of Arabia, on the mountains of Syria, or along the dykes of Holland—on lands bordering the largest rivers. This is true of the tobacco lands of Connecticut, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida, Brazil, Venezuela, and Paraguay, as well as of those in the islands of Cuba and St. Domingo, where the rivers flow to the southern coast from the mountains which lie to the north. It must not be imagined from this that tobacco can not be successfully cultivated at a distance from valleys enriched by large and overflowing rivers. Some of the finest tobacco grown in Connecticut is grown in counties some distance from the river that gives name to our state.
When possible, select that kind of soil for the tobacco field that will produce the color and texture of leaf desired. For Connecticut seed leaf a light moist loam is the proper soil. The same field can be used a number of seasons in succession; the result will be a much finer leaf than will come from selecting a new field each year. The early planters of tobacco in Virginia soon ruined their fields by failing to manure them. In Maryland the soil best adapted for the growth of tobacco is a light, friable soil, or what is commonly called a sandy loam, not too flat, but of a rolling, undulating surface, and not liable to overflow in excessive rains. New land is far better than old.
A Missouri tobacco grower gives the following account of the selection of soil for tobacco in that State:—
"Select upland, or black oak ridges and slopes, which comprise a large area of the tobacco lands of our county, and carefully clear off all the timber, and take out all the roots we can conveniently, and break up the ground as thoroughly as can be done by ploughing and harrowing until all the tufts and dirt are perfectly pulverized."
In Cuba the planters select the red soil as the best for fine tobacco. Some planters, however, prefer a soil mixed of 1/4sand and 1/2 to 3/4 of decayed vegetable matter. In St. Domingo the soil is not uniform. The planters select a deep black loam or tenacious clay, or even loams mixed with sand. The most fertile places are on the banks of the Yuna, from Laxay to Jaigua, in the vicinity of Mocha, on the banks of the Camoo, and around La Vega. Around Santiago, clay and sand predominate, and the soil can not be highly praised. Most of the tobacco grown in the island is raised in the valley of the Vega.
Cussree, in treating of this subject, says:—
"The quality of tobacco depends as much upon the nature of the soil as of the climate. The plant requires peculiarities of soil to develop certain of its qualities. And these peculiarities are such that art cannot furnish the conditions to produce them where they are naturally wanting. The sugar-cane grows chiefly on soils derived from calcareous formations; but few or none of these are fitted for tobacco, which is cultivated only on sandy loams. Both the Cuban and American planters concur in asserting that a large quantity of silicious matters in soils is essential for the growth of good tobacco."As already noticed, the rich clay loams on the banks of the James River, in Virginia, do not grow good tobacco; while the less fertile silicious soils in the county of Louisa produce it much superior in quality. Small patches of tobacco are everywhere seen growing over the sugar producing districts of Cuba; but I saw no tobacco plantations in the calcareous regions over which I traveled. The soils rest upon the primary formation. Even in the tobacco districts the planters know the spots in the different fields that produce the various qualities of leaf."
"The quality of tobacco depends as much upon the nature of the soil as of the climate. The plant requires peculiarities of soil to develop certain of its qualities. And these peculiarities are such that art cannot furnish the conditions to produce them where they are naturally wanting. The sugar-cane grows chiefly on soils derived from calcareous formations; but few or none of these are fitted for tobacco, which is cultivated only on sandy loams. Both the Cuban and American planters concur in asserting that a large quantity of silicious matters in soils is essential for the growth of good tobacco.
"As already noticed, the rich clay loams on the banks of the James River, in Virginia, do not grow good tobacco; while the less fertile silicious soils in the county of Louisa produce it much superior in quality. Small patches of tobacco are everywhere seen growing over the sugar producing districts of Cuba; but I saw no tobacco plantations in the calcareous regions over which I traveled. The soils rest upon the primary formation. Even in the tobacco districts the planters know the spots in the different fields that produce the various qualities of leaf."
In
for the reception and growth of the plants, the fertilizing as well as the plowing of the fields should be performed in the most thorough manner. The first is essential for a large and vigorous growth, while the latter renders the cultivation of the plants much easier. The careful preparation of soil is so intimately connected with all that pertains to the plant, that it should be done well in order that the best results mayfollow. Tobacco of good body, color, and texture, cannot be grown on land devoid of fertility. The field selected for tobacco, if heavy sward, should be plowed early in the spring or the fall before, and later in the season if the turf is well rotted. After spreading on the manure, the field may be plowed again and harrowed frequently until all the lumps are made fine, and the surface mellow.
