Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. r i ie Issued August 5, 1°07, Bo WE PAnREMENT OF AGRICULTURE BUREAU OF SOILS—BULLETIN No. 46. MILTON WHITNEY, Chief. IN COOPERATION WITH THE VIRGINIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, ANDREW M. SOULE, Director. IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. Jaye GEORGE T. McNESS anp E. H. MATHEWSON, Of the Bureau of Soils, AND B. G. ANDERSON, Of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station. ees te rae Ar 2 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 190%. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. U. 8S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF SOILS, Washington, D. C., May 16, 1907. Str: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of a report covering demonstration work carried on in cooperation with the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station in an effort to improve the methods used in growing tobacco in the dark fire-cured tobacco dis- tricts of Virginia. This work covers a period of three years, and the report, entitled Improvement of Virginia Fire-Cured Tobacco, by George T. McNess and E. H. Mathewson, of the Bureau of Soils, and B. G. Anderson, of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, embodies results and suggestions of much practical benefit to the growers. In accordance with your suggestion, the report has been gone over carefully with Assistant Secretary Hays, who authorizes me to state that he concurs in my recommendation for its publication. Respectfully, 3 Mitton WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau. Hon. JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture. COA EEREES. Parr I. GENERAL DIscussron. HEAL OORT GIG Met eer oe ee Se WE ane ees gare Wt dae Sie hk ae eee ltteers eet lee ears a, So np ee Pen Sie le © Oe a, VIS ere eee NS Parr II. Demonstration WorkK Ar APPOMATTOX. EL cEMesuil etn y CUNO! J 24: oe se yes es oe A Se ee Coshol production and receipts from sales: 224.6) 22 5 5 De oe RE ASORIN Gib Clay ecto ete ar Wma rany Gree) ON oh en ea Ai Nes Choy ens Bora ye 7 STSSUSOIC: CLEANS) (Gis Sy ES Se oath Se Mean Py ee ns AACA Mad a ee gE Ree A kok Part JIT. Merxops or CuLrTivaTING, CURING, AND HANDLING. SURG DCT a 2s 5d cian Sa esha er a it ys 7 Maat lef aN i ei, pa rs CO I ate pete Lie COUR Con CLC. eee eer e ees ey Pea od ees Pe Desist eaten JOLIN Hern es Rene St es SSS tates: Oat ewan secede aad: MiPricdamtera yin certian 2 2) Che Oe So Po he te elect eS EERE CEDURES Sowa kk) pe Me Be Bo ce ee ie Ce Bae rie td ee EGE EC OEE o pc e te 8 Sky once Naas es ee eee ew awe ease ewe Rite IPE I fe ete Re RNR eRe ye ee cone oe Boe wk eae Cn Hea eam eT a ese ee ey! Sok RSS ee eS ee eee See SIPS BS TES DS aa RR a ee es ee ed, Ue ee ye ne ee ee Dini ee aeaty haa eae eh oe See ei Pb eee a Se oe is SS Sisal ay vane Yon: wave Bez Soto) a 0 aia ee ea ea Li REE, 5G UE EE eae er SHEL Vn a aa 28 SR Ne a ES = ene eA ne Se Se one SU SEESER TET eh FS gia aces MAE | UMS 2 litical eg ee I bo bo bo bo bt bo COON SO He eo) LEL GS Rea Ons: PLATES. Page Puate I. Dark fire-cured tobacco fertilized with Formula No. 1...--..---: 16 II. Dark fire-cured tobacco fertilized with Formula No. 2.......---- 16 III. Dark fire-cured tobacco fertilized with Formula No. 3...--..---- 24 PV. Plowme under wheat and=subsoilime..2)- 2 =... 24 V.. Method of -harvesting dark tobaccoss-9)- 2. ee ee 32 | Vil. Scattoldine and: hauling dark tobacco: -2- =e 32 | TEXT FIGURES. Fie. 1) Cultivator used in the Appomattox felds=s5"s5ss222522 see ol 2..Curing barn for dark fire-cured tobaceos:s=2 252 225ces2 = se ta) | ‘A | IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. PART I. GENERAL DISCUSSION. INTRODUCTION. Virginia may justly be called the parent of the tobacco industry in this country, for the culture of tobacco was the principal occupation of the early colonists. Tobacco was first grown by the settlers in the historic town of Jamestown, in James City County, and the first exportation was made in 1612 by John Rolfe. At that time all of the tobacco, except what was used by the colonists, was exported to Europe, principally to England, that being the only market; and as the price was uniform, whether for sale or for a circulating medium, it was necessary to institute an inspection to compel uniformity of grades. The original standard of the type was what is now termed the dark export type, and for a long series of years the laws regulating pro- duction, especially those passed by the colonial assembly of Virginia, requiring all of the product that failed to come up to the legal exactions as to quality and soundness to be destroyed, were rigidly executed. As the popuiation of the colony increased new lands were cleared and the culture of tobacco spread