The Danbury Reporter.
VOLUME XXXIII
HOW TO GROW TOBACCO.
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MR. W. A. PETREE BEFORE
TIIE STOKES COUNTY FARMERS'CONVENTION
AT DANBURY JULY 27, I'.K).").
(Continued from last week.)
Thu next tiling I wish to apeak ,
if is the kind of si)il be#l united to |
tobacco culture. Doubtlew you |
nil know that the tobacco plant
thrives or does best in a fresh
virgin soil. The principal reason
of tliis is that such soils contain
more humus or decayed vegetable
(natter than older soils. This
humus furnishes not only a cer
tain amount of plant food itself,
but it unlocks other fertilizing
elements in the soil and brings
them into a condition in which
the plants can take them up. It
enables the land to hold more
water, and keeps it from washing
so badly. It keep* the soil loose
And admits a free circulation of
air about the roots of the plants. I
But you all know as well as 1 do,
that our lands have been cleared
up and we do not often have fresh
»oit on which to plant our tobacco.
So the thing for us to do, is to
adopt some systematic rotation of
crops, one that will till our land j
with an abundance of vegetable'
matter, and bring it into a condi
tion us near like that of virgin soil
as possible. Now, a four year ro
tation I have used with good
results is this: First, clover, then
corn, then tobacco, next wheat,
and then back to clover. My
cxpyfie'ice is that tobacco gro..-
off more uniformly after corn than
after almost any other eiop, The
worms, and especially the wire
worms are not so bad on such land
nw they B rt ' other kinds of land.
Then my e*peri»>uft) is that such
land makes a liner and mure sala
ble quality of tobacco, than almost
any other. The only objection I ;
have to this particular rotation is
(hat it does not add vegetable mat
ter to the soil quite as fast as I
think it should be. lint we can
remedy this very materially by
a«>wiug oowpeas in the corn at the
last working; and even this can be
improved upon by sowing rye
down in the peas when the ourn ia
out of the way, and working it in
the land. When Urn rye comes up
it gives a green cover crop to the
laud during the winter, and will
take up and hold up much of the
plant food in the soil, and keep it
from leaching out and in the
spring the dead pea-vines and
green r>o can all be worked
into the laud to tend the tobacco
crop which follows. By this
method, if you count the first cut
ting of the clover, you take otf
four crops from the land during
the four years, and counting the
second growth of clover you return
three crops back to the land during
the four jears. You take otf the
first cutting of clover, the corn
crop, the tobacco crop and the
wheat crop, while you return the
second growth of clover, the crop
of pea vines and the green rye all J
back to the land. This should .
keep your laud well supplied with J
vegetab'e matter. Another good ■
rotation, is to extend the series or
period to six years instead of four,
and run wheat and tobacco twice, 1
each, in th« rotation. This would
give us cUver first, than corn,
next, tobacco, then wheat, then
peas right town on the wheat
stubble, and w the fall sow ryo
down among the pea-vines, the
green ryo and lead pea-vines all
to be worked it to the land the
next spring to feed the tobacco
crop following, tien comes wheat
and then back to clover again.
Now, brother farirur, I have told
you of the best. rotations for tobac
co and for other land I know of.
And now I wish to say our land is
somewhat like a bank, unless wo
make some deposits, we cannot
expect to take anything out. Neith
er can you expect to make a ootv
give you large quantities of good
rich milk unless you feed her well.
And so it is wijth our land, we
must feed it if wo expect it to feed
us.
The next thing I wish to speak
of Is the plowing or the pre
paration of the land for the
crop and the cultivation of tiie
orop. Having broken the land
thoroughly good and deep and
made it perfectly fine and mellow
in the spring, I like to cultivate
its surface after every ruin if J can
until the time comes to run
otf the rows and put in the fertili
ser. This surface cultivaton keeps
the land clear of grasg, mellows up
the land, breaks up the capillaries
of the surface soil, and shuts off
the evaporation of moisture from
the land, and holds it in store
for the tobacco plants when they
are set. If the land hos this kind
of treatment before the crop is
planted, then J think that «)1| the
crop will need in the way of cul.
tivatiou is just simple surface cul
ture, but fills should begin at once
and bo done often enough to keep
all the grass and weeds killed, and
keep the capillaries of the surface
soil broken up so as to prevent t hp
evaporation of water from the soil,
And this surface culture should be
kept up fill the crop or plants are
large enough to top. lnfaet, 1
sometimes continue to cultivate
my tobacco awhile after it is
topped.