In the use of fertilizers select, if a light colored leaf is desired, either horse manure or tobacco stems. In the Connecticut valley nearly all kinds of Domestic, Commercial, and Special fertilizers are used. Of domestic fertilizers, horse manure is considered the best, as it produces the finest and lightest colored leaf of any known fertilizer. Of commercial fertilizers, Peruvian guano is doubtless one of the best—imparting both color and fineness to the leaf. Of special manures, tobacco stems are perhaps the best, at least the most frequently used. Of the other special fertilizers, such as cotton seed meal, castor pomace, ground bone, damaged grain, tobacco waste and saltpetre waste, much may be said both in praise and dispraise. Cotton seed meal, when used with domestic manure is an excellent and powerful manure.
If domestic manures are applied, use about twelve cords to the acre, composting before plowing under. As soon as spread, plow the field and see that all of the manure is covered. If tobacco stems are used, plow in from three to five tons to the acre, all of them at once, or a part in the fall and the remainder in the spring. If Peruvian guano is applied, sow on about three hundred pounds to the acre in connection with the domestic manure. Fish guano should be composted before sowing, either with loam or manure, and when used on light soil is a very good fertilizer, producing a light, thin leaf. After the tobacco field is harrowed it is ready for the ridger, which makes the hills and gathers together all of the loose manure on the surface, and collects it in the ridges. Where a ridger is not used, work off the rows from three and one half to four feet apart, or even wider than this. In the Connecticut valley the field is marked andhilled so as to give about 6000 hills to the acre. This will be a sufficient number if the growth is likely to be large. Where a ridger is used, manure can not be dropped in the hill and in many respects it is well not to do so, as the plants are liable to be blown over during a storm—not standing as firmly in the hills as plants when no manure is used in the hills. If the hills are to be made with the hoe, avoid all stones, bits of turf and grass in making them, and select only the fresh earth—gently patting the top of the hill with the hoe. New made hills are better than old, but it will make but little difference unless the soil is very dry at the time of transplanting.
A Tobacco Ridger.
A Tobacco Ridger.
The following description of the manner of preparing the tobacco field in Virginia by the old planters is quite interesting, and gives some idea of the amount of labor to be performed on the tobacco plantation:—
"There are two distinct and separate methods of preparing the tobacco ground: the one is applicable to the preparation of new and uncultivated lands, such as are in a state of nature, and require to be cleared of the heavy timber and other productions with which Providence has stocked them; and the other method is designed to meliorate and revive lands of good foundation, which have been heretofore cultivated, and, in some measure, exhausted by the calls of agriculture and evaporation."The process of preparing new lands begins as early in the winter as the housing and managing the antecedent crop will permit, by grabbing the undergrowth with a mattock; felling the timber with a poll-axe;[73]lopping off the tops, and cutting the bodies into lengths of about eleven feet, which is about the customary length of an American fence rail, in what is called a worm or panel fence.[74]During this part of the process the negro women, boys, and weaker laborers, are employed in piling or throwing the brush-wood, roots, and small wood, into heaps to be burned; and after such logs or stocks are selected as are suitable to be malled into rails, make clapboards, or answer for other more particular occasions of the planter, the remaining logs are rolled into heaps by means of hand-spikes and skids; but the Pennsylvania and German farmers, who are more conversant with animal powers than the Virginians, save much of this labor by the use of a pair of horses with a half sledge, or a pair of truck wheels."The burning of this brush-wood, and the log piles, is a business for all hands after working hours; and as nightly revels are peculiar to the African constitution, this part of the labor proves often a very late employment, which affords many scenes of rustic mirth. When this process has cleared the land of its various natural incumbrances (to attain which end is very expensive and laborious), the next part of the process is that of the hoe; for the plough is an implement which is rarely used in new lands when they are either designed for tobacco or meadow. There are three kinds of the hoe which are applied to this tillage: the first is what is termed the sprouting hoe, which is a smaller species of mattock that serves to break up any particular hard part of the ground, to grub up any smaller sized grubs which the mattock or grubbing hoe may have omitted, to remove small stones and other partial impediments to the next process. The narrow or hilling hoe follows the operation of the sprouting hoe. It is generally from six to eight inches wide, and ten or twelve in the length of the blade, according to the strength of the person who is to use it; the blade is thin, and by means of a movable wedge which is driven into the eye of the hoe, it can be set more or less digging (as it is termed), that is, on a greater or less angle with the helve, atpleasure. In this respect there are few instances where the American blacksmith is not employed to alter the eye of an English-made hoe before it is fit for use; the industrious and truly useful merchants of Glasgow have paid more minute attention to this circumstance.
