TOBACCO GROWING

IN THE

CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY.

by

Leslie R. Smith

V

1
STATE BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE.

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CIRCULAR No. 51

August, 1915.

TOBACCO GROWING

IN THE

CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY.

Leslie R. Smith.

From the Sixty-third Annual Report op the Massachusetts State Board of
Agriculture.

BOSTON:

WEIGHT & POTTER FEINTING CO., STATE PRINTEES,

32 DEENE STREET.

1915.

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE
INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB-
JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS
POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION
DESK.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

According to the latest census reports the Connecticut river towns in
Massachusetts produce about a miUion and a half dollars worth of tobacco
annually. As the last definite enumeration was the Federal Census of
1910, which reported the 1909 crop, these figures are now six years old.
The increase since that year has been steady, and it is safe to say that
the annual value of the crop in this State at present is not far from
$2,000,000.

The tobacco towns of Massachusetts are entirely in Franklin, Hamp-
shire and Hampden counties. By the latest available figures Hatfield is
the banner tobacco town of the State, with a production valued at $301,-
204; Hadley, second, $192,258; and then come Agawam, Whately, Deer-
field, Southwick, Westfield and Sunderland in the order named. Hatfield
alone has 17 tobacco storehouses, and 425 freight cars are needed to ship
the tobacco crop from this one town.

3^7^^S

TOBACCO GROWING IN THE CONNECTICUT
EIVER VALLEY.

LESLIE R. SMITH, HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Tobacco has been grown in the Connecticut valley since
about 1840, and while the crop has had its ups and downs it
may be said to have steadily increased in acreage since that
time. The past fifteen years have seen by far the greatest
percentage of increase, and the end is not yet. Every grower
is growing all the tobacco that he can hang in his curing sheds,
and so new sheds are the very best indication of an increase in
acreage. The increase of 1915 over the 1914 acreage was
around 25 per cent. This crop is by far the most important
money crop grown in this section, and represents extensive
and intensive agriculture of the highest order.

The rapid increase of the past fifteen or twenty years may be
explained by improved machinery, more abundant help, and,
most important of all, the fact that in recent years the crop
has brought prices that enable the grower to make expenses
and have something left over for his labor and as a profit for
his operations.

The successful tobacco grower is a specialist, as no crop
grown calls for more scientific knowledge or the application of
more common sense. In the growing, harvesting and curing
of the crop the grower has to know something of practical
chemistry, physics and biology.

But after all is said and done, the weather is the dominant
factor. The history of the good or poor tobacco crop tells the
story of the weather, — as in 1893 when the crop was largely
a failure on account of drought, and in 1897 again a failure on
account of excessive rain. Late frosts in the spring, early frost
in the fall, the hail and windstorms, periods of excessive mois-
ture or too dry weather at curing time, all show how the grower

must depend upon nature for his ultimate success. Indeed
from the time the seed bed is sown until the end of the season
the only time that the grower is sure of his success is when he
gets the money for his crop. Yet he is optimistic; he "nur-
tures hope," he raises his crop, doing all he knows how, and if
appearances count for anything he is getting along perhaps as
well or better than the average business man.

There is no ironclad rule to be laid down for raising tobacco.
The best growers often change their methods and are constantly
on the lookout to learn of new ideas that will prove beneficial,
so that the story of tobacco growing as told in this article will
not attempt to tell of any best way, but will describe the
methods as practiced by the most progressive growers.

The Seed Bed.

Tobacco is raised on the same land year after year. Most
growers plow or harrow the land immediately after the harvest,
thus avoiding a useless second crop of suckers that grow from
the stump and remove a good deal of plant food from the soil.
Many believe that if the field is kept fallow during the late fall
and winter it will not attract the moth that lays the egg of
the cutworm, a pest that is the cause of much trouble. The
land is left fallow until the next year's crop is set out. This
period is a convenient one in which to apply lime.