rapidly, the tobacco field in a great many instances taking precedence over other crops; so much so that the sub- sistence of the colonists was seriously threatened. Laws were passed by the colonial legislature of Virginia that every person planting 1 acre of tobacco should also plant 2 acres of corn. Commercial fer- tilizers were not known at that time and, owing to the abundance of land, intensive farming was not practiced. The tobacco was planted on freshly cleared ground, and this soil, owing to its virgin fertility, always produced a tobacco of fine quality. Thus extensive areas in Virginia were early denuded of forest growth. The principal method of harvesting tobacco was to pull the leaves from the stalk as they ripened and to hang them on cords to be cured in the sun and air. In later years it became the custom to split the stalk and hang the plant astride a stick, as is now generally practiced, Although the early planters for the most part cured their tobacco in i 8 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. the sun and air, it was found that the tobacco kept better when the curing was conducted with the addition of small fires. At first small smothered fires of bark and rotten wood were used, but from year to year the amount of fire.was increased until fires of sufficient heating capacity were built to dry the tobacco out in about three days. After the war of 1812 the demand for colored tobacco for export caused a change in the process of curing. After being cut and hung upon sticks the tobacco was either placed upon scaffolds in the sun to yellow and then housed, or it remained several days in the barn with- out fire until it had yellowed sufficiently to receive the heat without curing dark. A great many of the growers learned to cure a beautiful piebald, which commanded a high price in Richmond. Open wood fires constituted the only mode of curing by artificial heat until about the year 1828, when flues were first used in Virginia. There are five distinct qualities of tobacco produced in Virginia— dark shipping; red and colored shipping; sun and air cured fillers; bright yellow wrappers, smokers, and fillers; and mahogany flue-cured manufacturing. These are severally characterized by peculiarities of color, quality, body, and flavor, the result of soil influence modified by curing and management. It is of the dark shipping type raised south of the James River and east of the Blue Ridge that this publication treats. The dark shipping tobacco is generally grown on rich land and cured with open fires. England, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, and Italy take the bulk of this tobacco, although the high grades are used in this country for plug wrappers. Petersburg and Lynchburg are the most important markets for thistype. In the vicinity of Petersburg the soil is mostly gray in color, becoming more red and containing a larger percentage of clay as the Blue Ridge is approached. The gray soil in the eastern end of the ‘‘ dark belt” produces a coarser but thinner leaf than the red-clay lands and it is used to a considerable extent in domestic manufacture, but it is also used to supply a part of the varied export demands. ‘The tobacco grown on the heavier soils is darker in color finer in texture and fiber, and of better body. This is used for both domestic manufacture and export, and from this section of the dark belt the finest grades of black wrappers are obtained, besides which a considerable proportion of the crop is especially adapted for the Austrian market. Notwithstanding the great strides made in agricultural science during the past quarter of a century, the methods of cultivation, fertilization, and crop rotation now in use in the dark belt are essentially the same as they were a century ago. Why is it that other tobacco sections of the country have improved their methods of culture and fertilization, producing larger yields at less expense, even on soils less productive than the clay soils of the Piedmont region? This question has been CLIMATE. 9 studied by the Bureau of Soils for the last three years, and it is believed from these investigations that there is an opportunity for the tobacco farmers of this district to make larger profits from their tobacco crops by using improved methods of culture and fertilization. During the year 1904 the Bureau of Soils began work in Appomattox County, which after the first year was conducted in cooperation with the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, arrangements being made with Prof. Andrew M. Soule, director of the station, whereby the investigations could be extended to the mutual advantage of both the Bureau of Soils and the State of Virginia. CLIMATE. In climate Appomattox County is typical of the Piedmont region