"There are two distinct and separate methods of preparing the tobacco ground: the one is applicable to the preparation of new and uncultivated lands, such as are in a state of nature, and require to be cleared of the heavy timber and other productions with which Providence has stocked them; and the other method is designed to meliorate and revive lands of good foundation, which have been heretofore cultivated, and, in some measure, exhausted by the calls of agriculture and evaporation.
"The process of preparing new lands begins as early in the winter as the housing and managing the antecedent crop will permit, by grabbing the undergrowth with a mattock; felling the timber with a poll-axe;[73]lopping off the tops, and cutting the bodies into lengths of about eleven feet, which is about the customary length of an American fence rail, in what is called a worm or panel fence.[74]During this part of the process the negro women, boys, and weaker laborers, are employed in piling or throwing the brush-wood, roots, and small wood, into heaps to be burned; and after such logs or stocks are selected as are suitable to be malled into rails, make clapboards, or answer for other more particular occasions of the planter, the remaining logs are rolled into heaps by means of hand-spikes and skids; but the Pennsylvania and German farmers, who are more conversant with animal powers than the Virginians, save much of this labor by the use of a pair of horses with a half sledge, or a pair of truck wheels.
"The burning of this brush-wood, and the log piles, is a business for all hands after working hours; and as nightly revels are peculiar to the African constitution, this part of the labor proves often a very late employment, which affords many scenes of rustic mirth. When this process has cleared the land of its various natural incumbrances (to attain which end is very expensive and laborious), the next part of the process is that of the hoe; for the plough is an implement which is rarely used in new lands when they are either designed for tobacco or meadow. There are three kinds of the hoe which are applied to this tillage: the first is what is termed the sprouting hoe, which is a smaller species of mattock that serves to break up any particular hard part of the ground, to grub up any smaller sized grubs which the mattock or grubbing hoe may have omitted, to remove small stones and other partial impediments to the next process. The narrow or hilling hoe follows the operation of the sprouting hoe. It is generally from six to eight inches wide, and ten or twelve in the length of the blade, according to the strength of the person who is to use it; the blade is thin, and by means of a movable wedge which is driven into the eye of the hoe, it can be set more or less digging (as it is termed), that is, on a greater or less angle with the helve, atpleasure. In this respect there are few instances where the American blacksmith is not employed to alter the eye of an English-made hoe before it is fit for use; the industrious and truly useful merchants of Glasgow have paid more minute attention to this circumstance.
Drawing the Dirt Around the Foot.
Drawing the Dirt Around the Foot.
"The use of this hoe is to break up the ground and throw it into shape; which is done by chopping the clods until they are sufficiently fine, and then drawing the earth round the foot until it forms a heap round the projected leg of the laborer like a mole hill, and nearly as high as the knee; he then draws out his foot, flattens the top of the hill by a dab with the flat part of the hoe, and advances forward to the next hill in the same manner, until the whole piece of ground is prepared. The center of these hills are in this manner guessed by the eye; and in most instances they approach near to lines of four feet one way, and three feet the other. The planter always endeavors to time this operation so as to tally with the growth of his plants, so that he may be certain by this means to pitch his crop within season."The third kind of hoe is the broad or weeding hoe. This is made use of during the cultivation of the crop, to keep it clean from the weeds. It is wide upon the edge, say from ten inches to a foot, or more; of thinner substance than the hilling hoe, not near so deep in the blade, and the eye is formed more bent and shelving than the latter, so that it can be set upon a more acute angle upon the helve at pleasure, by removing the wedge."
