TOBACCO CULTURE.
Tobacco at the present time is one of the great products of the world.
As an article of agriculture and of commerce, it holds an important
place among the great staples, while as a luxury, its use has become
as extensive as its culture. The tobacco plant is now cultivated in
nearly all parts of the world with varying success, according to the
system of cultivation adopted by its growers. Primarily cultivated by
the aborigines of America in the rude manner common to uncivilized
races, the plant has, by numerous experiments and careful culture,
become one of the greatest of agricultural products. When first
discovered by the Spanish and Portuguese, the plant was small, and in
flavor "poor and weak and of a byting taste." As soon, however, as the
Spaniards began its cultivation in the islands of St. Domingo and
Trinidad, attention was paid to developing it, and in a few years the
description we find of the latter variety is that it is "large, sharp,
and growing two or three yards from the ground."
At the close of the sixteenth century the Portuguese began its
cultivation in Portugal, the soil of which seemed well adapted to the
plant, and still further increased the size and quality of the leaf.
Tobacco is now cultivated through a wider range of temperature than
any other tropical plant, and whether grown amid the sands of Arabia,
the plains of South America, or in the rich valley of the Connecticut,
develops its finest form and perfection of leaf. During the last
half-century the plant has been developed to a greater extent than
during the three hundred years succeeding its discovery. Now its
cultivation has been reduced to almost an exact science, and the
quality of the leaf is in a great measure within the control of the
growers of the plant.
Formerly it was supposed that the varieties that grew in the tropics
could not be successfully cultivated in the temperate regions, but
recent and repeated experiments have demonstrated the fact that the
tobacco of Cuba can be grown with success in the Connecticut valley.
While the tobacco of the tropics is the finest in flavor, the more
temperate regions produce the finest and best colored leaf. The
tobacco of the tropics, as to the uses to which it is put, is limited,
while the tobacco of the more temperate regions can be used for all
the purposes for which the plant is designed.
The cultivation of the plant varies with the variety, the soil, and
the use to be made of the leaf. Thus a tobacco designed for cutting
purposes is cultivated somewhat differently from that designed for the
manufacture of snuff or cigars. In the one case the plant is allowed
to remain growing longer in the field, while in the other the work of
topping the plants is performed at an earlier stage of their growth.
Primarily but little attention was paid to the color and texture of
the leaf, the principal object being the production of a leaf of large
size, rather than one of good color, and of a silky texture. Now,
however, these are most important considerations, and give value to
the tobacco in proportion to the perfection of these qualities.
The soil, too, is carefully chosen and fitted in the most thorough
manner, while the fertilizers used are selected with reference to the
color of leaf desired. When first cultivated in the United States it
was thought that tobacco designed for various uses could not be grown
in the same state or section; now, however, tobacco for cigars and for
cutting are grown nearly side by side. But in the fineness of the
leaf, tobacco culture has made its greatest stride. By a careful
selection of soil, and by the judicious application of proper
fertilizers, the leaf tobaccos of Connecticut, Cuba, and Virginia,
resemble in texture the finest satins and silks. This result has been
reached, not by the sacrifice of the strength of the leaf, but by the
most careful culture and improved methods of curing.
The first labor to be performed in connection with the growth of a
crop of tobacco, is the selection of a site for, and the making of,
the "plant bed" or "plant patch." These beds for the early growth of
the plants until large enough to transplant, are made in various ways
and at different times, according to the method of tilling adopted and
the climate. In California the tobacco bed is made in January, in the
Southern States, Syria, Turkey, and Holland, in March. In New England
in April. In Mexico and Java in June, and in Persia in December. In
the Connecticut valley the manner of making the
PLANT BED,
as given by a Massachusetts tobacco-grower, is as follows:--
"No rigid rules can be given for any process in tobacco
culture, which depends much upon weather and season, but
certain advantages may be obtained by skillful adaptation of
general principles to circumstances. This is especially true
of raising tobacco plants, which occupy an extremely slight
depth of ground for weeks after sowing, making it necessary
to prepare the whole soil with reference to the state of
this thin surface. Any slight mistake of treatment may make
in the end a difference of several days; consequently each
item is of importance. While every tobacco-raiser wants
early plants, and appreciates the value of a good location
for growing them, many naturally sheltered spots of ground,
protected from northerly winds by buildings, trees, or
hills, remain unappreciated. Tight board fences are no
protection worth mentioning.