of Virginia. The climate is favorable to the growing of wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, fruit, and vegetables and to the raising of stock. The normal precipitation is about 43 inches. The precipitation is uniformly dis- tributed throughout the year, but during the growing season crops sometimes suffer because of periods of drought. The altitude of the area is not quite sufficient for the best results in apple and peach grow- ing, on account of the late frosts in the spring. On the higher points end on the small elevations away from the streams the best results are obtained. The trouble with the lower elevations is that the cold air settles in them and frosts are more likely to do damage when the trees are in bloom. ‘There are no extensive areas in the county which are high enough to be above the ‘‘ frost line.” The following tables show the normal monthly and annual tempera- ture and precipitation at Lynchburg and Farmville, which are. the Weather Bureau stations nearest to the location of the tobacco fields, for the years 1904, 1905, and 1906, during which the experiments were conducted: Mean monthly and annual temperature for three years at Lynchburg and Farmville. 1904. | 1905. | 1906. Month. i q ; ae | | Ene Lynch- : or Lynch- ; Sea Lynch- | y, Ta burg. Farmyille. burg. Farmyille. | burg. | Farmyille, Taint 2 es Dar GAM! tee. g | 32,2 35.2 | 42.0 | 10.0 HIE) Oy (1 ch ee ee 33.0 31.0 | 30.1 29.9 | 38. 4 | 30. 4 1S ap et ale ae 46.6 48.8 48.8 48.3 | 41.2 | 39. 4 AX[Sia Sak Cee Ree ane ae 52.1 52.8 56.8 Bis) | 5850:))| st oper Ee Gee Gee aaa eS 65n2 65. 6 67.9 67.6 65. 2 65, 2 Js Bie eee HET. 74.2 74.3 75.4 74.6 74.8 SM ee retrnetc. Cratdis su) se widlac's « 75.5 78.0 76.2 79.0 | 75. ¢ 76.1 LTE TES hs Cccciont Dae Gee Oe e ee 74.4 74.6 74, 2 74.7 | C100) ae an omen ae me Bentembens so. 2s-ct---sa10 63.9 67.0 GONO lee eee 72.5 | 71.9 WGTOMET AN ees Pee mee: ie Oil ise eee cad BG Sil etree eee 55. 4 | 06. 4 UN OWOUUD ERs oe oi we wise 8 ste 44.6 43.4 46 45.6 BGS fy il secee ee Be oe IDEGEMIerer ence Ses. n ccleae os 35.0 33.8 | 39.1 36.0 AQNOM oscee ono fare MGR CBS ero rnISe Soe ser STS eee = eee DOO IL: Pree eee DADE Soon tse eg 2417—No. 46—07 Z 10 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA - FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. Monthly and annual precipitation for three years at Lynchburg and Farmville. | 1904. 1905. | 1906. Month. g | Lynch “s Lynch e | Lynch- é ios Farmville. burg Farmville. | burg. | Farmyille. JANUALY 252-20 ce eee iE Vk Boeeeer eas 3.11 2.44 | 4.08 2.57 MebrTuary esas S25 eee acess 1.91 2. 80 2:47 1.70 | 1.14 . 85 Var C hee ey ee Deal, 3.10 2.21 | 1.68 | AC OST ee me eee oA rile = Se ooh eee en a ee .97 1.20 2.33 | 2.34 | 2.47 | ibs: Vay ee es he ee ee Se 2.76 4.90 6.11 Sh (ike 3.18 2.86 SAINI Bete oe kee eee ea es 5.49 4.24 AOD 2). 8a eee Solel hee ee Parkyee re Soe Ne ee ees 3.74 3.14 | 6. 86 1.75 | ACTOS rene oe oe ATID US eee ee ee ae] 2.70 6.21 2.15 | 4.84 10. 69 Septembers-h2 24. s-c eee dA Talisc cscs ose peg 5 | Se ae Pe 2.34 . 90 OCGLODEr Rho eee ee eee C4QINS eS ase 2 AG 0 ie ee Mcelty 7.98 NOVEMDCL eek eet eee ee oes . 98 3. 83 .45 48 | 297 . 80 December ewes eee ee 2.81 1. 60 G5328 esa se eee De Q2e| oeee ace nee WiGalr her ee ete 263i 1s 2-6 Seer ee 45500 Foose Gael 49.63" |Steoeee ee Se The data given in the above tables partly represent the conditions as regards the temperature and rainfall during the period the work was in progress. The following table shows the precipitation during the growing sea- son of 1904, 1905, and 1906 upon the fields at Appomattox. It will be noticed that during July and August of 1905 and 1906 the rainfall was excessive, so much so that it caused the tobacco to speck, which caused a deterioration in the quality of the leaf. Precipitation during growing season at Appomattox, Va. Month. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. JNM Cae See ae ee ws Sete ee ee Oa a ee ee ec 2.48 2.20 4.98 adie et SS ce Se ett See eS ee ee ee eee 3. 00 6.05 2.68 PARAS US ie sere eee ae eee erase es Se eee ts aan beige e See Seeman eee ee 3.24 | 4.98 | 7.34 Seplembenrsee- essere cr Soke oe tLe aa eee: Cone eee eee eee eee ener 3.30 | 2.86 22 RO talWesee hoe ae i oe Sees aie Se Saloni Be eee ee eee 12.02 | 16.09 17.52 The weather conditions during the season of 1904 were, perhaps, about the average. June and July were droughty, while during August and September enough rain fell to keep the crops in good growing condition. In the growing season of 1905 June was a dry month, and, while the rainfall of 6 inches during July was favorable for the growth of the tobacco, less rainfall in August would have been more desirable. The season, on the whole, was more favorable for plant growth than that of the preceding