"The use of this hoe is to break up the ground and throw it into shape; which is done by chopping the clods until they are sufficiently fine, and then drawing the earth round the foot until it forms a heap round the projected leg of the laborer like a mole hill, and nearly as high as the knee; he then draws out his foot, flattens the top of the hill by a dab with the flat part of the hoe, and advances forward to the next hill in the same manner, until the whole piece of ground is prepared. The center of these hills are in this manner guessed by the eye; and in most instances they approach near to lines of four feet one way, and three feet the other. The planter always endeavors to time this operation so as to tally with the growth of his plants, so that he may be certain by this means to pitch his crop within season.
"The third kind of hoe is the broad or weeding hoe. This is made use of during the cultivation of the crop, to keep it clean from the weeds. It is wide upon the edge, say from ten inches to a foot, or more; of thinner substance than the hilling hoe, not near so deep in the blade, and the eye is formed more bent and shelving than the latter, so that it can be set upon a more acute angle upon the helve at pleasure, by removing the wedge."
The manner of preparing the soil in Virginia at the present time is thus described by a Virginia planter:—
"The crop usually, grown in Virginia is divided into three classes, viz.:—Shipping, Sun-cured Fillers, and Bright Coal-cured Wrappers and Smokers. The first may be grown on any good soil, upland or alluvial: the latter two on dry, well-drained upland only. All require thorough preparation of the soil to insure good crops. The work first necessary for this crop is to burn a sufficiency of plant land. To preparethe land for transplanting, put the land in full tilth, then mark off with a shovel, plow furrows three feet to three feet four inches apart, and into these furrows sow the fertilizers; then with turning plows, bed the land on these furrows, and to facilitate the hilling, cross these beds three feet apart with furrows by a shovel plow, and the hills are made, except to pat them with hoes. Hilly lands will seldom admit of this cross-plowing, and the beds must be chopped into hills. On new ground apply the fertilizers broadcast. It acts well, and for fine yellow pays better on new grounds than any other lands. The culture is essentially the same for all classes of tobacco. Stir the land up as often as necessary to promote a rapid growth of the plants, and to keep down grass and weeds. 'Shipping' tobacco may be plowed later and worked longer than 'fine yellow.' For 'coal-curing' sacrifice pounds for color."
The next operation to be performed on the tobacco farm or plantation is
Transplanting.
Transplanting.
As soon as four or five leaves on a plant about the size of a dollar have appeared, they are large enough to transplant. Take the plants up with care, sprinkling with water and keeping covered. In taking them up, the earth may beallowed to remain on the roots, or shaken off, at the option of the grower. As a general rule, however, the earth should remain rather than be shaken off. Remove to the field and drop one at each hill, and where the plants are small, two. A common custom is to "set" every tenth or twelfth hill with two plants. This is a good plan, as they are frequently needed during hoeing time to "fill in." If holes have not been made, insert the first two fingers, making a hole large enough for the roots to remain in an easy and natural position. Press the earth gently around the plant if the soil is moist, but if dry, more firmly. See that the plant stands in an upright position. If dry after "setting" the plants, water them, and if a protracted drought follows, cover them up with grass or hay dipped in water; remove, however, in a day or two.[75]Plaster may also be used to advantage, as it keeps the hill moist, besides fertilizing the plant; put a little just around the plants. In taking up from the bed select large ones, leaving the smaller ones to grow. Transplanting should commence as early as possible that this result may follow.
Transplanting.
Transplanting.
Plants with large broad leaves are considered the best, those that grow tall and "spindling" or "long shank" plants, as they are called at the South, are rejected and should not be set out when others that are more "stocky" can be obtained. Avoid, however, setting too large plants, as they are not as apt to live as smaller ones. Transplanting should be done as fast as possible, that the tobacco field may present an even appearance and be ready to harvest at one time. If the plants are to grow and ripen evenly, the transplanting should be finished in a week or two from the time of the first setting. This can generally be done unless plants are very scarce, when circumstances, beyond the growers' control, often make the field give apparent evidence of want of care, although the real trouble is a want of plants.
"It may be necessary to water the plants once or twice after transplanting; this in a measure will depend upon the season."