Each year finds the grower paying more and more attention
to the seed bed, there being perhaps no one thing that gives
him as much satisfaction in the spring as a good bed. Opera-
tions begin in the fall, the grower selecting a place for his bed
sheltered from the cold north and west winds. Sometimes it
may be necessary to build a board fence for this purpose. Many
apply the fertilizer at this time and harrow it in. This is con-
sidered the better way if cottonseed meal is used, and some
of the best growers say that there is nothing better. In the
spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to work the beds
are "made." This operation consists of fitting the land,
putting up a frame and sowing the seed. Beds used to be
covered with brush, but this material has been superseded by
cloth and glass, glass being by far the better. The sash are
3 by 6, 3 by 9 or 3 by 11 feet, to suit the grower. These
glass beds have enabled the grower of to-day to transplant or

"set" tobacco from three to four weeks earlier than from the
brush-covered beds of years ago. In "making" the bed the
land is made as fine as possible with harrows and rollers, and
last with a hand rake. The seed is sown by some growers
at the rate of one teaspoonful to the square rod; others sow
one tablespoonful to the square rod. After being run through
a cleaning machine to blow out the dirt and light seeds the
clean seed is usually mixed with plaster, ashes or fertilizer so
as to get an even stand. After sowing, the bed is either raked
lightly, rolled with a hand roller or simply wet down with a
hose; then the cloth or glass is put on. Some sow the seed
dry, while others sprout it first.

There are two varieties of tobacco raised in the valley, —
Havana seed and Seed Leaf or Broad Leaf. The former is by
far the most common in the Massachusetts part of the valley,
only a comparatively few raising the Broad Leaf.

After the plants are up every known method is used to force
them. The bed may be sprinkled with manure \vater, or with
water which has had ammonia added at the rate of^one tea-
spoonful to the gallon, or water with nitrate of soda dissolved
in it. Another method is to sow fertilizer before watering.
Dry ground fish is a good material for this purpose as it does
not injure the young plants and it is quickly available. Great
care should be taken of the bed, especially a glass bed. Often
a fine bed is ruined because the owner did not raise his sash on
a hot day; again, lack of air also causes "damping oft'," a
disease in which the plant decays just above ground. Steriliz-
ing the ground with live steam in the fall or spring is growing
in favor as this not only kills all fungous diseases, but the weed
seeds as well. A large square pan of galvanized iron, boards
or other material is inverted over the bed. This is pushed
down into the soil, after which live steam is turned under the
pan and held at a pressure of 80 pounds for half an hour, when
the pan is moved to a new place. An objection to the wood box
is that it becomes heavy after being soaked with steam. One
pan made of galvanized iron 6 by 12 feet cost a grower $22.
This grower claims that his beds were steamed at a cost of
about SI per square rod. He grows about 30 acres and
started to steam his beds in the fall, but was compelled to
give up the operation on account of freezing and finish in the

8

spring. This grower advocates steaming in the fall, as fuel
is saved by the ground not being cold, and there is no frost
to thaw out. Many growers claim that this steaming will pay
for itself simply in the saving of weeds.

Fertilizing the Crop.

INIaterials used to fertilize the crop are barnyard manure,
city stable manure, tobacco stalks, tobacco stems and com-
mercial fertilizers of many kinds. Barnyard manure is not
extensively used because it is not to be had. However, if used
it should be plowed under either in the fall or spring. A great
deal of city stable manure is bought. Tobacco stems are used
to some extent, but the quantity is limited. Quite a number of
growers are plowing under their tobacco stalks which have
been found to contain from 6 to 8 per cent, potash. At a to-
bacco meeting held during the winter of 1915 one of the
speakers asked how many growers present plowed under their
stalks, and about one-half of those present replied in the
affirmative. This well illustrates the attitude of the grower.