Now about fixing up the • land
ready to plant, I like to do this
when there is good season in the
land, and set the plants at once, as
they grow off more quickly when
set in freshly prepared land than
they do when planted otherwise,
And now there is a reason for this
and let us see what it is. You ull
know that if the weather happens
to be cool when you set your to
bacco, the plants just stand there
and are slow to take root in the
soil. On the other hand, if the
weather is warm when the plants
are set, they take root and grow
off tjuickly; and this is the princi
pal reason why tobacoo grows off
more quickly on freshly prepared
land than it does on laud just after
it has had a packing run.
The freshly prepared land is warm
er. Why is it warmer? Because
when the land is freshly prepared,
the capillaries of the surface soil
are broken up and the evaporation
of water from the soil is stopped,
and this keeps the laud warm,
The evaporation of moisture from
the surface of the land lowers its
temperature and keeps it cold.
Suppose we have a thermometer
hanging up here, and here is a
glass of water and we dip a feather
in tho water and wet the bulb of
tho thermometer, you would notice
that as the water evaporated or
dried off tho thermometer the
mercury or temperature would fall
showing that the evaporation takes
away heat, And just so it is with
our land; just after a soaking or
packing rain, the soil capillaries
pump the water up to the surface
of the land, and here it evaporates
and lowers the temperature of the
land. But when our land is fresh
ly prepared tho capillary action of
STOKES AITO CAROLINA.
DANBURY, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, lDO."
the surface soil is broken up and
this shuts off the evaporation of
water and keeps the land warm.
When wo allow this evaporation to
go on, we not only lose the mois
ture in the soil but we keep the
land cold
Now about running off the ruws
and putting in the fertilizer, I find
that the quickest, the easiest,
cheapest and upon the whole the
very best plan is this: Runoff the
rows with a shovel plow of medium
width, I generally go twice in the
sftine row to insure uniformity of
depth and width of the furrow,
and lam always careful not to
make the furrow too deep especial
ly if the land is an open sandy na
turij and likely to let the fertili
zer leach oijt in case there ia
much rain. When the furrows
are opened, I distribute the fer
tiliser along in them 'is uniform
ly as I can, putting it at the rate
of from 500 to 700 pounds to the
acre. That is, if Ido not aim to
fertilize the crop some, later on.
Put if I intend to fertilize the
crop some while it Is growing, I
do not put so much fertilizer in
the land before the crop is plant
ed. And I think that perhaps
this is the bettor plan, in case the
land is of an open nature and
likely to let the fertilizer wash out
in case of much rain. After the
fertilizer is . distributed in the
furrows, I cover it up by follow
ing with another shovel plow a
little wider thftn tlje one the fur
rows ure opened with I run just
one furrow or a furrow on just«:ie
side of the row or furrow contain
ing the fertilizer, and this furrow
should be run on the upper side
.of the row in case the land is not
level. When thjs furrow is run
the fertilizer is covered up and
the row is ready for the plants
whioh should be set in the lower
side of the furrow just over the
fertilizer and down a little in the
furrow just below the general level
of the land. I find that when to
bacco is planted this way it grows
off more quickly than it does when
the fertilizer is covered up by run
ning two furrows one on each side
of the row. And now, geutlemeo,
there is a reason far this, and the
reason is not hard to find and I
want to fix it on your minds so
that yon will never forget it, for it
will save you labor, and make you
better tobacco. When the fertili
zer is covered up by running a
furrow on just one side of the row,
the other side of the row is left
unbroken or still connected with
the balk, middle or land between
the rows, this protects this side of
the row from the air and sunshine
and allows the water in the balk or
land between the rows to feed out
to the row whore the tobacco
plants can get it, whereas, if the
fertilizer is coverod up running
two furrows, one on each side of
the row, the list or row is cut loose
from the middles or land on eaoh
side of it, and this list or ridge is
left exposed to the air and sun
shine and as the water in the balks
or middles cannot feed out to it,
it soon dries out. And when to
bacco is set on such a ridge it does
not grow off as rapidly as when it
is set the other way. Then, it
takes less labor to cover up the
fertilizer by.running just one fur
row than it does to run two. And
it takes loss labor to cultivate the
tobacco after it is planted, because
it is easier to cover up any grass
that may be growing around the
plants when they stand down in
the furrow just below the general
level of the land than it is to cov
er it up when the plants are stand
ing up on a ridge. Then, I think
that generally, it is better for the
tobacco to keep it down on a level
than to keep it up on a riilge.