Tatham in his Essay on the Culture and Commerce of Tobacco, (London 1800,) gives an account of the manner of transplanting in Virginia at that period. Under the head of
he says:
"The term, 'season for planting,' signifies a shower of rain, of sufficient quantity to wet the earth to a degree of moisture which may render it safe to draw the young plants from the plant bed, and transplant them into the hills which are prepared for them in the field, as described under the last head; and these seasons generally commence in April, and terminate with what is termed the long season in May; which (to make use of an Irishism), very frequently happens in June; and is the opportunity which the planter finds himself necessitated to seize with eagerness for the pitching of his crop: a term which comprehends the ultimate opportunity which the spring will afford him, for planting a quantity equal to the capacity of the collective power of his laborers when applied in cultivation. By the time which these seasons approach, nature has so ordered vegetation, that the weather has generally enabled the plants, (if dulysheltered from the spring frosts, a circumstance to which a planter should always be attentive in selecting his plant patch,) to shoot forward in sufficient strength to bear the vicissitude of transplantation."They are supposed to be equal to meet the imposition of this task, when the leaves are about the size of a dollar; but this is more generally the minor magnitude of the leaves; and some will be of course about three or four times that medium dimension. Thus, when a good shower or season happens at this period of the year, and the field and plants are equally ready for the intended union, the planter hurries to the plant bed, disregarding the teeming element, which is doomed to wet his skin, from the view of a bountiful harvest, and having carefully drawn the largest sizable plants, he proceeds to the next operation, (that) of planting."The office of planting the tobacco, is performed by two or more persons, in the following manner: The first person bears, suspended upon one arm, a large basket full of the plants, which have just been drawn and brought from the plant bed to the field, without waiting for an intermission of the shower, although it should rain ever so heavily; such an opportunity indeed, instead of being shunned, is eagerly sought after, and is considered to be the sure and certain means of laying a good foundation, which cherishes the hope of a bounteous return. The person who bears the basket, proceeds thus by rows from hill to hill; and upon each hill he takes care to drop one of his plants. Those who follow make a hole in the center of each hill with their fingers, and having adjusted the tobacco plant in its natural position, they knead the earth round the root with their hands, until it is of a sufficient consistency to sustain the plant against wind and weather. In this condition they leave the field for a few days, until the plants shall have formed their radifications; and where any of them shall have casually perished, the ground is followed over again by successive replantings, until the crop is rendered complete."
"The term, 'season for planting,' signifies a shower of rain, of sufficient quantity to wet the earth to a degree of moisture which may render it safe to draw the young plants from the plant bed, and transplant them into the hills which are prepared for them in the field, as described under the last head; and these seasons generally commence in April, and terminate with what is termed the long season in May; which (to make use of an Irishism), very frequently happens in June; and is the opportunity which the planter finds himself necessitated to seize with eagerness for the pitching of his crop: a term which comprehends the ultimate opportunity which the spring will afford him, for planting a quantity equal to the capacity of the collective power of his laborers when applied in cultivation. By the time which these seasons approach, nature has so ordered vegetation, that the weather has generally enabled the plants, (if dulysheltered from the spring frosts, a circumstance to which a planter should always be attentive in selecting his plant patch,) to shoot forward in sufficient strength to bear the vicissitude of transplantation.
"They are supposed to be equal to meet the imposition of this task, when the leaves are about the size of a dollar; but this is more generally the minor magnitude of the leaves; and some will be of course about three or four times that medium dimension. Thus, when a good shower or season happens at this period of the year, and the field and plants are equally ready for the intended union, the planter hurries to the plant bed, disregarding the teeming element, which is doomed to wet his skin, from the view of a bountiful harvest, and having carefully drawn the largest sizable plants, he proceeds to the next operation, (that) of planting.
"The office of planting the tobacco, is performed by two or more persons, in the following manner: The first person bears, suspended upon one arm, a large basket full of the plants, which have just been drawn and brought from the plant bed to the field, without waiting for an intermission of the shower, although it should rain ever so heavily; such an opportunity indeed, instead of being shunned, is eagerly sought after, and is considered to be the sure and certain means of laying a good foundation, which cherishes the hope of a bounteous return. The person who bears the basket, proceeds thus by rows from hill to hill; and upon each hill he takes care to drop one of his plants. Those who follow make a hole in the center of each hill with their fingers, and having adjusted the tobacco plant in its natural position, they knead the earth round the root with their hands, until it is of a sufficient consistency to sustain the plant against wind and weather. In this condition they leave the field for a few days, until the plants shall have formed their radifications; and where any of them shall have casually perished, the ground is followed over again by successive replantings, until the crop is rendered complete."