The bulk of the valley crop is raised on chemical fertilizer,
and nearly every fertilizer company makes one or more special
brands for this crop. Neither all the good nor all the poor
tobacco is raised on one particular brand. Years of experience
have taught the grower to be particular about the goods he
uses. The materials must be quickly available as the crop must
ripen in from sixty to eighty days from setting. The fertilizer
also has considerable effect on those desirable qualities known
as "body," "finish" and "burn." Cottonseed meal is the
favorite source of nitrogen. Other ammoniates used are linseed
meal, dry ground fish and castor pomace. Bone of some sort
is well liked as the source of phosphoric acid, and sulphate
is the favorite potash, muriate being tabooed on account of
the chlorine contents which affect the "burn."

^Yith a coat of manure 1 ton of fertilizer per acre will raise
a good crop, but where manure is not available 1^ to 2 tons of
the high-grade goods are often used, the idea being to have
enough plant food to insure a good growth. After the land is
plowed, harrowed and rolled the fertilizer is applied broadcast.
For this operation the fertilizer machine is invaluable, es-
pecially in windy weather. No time or expense should be

spared in properly fitting the tobacco land, filling in furrows,
if there are any, and using the most efficient tools to pulverize
and level the land.

Setting.
Transplanting or setting the plants generally begins about
the 20th of May, and is the order of the day until the crop is
well started, usually a month l^ter. Setting is almost wholly
done with a machine called the tobacco setter, and this is by
far the most valuable machine used in the business. The old
back-breaking method of hand setting has almost entirely dis-
appeared from the valley. The setter needs plants that are a
little larger than for hand setting, but does the ridging, setting,
watering and marking for the next row at one operation. This
machine requires three men and a pair of horses, and can easily
set two acres in an afternoon, while in an all-day session three
to five acres can be set, depending on conditions. Tobacco is
usually set with the rows 3 feet apart, and the plants from 15
to 20 inches apart in the tow. Plants that do not live should be
reset at once by hand if an even stand is to be had.

Cultivation.
As soon as the plants have started cultivation begins. A
favorite tool for the first time is a 12-tooth cultivator, which
by careful handling will allow the operator to work close to the
row, the machine being run twice in each row. If deep cul-
tivation is to be practiced, the early part of the season is the
time to do it, before the root system has developed. Hand
hoeing is next in order, and from now on as long as a horse
can travel between the rows the land should be stirred once a
week or even oftener. Some growers hoe by hand three or
four times in a season, while others use the horse hoe. INIany
different methods are used, but the principle is the same,
namely, to keep the soil well stirred so as to retain moisture
and to keep the plant growing all the time.

Topping and Suckering.
When the plant has grown large enough for the seed bud to
appear, the top is broken off, or the plant is "topped," the
idea being to throw the strength that would naturally go into

10

the small top leaves, blossom and seed into the larger leaves
left on the stalk. These are usually from 18 to 22 in number.
After the field is topped it presents a very even appearance.
In a week or ten days after "topping" suckers will appear,
starting from the base of the three or four top leaves. These
are picked off, or the plant is "top suckered." After these top
suckers are taken off the leaves further down the stalk will
begin to throw out suckers, and these in turn must be picked
off. Usually when the bottom suckers are grown or are big
enough to take off the plant will be nearly or quite ripe and
ready to harvest. This will be about three weeks from "top-
ping." The crop should be allowed to get ripe, a condition
which is shown by the plant having a slightly wilted appear-
ance, especially on the bottom leaves. Light green blotches will
also show all over the top leaves. There can be no doubt that
some crops are cut too green, the result being a dark-colored
crop that wdll not bring the best prices.

Harvesting.
There are three methods of harvesting in vogue in the
valley to-day. The first two to be described have been in
practice for years; the third is a new method that is gaining
in favor each year. The first is "hanging on lath." The
plants are cut close to the ground with a thin-bladed hatchet
made for the purpose. They are then laid down lengthwise
of the row and overlapping each other; after lying in the sun
long enough to wilt they are picked up and handed to the
"stringer" who strings them on a lath. These laths are sim-
ilar to builders' laths, being sawed a little thicker and from
better lumber. One end is placed in a "stringing horse" and
the other end is fitted to a steel needle. The plant is then
strung on the lath by forcing the needle through the butt of
the stalk about 6 or 8 inches from the end, 5 or 6 plants
being strung on a lath. The full lath is either laid on the ground
and later picked up, or handed directly to a wagon fitted with
a rack made for the purpose. It is then drawn to the curing
shed and hung on poles, arranged so that each end of the lath
rests on a pole, allowing the tobacco to hang downward. Poles
are usually 15 feet long and from 25 to 30 laths are hung on a

11

pole. They begin at the top of the shed and are hung tier
after tier until the shed is full, the tiers being usually 5 feet
high.