"A heavily manured crop of tobacco would fit such places for
tobacco beds, and leave them freer from weeds than any other
cultivation; and a subsequent use of some commercial
fertilizer would avoid the introduction of weed seed. With
these precautions, and a careful destruction of all
neighboring weeds, a tolerably clean bed may be expected. To
prepare the ground, plow or loosen deeply with a large
cultivator; harrow in two-thirds of the fertilizer to be
used; rake the bed perfectly level, then rake in the other
third; roll once, and another slight raking will fit the bed
for sowing, after which it should be rolled down hard. If
the soil is handled in drying weather, it should be done
quickly, because damp ground, if prepared and rolled down
before drying, will 'set' like mortar, and remain damp on
the surface. Moisture and darkness are essential to the
germination of the seed, and these conditions can be secured
only by making the surface compact while damp. The
disintegration of the deeper lumps, and the decomposition of
fertilizers, will cause the surface to grow gradually
softer. The effect of plowing is to break the ground into
lumps, which lie upon each other, giving free admission to
the air between them. Harrowing makes finer the lumps near
the surface, and mixes the fertilizer deeper than a rake can
be used. The first raking is to pulverize and level, so that
rains will neither collect in ponds, nor run off, but
penetrate the soil evenly. The second raking is to mix the
fertilizer equally through the soil, to the depth of an inch
or less, and reduce the lumps to the size of peas, which is
as fine as a medium loam can be made without danger of a
tough crust. Too much working destroys the healthy grain of
the soil, and reduces it to a paste, which the roots of the
tobacco plants can penetrate but slowly.
[Illustration: Making the plant bed in Connecticut.]
"The bed should not be watered before nor after the plants
come up. The ground will be cold enough without any extra
evaporation, and if the place is suitable for tobacco
plants, and rightly fitted, the surface will be damp in the
morning, even in very dry weather. If the plants need
stimulating, sow on them a coat of Peruvian guano or
super-phosphate at the commencement of a rain, regulating
the quantity used by the amount of the water likely to fall.
Superphosphate makes dark-colored, thick-leaved, stocky
plants. Fish guano has about the same effect, but gives a
lighter color and thinner leaf. Peruvian guano is more
stimulating than either, and makes a light-colored, thin
leaf. Great caution is necessary in the use of these
powerful medicines to avoid an over-dose. A quantity that
would be safe in a heavy rain, would in a light rain kill
many or nearly all the plants.
"Old seed will sprout sooner than new. The seed should be
measured while dry, and the same spoon used every year, so
the effect of a given amount may be noted and the quantity
regulated by experience. Level the seed in the spoon with a
knife-blade, like measuring grain in a half-bushel. After
sprouting again, allowing for the seed, increase in bulk for
each rod separately. The amount of seed needed to the square
rod varies with different seasons, soils, and seeds, but can
be loosely a tablespoonful. There are many breeds of
tablespoons. Too thick sowing will nearly spoil a bed by
causing it to produce weak, yellow, spindling plants, while
thin sowing will give good square ones. A bed should appear
about half stocked till the plants are nearly ready to set,
when they will suddenly spread and seem to multiply.
"Some growers sprout and some prefer dry seed. In favorable
circumstances sprouting will give a gain of four to six
days, but in many cases dry seed will be fully as early. A
long sprout is liable to be broken off in sowing, or killed
by cold, after it is in the ground. A sprout just showing
will endure several nights' freezing if there is some warm
sun in the day-time. One way to sprout is to spread the seed
thinly on cotton cloth, and roll it up inside of woolen
cloth, keep it in a warm place, and dip in warm water every
day. In about four days the white spots will show. Sprouted
no more than this, it will stand unfavorable weather as well
as dry seed. A pint of meal and a pint of plaster to each
rod, is a good mixture to sow in. Pouring from one dish to
another many times will mix the plaster, meal, and seed
perfectly if dry. If sprouted, it should be rubbed through
the hands a few times with the mixture, to dry it and
prevent any bunches of plants coming from seed stuck
together. The plaster will show on the ground whether the
sowing is being done evenly.
"Weeding should of course be done early and thoroughly.
Weeds are stronger than the plants, and a little neglect
will check them, making practically, perhaps, a difference
of several days. A good way to prepare for weeding and
taking up plants, is to make the bed about fifteen feet
wide, and place round, straight poles across it about eleven
feet apart. The poles should be three inches in diameter at
the smallest end. They cost nothing and save moving blocks
around with the weeding planks."
If the plants are tardy of growth, or the season is backward, wooden
frames covered with cloth soaked in linseed oil may be placed over the
beds, which is far better than to cover with pine boughs or glass
even. The cloth soaked in oil draws the rays of the sun and keeps the
earth dry and warm, causing a rapid growth of the plants, which at
this stage need forcing in order to be forward enough for early
transplanting. A Virginia planter gives the following description of
making the
PLANT PATCH.