In tropical regions, the plants are transplanted as well in summer and fall as in the spring, but more frequently in the early autumn. In Mexico, transplanting is performed from August till November. In Persia, the tobacco plants are "transplanted on the tops of ridges in a ground trenched so as to retain water. When the plants are thirty to forty inches high, the leaves vary from three to fifteen inches in length,when the buds are ready to be pinched off; the leaves increase in size until August and September, when they have attained their growth." In Turkey "when the young plants are about six inches in height they are removed from the small beds and planted in fields like cabbages in this country, and are then left to nature to develop them to a height of from three to four feet; three leaves, however, are removed from each plant to assist its growth."
American Transplanter.
American Transplanter.
A year or two since, a machine was invented and offered to the growers of the Connecticut valley, called a transplanter, of which we here give an engraving. The inventor claimed that the "American Transplanter" could do the work of several men and do it equally well. It rolls along the ridge something like a wheelbarrow, marking the hills with a sharp joint in the wheel and setting the plants as they are dropped into the receptacles at the top.
The tobacco plant, like most of the vegetable products, has many and varied foes. Not only is it most easily affected and damaged by wind and hail, but it seems to be the especial favorite of the insect world, who, like man, love the taste of the plant. The first of them "puts in an appearance" immediately after transplanting, which necessitates the performance of what is known to all growers of the plant as
The Worm.
The Worm.
There are two kinds of worms that prey upon the plants; viz: the "cut worm"[76]and the green or "horn worm." Thefirst commences its work of destruction in a few hours after transplanting in the field. During the night it begins by eating off the small or central leaves called by the grower the "chit," and often so effectually as to destroy the plant. The time chosen by the planter to find these pests of the tobacco field is early in the morning, when they can be found nearer the surface than later in the day. Remove the earth around the roots of the plants, where the worm will generally be found. Occasionally they are found farther from the hill. If they are numerous, the field should be "wormed" every morning, or at least every other day, which labor will be rewarded with a choice collection of primitive tobacco chewers. Sometimes the worms are very small and difficult to find, while at other times more are found than are required for the growth and development of the plants. As soon as they disappear they make way for the "horn worm" who now takes his turn at a "chaw." By some the cut worm is considered the most dangerous foe; as it often destroys the plant,while the other injures the leaf without endangering the plant. A little plaster sprinkled around the hill sometimes checks their progress, yet we have never found any remedy that would hinder their depredations very much. The plants should be kept growing as soon as transplanted, which will be found the better method, as they will soon be too large for the cut worm to injure them much, if at all.
Worming Tobacco.
Worming Tobacco.
The "horn worm" feeds upon the finest and largest leaves. They are not found as often on the top leaves—especially those growing on the very highest part of the stalk, as they prefer the ripe leaves and those lower on the plant. The horn worm, if large, eats the leaves in the finest part of them, frequently destroying half of a leaf. They leave large holes which renders the leaf worthless for a cigar wrapper, leaving it fit only for fillers or seconds. In Cuba the tobacco plant is assailed by three different kinds of insects—one attacks the foot of the leaves; a second the under side; a third devours the heart of the plant. In Colombia the following are the great enemies of the tobacco plant: A grub, namedcanne, which devours the young buds; therosca-worm, which commits its depredations in the night only, burrowing in the ground during the day; the grub of a butterfly, called by the Creolespalometa; a species of scarabæus calledarader, which feeds on the root of the plant; and a species of caterpillar[77]which is called in thecountry thehorned-worm, so voracious as to require one night only to devour an entire leaf of tobacco. At the South, and especially in Virginia, the housewife's flock of turkeys are allowed to range in the tobacco fields and devour many of these pests.
Almost as soon as the plants have been transplanted, the work of
should commence. As the tobacco plant grows and ripens in a few weeks from the time it is transplanted in the field, it is of the utmost importance that the plants get "a good start" as soon as possible. In a favorable season, and with ordinary culture, the plants will do to harvest or "cut" in from eight to ten weeks after transplanting. From the rapidity of its growth it will readily be seen that the plant should come forward at once, if large, fine leaves are desired. In a week from the time of transplanting a light cultivator should be run between the rows, stirring the soil lightly, after which the plants should be hoed carefully, drawing away from the hill and plant the old and "baked" earth and replacing it with fresh. If the hill is hard around the plant it should be loosened by striking the hoe carefully into the hill and gently lifting the earth, thus making the hill mellow. This is apt to be the case with stiff, clayey soil, which, if possible, should be avoided in selecting the tobacco field.