"Hanging on string" is another well-known method of har-
vesting, and many growers favor it above all others. The
plants are cut as before, only they are laid crossways of the
row, and after being allowed to wilt are loaded directly onto
low wagons, the butts laid all one way. The plants are then
drawn into the shed where they are hung on poles with tobacco
twine. The hanger carries a bag on his back which holds a
ball of twine. With this he hangs the plants about 8 inches
apart on the poles by tying a half hitch around each plant.
When the pole is full the twine is tied around the last plant,
broken off and the next pole started.

Priming.
This new method of harvesting tobacco came with the shade-
grown tobacco, and has found favor among many growers who
grow the outside or sun-grow^n tobacco. The barn has to be
rigged differently, with the tiers only half as far apart as either
of the methods previously described. The plant is not cut, but
the leaves are picked off or "primed," as they ripen, four or
five at a time, beginning with the bottom one. The pickers sit
down between the two rows and "prime" both rows, placing the
leaves in little piles. These are picked up by another man and
placed in baskets and are drawn to the end of the row on a
hand truck, loaded onto a wagon, and taken to the shed where
the leaves are strung. Generally women and children do this
work, using large needles and stringing forty leaves on a string,
which has been knotted at one end. After the leaves are all
on, the stringer knots the other end of the string and hangs it
on a lath which has been notched at either end. These laths
are then hung up tier upon tier as aforesaid. In a few days
the second priming is taken and so on until the crop is har-
vested. Cases have been known where the first priming has
become cured and taken down before the last priming was
taken, thus giving a chance to use the shed a second time in
the same season. When the crop is to be primed it is not
necessary to top the plant. After the priming is finished the

12

stalks are cut down and utilized in different ways; some growers
run them through a cutting machine and plow them under or
use them for top-dressing grass.

Curing.

The curing shed is really the factor limiting the increase of
tobacco acreage. It is useless for the grower to set more plants
than he has shed room to take care of. To hang an acre of
tobacco requires a shed 30 by 30 feet. A building this size will
cost from $300 up, depending upon whether it is of frame or
of pole construction. The pole shed is built by setting the
posts in the ground and is not framed, the braces being nailed
on. This type of shed is by far the most common. The frame
shed is built so that every third board is a door for ventilating
purposes.

With the crop in the barn the grower has to watch it closely,
opening the ventilating doors on some days and closing them on
others; at all times there should be a man near at hand to note
the changes in the weather and to act accordingly. With tons
of water in the crop which must evaporate in a few weeks this
is an anxious time for the grower. Too much moisture will
retard evaporation; then, too, there is danger of "pole sweat,"
while a dry season with the doors open all the time will dry
and not cure the crop.

Taking Down.
With the crop cured the next step is to take it down. The
tobacco has now changed from a heavy green leaf to a light
thin brown, and is so dry that it will crumble if grasped by
the hand. To get the crop down whole, therefore, it has to be
handled at a damp time, when the leaf is said to be in "case"
or, more commonly, "in good shape." "As soft as a kid
glove" is an expression often used in describing this condition.
When this warm, damp spell comes, no matter if in the middle
of the night or on Sunday, the grower gets very busy with all
the help he can command and takes down all he can handle.
With the lath method the laths are simply slipped off the pole,
and with a man on each tier are handed very carefully and
quickly to the floor. There the tobacco is pulled off the lath
and piled with the butts laid both ways, making a pile about

13

6 feet wide and as high as the weather will allow. Early in the
fall the pile cannot be made as high* as later, because the stalks
are green and there is more danger of the pile heating.