"Cut wood in September or October, so that it may season, to
burn patches (beds) in winter or spring. For ten acres, or
fifty thousand hills, burn and sow three patches each of
seventy-five square yards. Say one (if the land be in good
condition) the latter part of December, and if it be not in
condition then, burn one hundred and fifty square yards the
first good weather in January or February, and the other the
first of March. Select a place on some small constant
running stream, not liable to overflow, with a moist, sandy
soil; cut down all trees close to the ground; get off all
shrubbery, leaves, etc. The patch will then be ready for
wooding. Commence by laying on skids ten or twelve feet
long, four in diameter, three and a half feet apart; cover
thickly with brush, then put on wood regular all over, and
thick enough to burn dry an inch in depth. Commence your
fires on the side, and continue to move after it has burnt
hard enough. After it has burned, sweep off all coals, but
not the ashes: then it will be ready for hoeing up, which
can be done with good grub hoes; hoe deep, but do not turn
over the soil; get off all large and small roots; chop over
with hill hoes, and rake until the earth is thoroughly
pulverized; then put on twenty-five bushels of good, fine,
stable manure, without weed and grass seed, and twenty-five
pounds of Peruvian guano, which should be put on regularly,
hoed and raked in.
"For sowing, lay off beds four feet wide, so that the water
from rains may run or drain off. For every bed four feet
wide and twelve yards long, sow one chalk pipe bowl full of
seed, after being mixed with ashes; tread with the feet or
pat it over with weeding hoes, that it may be close and
smooth; cover it with dog-wood, maple, or any fine brush, to
the depth of twenty or twenty-four inches, to protect the
young plants from cold or a drouth. After the plants have
commenced coming up, re-sow the patches with half the
quantity of seed first sown, which will not interfere with
the plants first up, but make good re-planting plants. When
the plants, or some of them, have grown to the size of a
Spanish mill dollar, take off the brush, pick off all
sticks, weeds, and grass, and keep them well picked until
you have finished setting out.
"Should the plants not grow fast enough to suit, manure with
Peruvian guano; have it fine, and sow over in the middle of
the day when they are dry, or if it be raining briskly, it
may then be sown over. Should the patches be suffering for
rain, put five pounds of Peruvian guano in twenty gallons of
water, and sprinkle it over with a watering-pot. To destroy
the flea, bug, or fly, put dry leaves around the patch, and
set fire to them at night, which will attract and destroy
them if they are disturbed with a broom or leafy brush."
The old Virginia planters selected and made the plant patch as
follows:--
"The quality of earth, and places which are universally
chosen for this purpose, are newly cleared lands of the best
possible light black soil, situated as near to a small
stream of water as they can be conveniently found, due
attention being paid to the dryness of the place.
"The beds, or patches, as they are called, differ in size,
from the bigness of a small salad bed to a quarter of an
acre, according to the magnitude of the crop proposed; and
they are prepared for receiving the seed in March and the
early part of April, as the season suits, first by burning
upon them large heaps of brush wood, the stalks of the maize
or Indian corn, straw, or other rubbish; and afterwards, by
digging and raking them in the same manner of preparing
ground for lettuce seed; which is generally sown mixed with
the tobacco seed (the same process being suitable to both
plants); and which answers the double purpose of feeding the
laborer, and of protecting the young tobacco plant from the
fly; for which intent a border of mustard seed round the
plant patch is found to be an effectual remedy, as the fly
prefers mustard, especially white mustard, to any other
young plant; and will continue to feed upon that until the
tobacco plant waxes strong, and becomes mature enough for
transplantation."
A Tennessee planter gives the following description of making the
plant bed as practised in his State. In some respects, especially in
preventing the growth of weeds, it is the best process of making the
"plant patch" that we have ever seen described. He says:--
"To make a good plant bed it requires good management and
pretty hard work. It will hardly be done well without the
presence of the farmer to attend to it. The time to make a
bed is from the 15th of October to the first of April. The
best beds are made in the Fall, for the reason that the
ground is then very dry and therefore more easily burned,
and besides there is more time for the ashes to rot before
the hot weather. A bed turned in the Fall will hold moisture
better than burned later. It takes less wood to burn well.
The plants are more vigorous and tougher. The soil should be
rich and light and never tilled before. The location should
be as much exposed to the sun as possible. It is best for a
bed to be surrounded by timber. The bugs are not so apt to
find it. Low rich valleys will generally do better than
ridges, though any good rich new ground will make good
plants if well burned and prepared. The ground should be
raked very clean of leaves before packing on the brush and
wood. The fire must have a fair chance at the ground. The
brush should be packed on straight and close, at least
enough wood mixed with it to make it lie close. If the brush
is green, endeavor to mix what dry stuff there is thorough,
so the fire will burn through without trouble. It is very
important that the fire should be as hot as possible while
it is burning. The bed should not be rained upon after it is
set before it is burned, as it will be doubtful whether the
ground beneath the brush will get dry well.
"The ground should always be as dry as possible when it is
burned. The bed should be set on fire in several places at
once so as to have a very great heat on it at once. If the
ground is well burned it will be a little crusty and
whitish, and will pulverize beautifully. As soon as the
ground is cool enough it may be loosened up and pulverized.