However, if the land is of a wet
or springy nature, I have no ob
jections to planting the tobacco
on a ridge, and keeping it on a
ridge and I think that perhaps
this is the better plan when you
have such land for tobacco. In
fact, 1 know some farmers who
plant their tobacco on a ridge and
keep it on a ridge by using a
turning plow and some of them
make splendid tobacco; but as a
general thing, I think that level
culture is much better,
Tho next thing I want to speak
of is the distance or the spacing
of tho plants over the land. 1 have
already said, that uniformity of
growth and quality are things we
want in the tobacco crop. So now
\ye will suppose that wo have an
acre of land wo wish to plant in
tobaooo, and that the land is
strong enough to produce we will
say 30,000 good medium sized
salable leaves of tobacco, how now
shall we space or distribute those
leaves over one aoro, so us to got
the best results, by making the
leaves uniform as to growth and
quality!? If we wore to plant 3000
plants on one aoro and top every
plant to ten leaves we would get
the 30,000 leaves the land is capa
blo of makiug, but many of them
would be very uniform. Why ?
Because the order of nature is :
First, birth, then growth to ma
turity, and then decay. The
growth and maturity or ripening
of the bottom leeves would be too
far removed in point of time from
the growth and ripening of the
top leaves. The bottom leaves
would get their growth aud ripen
before the top leaves would be
sufficiently matured to make a
good quality of tobacco. When to
baoco is planted wide and topped
high this .way, it often happens
that tho bottom leaves ripen, dry
up and drop off before the top
leaves are ripe enough to cut, and
if they do not dry up and drop off,
having ripened so long in advance
of the top leaves, it is almost sure
to be the caso that when tho to
bacco is cut and put in the barn,
the bottom leaves will yellow,
sponge and turn brown before
the top leaves are yellow enough
to cure, When you let your tobac
co sponge you have a kind of rot
ten tobacco, rotted in tho process
of curing. When tobacco is plant
ed and topped this way, it often
happens that while we are waiting
for tho top leaves to get ripe
enough to out, 000 l weather comes
on and the tobacco does not yel
low and cure well when it is put
into the barn, but dries up of a
bluish green, and is inferior in
character. How, then, can we
remedy all these difficulties V Just
simply by bringing the ripening
of the bottom leaves and the ripe
ning of the top leaves closer to
gether in point of time. But how
oan we do this ? Simply by top
ping our plants lower. But we
have already soon that one acre of
land is sufficiently strong to pro
duce 30,000 good medium leaves,
and we would have to top every
one of our 3000 plants to ten
leaves in order to get tho number
of loaves the land is capable of
making If we were to top the
plants to less than ten loaves the
leaves would grow rough and
coarse, because the land is capa
ble of making more. So the rem
edy is to distribute or allot the
30,000 leaves to a greater number
of plants to the acre. If we were
to plant 3,750 plants on one acre,
and top every plant to eight leaves,
we would get the 30,000 leaves the
land would produce, and it would
be much better than to get the
leaves by planting just 3000 plants
and topping them to ten leaves.
I \V hy would it be better ? Because
lit would bring the ripening of the
bottom leaves, and the ripening of
the top leaves closer together in
point of time, the bottom leaves
would not decay so badly while
waiting for the top leaves to ripen
and there would be more uniform
ity among the leaves as to growth
and quality. Hut it seems to me
that even this would throw the
ripening of the bottom leaves and
the-ripening of the top leaves a
little too far apart in point of
time. If we were to plant 5,000
plants on one acre and top every
plant to six leaves, then wo would
get the 30,000 leaves tho land
would produce and at the same
time we would bring the ripening
of tho bottom leaves and the ripen
ing of tho top loaves so close to
gether in point of time, tho bottom
leaves would not decay and drop
off while waiting for the top leaves
to ripen. Then there would be
more uniformity as to size, and
the tobacco would yellow and cure
more uniformly. Then, there are
other advantages in planting close
and topping low, the tobacco can
be topped earlier, as you can top
a plant to 0 or S leaves earlier than
you can to 10 or 12 loaves. And
this earlier topping would insure
in earlier ripening of tho tobacco,
and enable us to get it cut and in
to our barns while the weather is
warm enough to enable us to yel
low and cure it well. Then, there
are other advantages. The loaves
would l>e more evenly spaced or
distributed over tho land. They
would shade the land more, and
perhaps prevent in some measure,
the evaporation of moisture from
the soil. Then, too, tho leaves
would be more uniformity expos
od to tho sunshine by not boingso
many over one another, so as to
shade the bottom leaves, as is the
case when tho plants are topped
high. Now, all this was just a
matter of theory with mo, until I
demonstrated or proved its cor
rectness by an actual tost, and I
made this tost last year. Of course,
I did not plant all my tobacco in
this way last year, but I planted
enough of it in this way to make
a proper test; and it enabled ine
to get my tobacco cut and cured
earlier than 1 had ever done l>e
foro. But now, Ido not want any
of you to let what I have said
along this lino cause you to go to
the extremes and plant your to
bacco too close and top it too low,
Neither do 1 want you to take it
for granted that I mean that 30,-
000 is the correct number of to
bacco leaves to grow on an acre of
land. I had to use some number
with which to explain the prin
ciple and get it before you; and as
30,000 is approximately correct
for my land, 1 just used that num
ber, but of course, there is some
land that will produce more than
30,000 leaves to the acre, and there
may be somo land that will not
produce so many. Each farmer
must bo his own judge in this
matter, bearing in mind the nature
or the strength of his soil.