It is doubtless as true a saying as it is a common one with Connecticut tobacco-growers, that the plants will not "start much until they have been hoed." Where the first hoeing is delayed two or three weeks, the plants will to a certain extent become stunted and dwarfed, and will hardly make up for the delay in growing. In from two to three weeks, the field should be hoed again, and this time the cultivator should mellow the soil a little deeper than the first time, while the hoeing should be done in the most thorough manner. Draw the earth around the plant and cut up with the hoe all grass and weeds, and remove all stone and lumps of manure andany rubbish that will hinder easy cultivation, or retard the growth of the plants. At this period the most careful attention must be given to the plants, as they are (or ought to be) growing rapidly, and upon their early maturity will depend the color and texture of the leaf.
In a short time the plants may be hoed for the third and last time (as a fourth hoeing is but rarely necessary). At this time they have attained considerable size, (say two or three feet high) and are rapidly maturing, and ere long will be ready to harvest. At the last hoeing the plants should be "hilled up," that is, the earth should be drawn around the plant under the leaves, causing it to stand firmly in the hill, and keeping the roots well protected and covered. The tobacco plant requires constant cultivation, and the cultivator may be run through the rows after loosening the earth and turning up the manure towards the plants.
Some growers of tobacco in the early stages of its growth apply some kind of fertilizers to the backward plants; this will be found to be of advantage, and should be done just before a rain, when the plants will start in a manner almost surprising. A little phosphate or Peruvian guano may be used, but should be applied with care or the plants may be retarded instead of quickened in their growth.
There is much to be done in the tobacco field besides cultivating and hoeing the plants. In many hills there will be found two plants, which should be re-set at the second hoeing if needed, and if not, pulled up and destroyed, as it is better to have one large plant in the hill than two small ones. Again, after the last hoeing, the tobacco should be kept free from worms. If any have been overlooked they will have attained to a good size by this time, and will devour in a short time enough tobacco to make a "short six."
From this account of the cultivation of tobacco as practiced in the Connecticut valley, one will readily see that the labor performed during the growing of the plants should not be superficial. On their rapid growth depends the color and texture of the leaf. Plants that are slow in maturing nevermake fine wrapping leaves or show a good color. Where the growth is rapid the plants will be more brittle than if of slower growth, and must therefore be handled with care in passing through the rows to worm, top, and sucker the plants.
Topping.
Topping.
A century ago the Virginia planters cultivated their tobacco fields in the following manner:—
"Hoeing commences with the first growth of the tobacco after transplantation, and never ceases until the plant is nearly ripe, and ready to be laid by, as they term the last weeding with the hoe; for he who would have a good crop of tobacco, or of maize, must not be sparing of his labor, but must keep the ground constantly stirring during the whole growth of the crop. And it is a rare instance to see the plough introduced as an assistant, unless it be the slook plough, for the purpose of introducing a sowing of wheat for the following year, even while the present crop is growing; and this is frequently practiced in fields of maize, and sometimes in fields of tobacco, which may be ranked amongst the best fallow crops, as it leaves the ground perfectly clean and naked, permitting neither grass, weed, nor vegetable to remain standing in the space which it has occupied."