When hung on string a man at each end of the pole pushes
the tobacco into a bunch in the middle of the pole. One man
with a sharp knife then cuts the string, the other man handing
the bundle to the man lower down, when it is piled as before.
With the primed tobacco it is simply slipped off the string and
placed at once into a bundle. After the pile is made it must
be at once covered so as to retain the moisture. Different
materials are used for this purpose, such as damp cornstalks,
paper, cloth, etc. From now on the crop must be kept damp,
and the shed should be shut as tight as possible to keep out
the wind.

Stripping.

As soon as possible after the tobacco is taken down "strip-
ping" begins. With the hands on either side of the pile a
section is uncovered, each plant is taken up, and the leaves
rapidly picked off or "stripped" one at a time. The stripper
begins at the butt, and when finished piles the stumps behind
him. The leaves are placed in the stripping boxes which are
of different sizes, 36 inches long and 12 inches square being
about the average. The box is made with three sides and the
ends tight, with saw calves on the side for the string. First
the string is placed in the box, then paper of the right size.
After the box is full the paper is brought over the top, the string
is tied and the bundle taken out of the box. The bundles are
piled up from three to five high and the crop is then ready for
delivery. The grower has to deliver the crop to the place
agreed upon at time of sale, either to a warehouse or a railroad
station. Some of the crops are bought in the field before they
are harvested, but the majority of the tobacco is sold, and
nearly all is delivered to the sorting shops in the bundle. The
sorting, packing and sweating is done by the dealer in most
cases, and there are the best of reasons for this, as from twenty
to thirty varieties are made from the crop and one single
grower would have only a little of each variety.

The sorting shop of to-day is a good example of specializing.
Here the dealer will grade and pack to suit his trade, making
light, medium and dark wrappers, with three to five sizes of

14

each; binders, top leaves and fillers, with different sizes of
each. These different grades are packed into boxes 2| feet
square and of dift'erent lengths. From 300 to 375 pounds are
packed and pressed into a case, which usually goes directly
to the sweatroom. This sweating process used to be done in
nature's good time, and was accomplished during the hot
summer months, the tobacco being dry and ready for market
in the fall. Now, however, the crop is forced to sweat by
placing it in a steam-heated" room with the thermometer at
130 degrees. In about thirty days the operation is complete,
and the goods are ready for market. The sorting shops employ
a great deal of help during the winter and pay good wages.
They usually open about November 1 and run well into April,
closing in time to let their men out for outdoor work.

Shade-grow^n Tobacco.

This article would not be complete without describing in a
measure the latest thing in growing tobacco in the valley. To
get a cigar wrapper that would possess the qualities of the
domestic leaf and yet be thin enough to compete with the goods
grown in the tropics the experiment of growing tobacco under
shade was tried first in 1900. To-day this process seems to
have passed the experimental stage and has evidently come to
stay. jNIany growers are growing from 20 to 50 acres under
cloth, while the larger corporations are growing from 100 to
300 acres.

The entire field is set with posts with wire strung across the
top. This framework is then covered with cheesecloth, making
a vast tent. The plants are set as before described, then the
sides are covered so that the cloth reaches to the ground. This
tent tobacco is not topped,.*and often the blossoms will reach
the cloth 9 feet from the ground. The tobacco is cultivated
by the same methods as outside tobacco, and is harvested by
the priming method.

Enemies.

The first real trouble with tobacco is the fungus in the seed
bed, and the steaming process already described is the remedy,
in the opinion of many growers.

15

Cutworm.
Immediately after the plants are set the cutworm begins to
operate and is at times a serious enemy, not only causing a
lot of resetting, but, what is worse, causing an uneven crop of
tobacco that will not ripe evenly. A good remedy is a poisoned
mash made by mixing a pound of Paris green with a hundred
pounds of bran; this should be sweetened lightly with cheap
molasses, using water enough to make a stiff paste, and a
very little should be dropped beside each plant. This may be
done by hand at no great trouble or expense, or by a machine
made for the purpose and attached to the setter. Another way
is to mix 1 pound of Paris green with 50 pounds of red dog
flour, sifting a little on each plant. This is done with a home-
made sifter and is not an expensive operation.