The next thing I wish to speak
of, is the stage of growth the to
bacco plant should reach before it
is topped. Generally, if the crop
is of good medium growth, 1 like
for the plants to run up just a lit
tle before they are topped. I think
this keops the loaves from growing
coarse as it insures relatively or
comparatively small stems and
fibers. It also causes the leaves to
stand farther apart on the stalks,
and this insures a free circulation
of air and heat through the to
bacco while it is being cured. If
(Continued on fourth page.)
NUMBER 31
Briefs Adrift.
Some farmers in this section
have began cutting tobacco.
Mr. T. Hutchens, of Madison,
was here a short while Friday.
There are eight prisonors con
fined in jail here ut present.
M iss Mamie King ,of Madison,
came up Monday to visit relatives.
Miss Maggie Davis, of Guilford
College, visited here this week.
Thejjhotel at Piedmont Springs
will probably close in a few days.
Stokes court convenes Septem
ber 25th, less than a month
distant.
Mr. D. S. Watkins. of Walnut
Cove, passed through Danbury
Monday.
M r3. J. Spot Taylor, of Pied
mont Springs, visited Danbury
Monday.
Deputy Marshall Gaston H.
Carroll, of Winston, was in Dan
bury Monday.
Mr. W. 1). Bennett, of Walnut
Cove, spent Sunday with his
parents at Jewel.
Mr. Scales, representing the
Madison Grocery Co., spent Mon
day night in town.
Miss Kachel Hollinsworth, of
Mount Airy, is expected here Fri
day to visit relatives.
Miss Annie Kate Jones, who is
at Piedinout spent Sat
urday and Sunday here.
Messrs. Leonard Irvin and Hur
ley Siceloff, of Mount Airy,
spent a few days here the past
week.
Misses Louise and Blanche Pep
per, after a visit, here of several
weeks, returned to their home at
Winston Thursday.
Messrs. C. A. and Wilkes Mitch
ell. of Dillard, spent Friday night
and Saturday here attending the
Sunday School Convention.
M ess*s. Willie and Charlie
Moore, of Moore's Springs, spent
Sunday jn Danbury. They report
about fifty guests at the springs.
Mr. Frank H. Petree left Mon
day for Wake Forest College,
where he troes to resume his
studies in the law department of
that institution.
The family of Mr. J. C. Buxton,
who have been occupying their
cottage at Piedmont Springs this
summer, returned to their home f.t
Winston Friday.
M iss Nora Covington, of Delk,
who has been attending the teach
ers' institute here, returned home
Friday on account of the death of
her grandmother.
Mr. R. E. Smith, a prominent
merchant and farmer of Francisco,
visited Danbury Monday. Mr.
Smith has named his place "Cor
nelia Farm."
Misses Anna Baxton, Hattie
King, Edith and Julia Cunning
ham and Mr. Robah Gray and Mr.
McAlister, who are at Piodmont
Springs, visited Danbury Friday.
Messrs. J. S. Whitten and
Wiley Mabe, two of our good
farmers of Peter's Creek, visited
Danbury Monday. Mr. Whitten
was enroute home with a load of
piping-
Mr. R. R. King, who holds a
position with the Virginia Bridge
& Iron Co., of Roanoke, visited
his parents here the paßt week.
He has been in Oklahoma for
some time erecting bridges for his
company.