The next operation to be performed in the tobacco field is known by the name of
and is simply breaking or cutting off the top of the stalk, preventing the plant from running up to flower and seed. By so doing the growth of the leaves is secured, and they at once develop to the largest possible size.The leaves ripen sooner if the plant is topped, while the quality is much better. There are various methods of topping as well as different periods. Some growers top the plant as soon as the capsules appear, while others wait until the plants are in full blossom. If topped before the plants have come into blossom, the operation should be performed as soon as possible, as a longer time will be required for the leaves to grow and ripen than when topping is delayed until the plants are in blossom. In the Connecticut valley most growers wait until the blossoms appear before breaking off the top. Topping must not be delayed after the blossoming, in order that all danger from an untimely frost may be avoided. The top may be broken off with the hand or cut with a knife, the latter being the better as well as the safer way. Sometimes the rain soaks into the stalk, rotting it so that the leaves fall off, injuring them for wrappers. Top the plants at a regular height, leaving from nine to twelve leaves, so that the field will look even, and also make the number of leaves to a plant uniform. Late plants may be topped with the rest or not, at the option of the grower. This mode of topping refers more particularly to cigar rather than cutting leaf. Those varieties of tobacco adapted for cutting leaf should be topped as soon as the button appears; top low, thereby throwing the strength of the stalk into a few leaves, making them large and heavy. The number of leaves should not exceed fourteen. Let it stand from five to six weeks after it is topped. The object in letting it stand so long after topping is to have it thoroughly ripe. This gives it the bright, rich, golden color, entirely different from cigar leaf, but very desirable for chewing leaf. On account of the length of time it must stand after topping, it is desirable to take that which has been topped early, in order to have it ripen, and get it in before a freeze, although ripe tobacco is not injured by cold nights, and will sometimes stand even an ordinary frost.
The manner of topping in Virginia by the first planters in the colony, is thus described:—
"This operation, simply, is that of pinching off with the thumb nail[78]the leading stem or sprout of the plant, which would, if left alone, run up to flower and seed; but which, from the more substantial formation of the leaf by the help of the nutritive juices, which are thereby afforded to the lower parts of the plant, and thus absorbed through the ducts and fibres of the leaf, is rendered more weighty, thick, and fit for market."
Now the custom is to top for shipping from eight to ten leaves, for coal-curing from ten to twelve, according in both cases to strength of soil and time of doing the work.
In Mexico "as soon as the buds begin to show themselves the top is broken off. Not more than from eight to ten leaves are left on the plant, without counting the sand-leaf, which is thrown away," and destroyed in the same manner as the Dutch are said to do of spies. In some countries the plants are not topped at all, and the leaves are left upon the stalk until fully ripe, when they are picked.
The next labor following the topping of the plants is called
Immediately after topping the plants, shoots or sprouts make their appearance at the base of the leaves where they join the parent stalk. They are known by the name of suckers and the removal of them by breaking them off is called suckering. At first the suckers make their appearance at the top of the plants at the base of the upper leaves, and then gradually appear farther down on the stalk until they are found at the very root of the plant. The plants should be suckered before the shoots are tough, when they will be removed with difficulty, frequently clinging to both stalk and leaf, thereby injuring the latter, as the leaf very often comes off with the sucker if the latter is left growing too long. The plants should be kept clean of them and especially at the time of harvesting.
An old writer on tobacco says of Suckers and Suckering:—
"The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or stalk, near tothe junction of the leaves with the stem, and about the root of the plant and if these suckers are permitted to grow, they injure the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division of its nutriment during the act of maturation. The planter is therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb-nail as in the act of topping, and this process is termed suckering."
Suckering.
Suckering.
After this operation is performed the planter ascertains in regard to the
As soon as the plants are fully ripe they not only take on a different hue but give evidence of decay. The leaves as they ripen become rougher and thicker, assume a tint of yellowish green and are frequently mottled with yellow spots. The tobacco grower has two signs which he regards as "infallible" in this matter. One is that on pinching the under part of the leaf together, if ripe it will crack or break; the other is the growth of suckers to be found (if ripe) around the base of the stalk.
Tatham says:—
"Much practice is requisite to form a judicious discernment concerning the state and progress of the ripening leaf;yet care must be used to cut up the plant as soon as it is sufficiently ripe to promise a good curable condition, lest the approach of frost should tread upon the heels of the crop-master; for in this case, tobacco will be among the first plants that feel its influence, and the loss to be apprehended in this instance, is not a mere partial damage by nipping, but a total consumption by the destruction of every plant. I find it difficult to give to strangers a full idea of the ripening of the leaf: it is a point on which I would not trust my own experience without consulting some able crop-master in the neighborhood; and I believe this is not an uncustomary precaution among those who plant it. So far as I am able to convey an idea, which I find it easier to understand than to express, I should judge of the ripening of the leaf by its thickening sufficiently; by the change of its color to a more yellowish green; by a certain mellow appearance, and protrusion of the web of the leaf, which I suppose to be occasioned by a contraction of the fibres; and other appearances as I might conceive to indicate an ultimate suspension of the vegetative functions."