Wireicorms.

Sometimes, and especially in a cold, wet season the wire-
worm causes considerable trouble for the tobacco growers.
While the plant is small the worm will bore directly into the
heart of the stalk, and the plant will have the appearance of
being alive, yet w^ill be dying all the time. The only remedy
is late plowing which not only kills the worm but will destroy
many of its egg cells.

Horn Worm.

Early in July there will appear on the tobacco plant a small
green worm hatched from an egg about the size of the head of
a pin. This egg is laid by a moth that flies only at nightfall.
The worm will grow as large as a man's finger, and as it grows
will eat more and more ravenously. One worm will often spoil
two or three plants. Hand picking is the only remedy prac-
ticed in the valley.

GrasshoyXier .

The ordinary grasshopper will cause trouble occasionally,
especially if the field is next to a grass lot. After the grass is
cut, if the weather is dry and the rowen crop does not readily
start, the hopper will eat the leaves of the plant next to the
grass full of little round holes. Some growers protect their
field by planting two or three rows of corn between the tobacco
and the srass.

16

Hail and Wind.
The elements mean real trouble for the grower, as hail and
wind may quickly ruin his crop. Insurance is possible at a
cost of $7.50 per acre. A policy of $150 per acre for a total
loss will about pay for the cost of the crop.

Early Frost.

The remedy for this is to have the crop under cover before
the frost comes.

Pole Siveat.

Pole sweat is caused by a spell of damp, warm weather during
curing time, when the atmosphere is so damp that evaporation
cannot take place. It may be controlled by the use of char-
coal fires built in the shed, either in holes dug in the dirt floor
or in small furnaces made for the purpose.

These are a few of the troubles that keep the tobacco grower
guessing the whole season long. Other problems will only be
settled as time brings the answer. One question that is causing
much discussion is the supply of humus. Without manure
there is a danger of the soil being without vegetable humus, and
as a result it packs down too hard and does not retain moisture
as it should. Some growers are using a cover crop, sown as
soon as the tobacco crop is harvested and plowed under early
in the spring. This plan is being tried out more and more, the
claim being made that not only does the cover crop supply a
certain amount of humus, but that it also keeps the soil from
washing and blowing during the late fall and winter months.
Barley, vetch and rye are the crops usually sown.

Just a few last words on the subject of "handling." The
idea of tobacco growing is to make money. In order to get the
best price for his goods the grower must raise good tobacco.
He must handle it right after he has raised it. Many a crop
is spoiled in harvesting. The leaves should be kept free from
holes, sunburn, bruises, etc., all of which can be avoided by
proper handling. The grower is mistaken when he thinks he
can save money by using boy or cheap help, as a slovenly,
careless man may easily spoil more tobacco in a day than he
is worth. The dealer will many times buy tobacco before it is

17

harvested if he knows that the grower is a good handler and
that he will put up his crop right. Another grower gets the
name of being a "hog handler," as it is called. Dealers say
that he handles his tobacco just as he does his cornstalks; thus,
as in other things, it is true of tobacco raising that "whatever
is worth doing at all is worth doing well."

Estimate of Cost of raising One Acre of Tobacco.

Rent of land (including use of shed), $50

Labor (including raising plants), 70

Fertilizer, 50 to $80

If bed is steamed, 2

Paper and twine, 2

S174 to $204

Estimate of yield for past five years, 1,500 pounds

Estimate of price for past five years, 15 cents

This is the average, but it is true that many growers get from
1,700 to 2,000 per acre and from 15 to 20 cents per pound.

Cost of Shade-grown Tobacco.
According to the figures obtainable it costs around 45 cents
per pound to raise shade-grown, and it has been sold at 90
cents per pound. The yield per acre has been around 1,400
pounds.

I