This should be done well, and may be done with a good sharp
harrow and then followed with hoes and grubbing hoes. Aim to
keep the ashes and rich soil on the surface, and for this
reason a bed is sometimes damaged by a too deep working.
Rake carefully, getting off all the roots and trash. The bed
should be drained by a little ditch around it on the upper
side. If it is very early in the Fall, the seed should not
be sown until the danger of very warm days has passed. After
the last of November the sowing should be as soon as the bed
is prepared. A little less than a heaping tablespoonful to
ten steps square is about the quantity of seed. Cover the
seed very lightly with the rake or tramping the ground with
the feet. Cover the bed with a good layer of straight brush,
not enough to keep the light rains from the bed, but at the
same time enough to keep the ground in a moist condition
even in hot weather. Make a low close brush fence around the
bed to keep the leaves from being blown upon it. Re-sow
whenever the plants are well up, so as to have two chances.
Take off the brush cover when the plants are big enough to
shade the ground themselves. If the plants are rather thin
on the bed, do not uncover until you go there to draw the
plants. If there is any danger of a scarcity of plants,
always put the trash back after drawing."
In Cuba the
"SEMILLEROS"
or planting beds as a rule, lie higher than the rest of the farm. On
the large _vegas_ or tobacco plantations, numbers of planting beds are
made under the supervision of the mayoral. Siecke gives the following
account of making the beds or _semilleros_:
"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 placed
around 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."
[Illustration: 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
thickly placed, 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. Their
_ladangs_, 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
CHOICE OF GROUND
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]
[Footnote 72: Liancourt in his Travels in North America,
says of tobacco culture in Virginia: "The nature of the
country beyond the James River is much more variegated
than on this side. At present they are preparing the
lands for the planting of tobacco. After having worked
the land it is thrown into small hillocks. * * * The
cultivation of tobacco, which has been very much
neglected during several years, is more followed this
year on account of the high price it bears in Europe;
but the soil has been so long worked with this
exhausting produce, and is so badly manured (for manure
is absolutely necessary for tobacco when the soil is not
newly broken up), that it is not capable of producing
good crops."]
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 unfit for 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 1/4 sand 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."
In
PREPARING THE SOIL
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 may follow. 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 and hilled 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Footnote 73: This is a short, thick, heavy-headed axe,
of a somewhat oblong shape, with which the Americans
make great dispatch. They treat the English poll-axe
with great contempt, and always work it over again as
old iron before they deem it fit for their use.]
[Footnote 74: The worm or panel fence, originally of
Virginia, consists of logs or malled rails from about
four to six or eight inches thick and eleven feet in
length. A good fence consists of ten rails and a rider.
It is called a worm fence from the zigzag manner of its
construction.]
"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, at pleasure. 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.
[Illustration: 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 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
prepare the 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.
[Illustration: 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 be allowed 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.
[Footnote 75: Walker says of tobacco culture in Colombia
(South America):--"It is advisable to cover the plant
with a banana leaf, or something similar: by this means
the tobacco is protected from the heat of the sun, and
from the heavy rains, which would not prove less
prejudicial."]
[Illustration: 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
"THE SEASON FOR PLANTING,"
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 duly
sheltered 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."
[Illustration: 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
WORMING.
[Illustration: The worm.]
There are two kinds of worms that prey upon the plants; viz: the "cut
worm"[76] and the green or "horn worm." The first 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.
[Footnote 76: Hughes, in his History of Barbadoes, says
that the common people call the worm kitifonia.]
[Illustration: 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, named _canne_, which devours the young buds;
the _rosca-worm_, which commits its depredations in the night only,
burrowing in the ground during the day; the grub of a butterfly,
called by the Creoles _palometa_; a species of scarabæus called
_arader_, which feeds on the root of the plant; and a species of
caterpillar[77] which is called in the country the _horned-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.
[Footnote 77: Wallace says of worming tobacco in Brazil:
"The plants are much attacked by the caterpillar of a
sphinx moth, which grows to a large size, and would
completely devour the crop unless carefully picked off.
Old men, and women, and children are therefore
constantly employed going over a part of the field every
day, and carefully examining the plants leaf by leaf
till the insects are completely exterminated."]
Almost as soon as the plants have been transplanted, the work of
CULTIVATING
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 and any 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 never make 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.
[Illustration: 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
TOPPING,
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."
[Footnote 78: Many of the Virginians let the thumb nail
grow long, and harden it in the candle, for this
purpose: not for the use of gouging out people's eyes,
as some have thought fit to insinuate.]
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
SUCKERING.
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
to the 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."
[Illustration: Suckering.]
After this operation is performed the planter ascertains in regard to
the
RIPENING OF THE PLANTS.
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:--