year. In August of 1906 the climatic conditions were extremely unfavorable. A great number of cloudy days occurred during this month. This condition, together with the 7 inches of rain which fell during the month, caused consider- able damage to the growing tobacco throughout the county. SOILS—CECIL CLAY. i fe § SOILS. Appomattox, the county seat of Appomattox County, is located 23 miles east of Lynchburg, on the Piedmont Plateau, in that geo- graphical division of the State known as Middle Virginia. As viewed from the near-by mountains to the northward, it has the general appearance of an eroded plain, but in traveling across the county its surface is seen to be greatly eroded, hilly, and cut by the channels of many streams. The county is drained on the north by the James River and on the south by tributaries of the Staunton River. The divide between these two rivers is a ridge crossing the county from Concord to Pamplin City. The greater portion of the county is under- lain by talcose and mica schists. The soil derived from the schists is principally the Cecil sandy loam, with occasional patches of Cecil clay, these two soils being the best adapted for the culture of heavy tobacco. Ninety-two per cent of the county is composed of these two soils. It is upon the Cecil clay soil that the cooperative experiments between the Bureau of Soils and the Virginia Experiment Station have been conducted. CECIL: CLAY. The surface soil of the Cecil clay is a red loam or clay loam ranging in depth from 4 to 8 inches. The subsoil is a stiff tenacious clay to a depth of 3 feet or more, with the clay content usually increasing in the lower depths. There is considerable quartz or hornblende gneiss strewn over the surface and mixed with the soil, but these rock frag- ments do not occur in sufficient quantities to interfere seriously with cultivation. The Cecil clay in the present area occurs principally upon the slopes adjoining the larger streams, but it is also found upon the divide. Owing to its location it is rolling and in places rather hilly and broken, and for these reasons possesses good natural drainage. Unless the soil is kept in a good condition for retaining moisture, by deep plowing and by incorporating with it an abundance of organic matter, it is apt to be droughty. The brownish red loamy phase of this soil, locally known as ‘‘ push land,” is the loamy surface material washed from the higher elevations and consequently is deeper and more loamy than the typical Cecil clay. This type of soil is regarded as the best for general farming and is especially adapted to the cultivation of heavy export tobacco, and to the production of an excellent quality of plug wrapper tobacco, which is used for domestic manufacture. The yields range from 500 to 1,000 pounds to the acre, although in the cooperative experiments a yield of 1,500 pounds to the acre has been obtained, under better methods of fertilization and cultivation. The average yield obtained by the farmer is about 700 pounds to the acre. Tobacco is followed by wheat with a 12 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. yield of 12 bushels to the acre. Wheat is followed by clover, and when a good stand is obtained the latter crop is very beneficial to the soil. Owing to the compactness of the soil there should be grown more cover crops, such as rye and cowpeas, which when plowed under improve the physical condition of the soil. Lime is also beneficial to this type. The following table shows the texture of the soil and subsoil in the plats used in the present experiments: Mechanical analyses of Cecil clay. oO o) Yen) ‘S) a ie) lo = Sa Bae S % Ee Ss Ae Oe lie eae erase Pes) ho 2| = Bl Og hea: Sar eis Moga ewe Locality. | Description. a | Ba | asa) S| 28 | ee ioe ibes 2 Seeley | cspso pear ssl = (5S eles Be eer Sl Vee oy [eee esl allan eae als |S Sra = O = Fy Sea 3) Peete | Meena el ee om) | IES Gal leaner Ze (Ges || Jes Gis | JEX Gi Appomattox, Va ...---| Red clay loam, 0 to 8 j..-..- Zrii eh Ol | ee 5ON OSGi (aco stlanlSaeom fee 2OnG inches. Ole Slee ne ee Red clay, 8 to 36 inches....|...... Be et Pee eee} 4 SD Syl SES Experiment Farm..... Red clay loam, 0 to 7 |.-... - SE Bes PAIGE PAN a) |) OO] Sb 7 inches. DO-8 eres ast eee Red clay (subsoil)........-. [sScsac GH eS ot eels G29 ale Men Ae Bose | | | | PART II. DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX. SEASON OF 1904. Owing to the deterioration in both quality and yield per acre of the heavy fire-cured tobacco, the Bureau of Soils decided that it was adyisable to extend its investigations to include this branch of the tobacco industry. The purpose was to determine by actual field work if it were possible, by introducing more intensive methods of culture, such as are used in some other tobacco districts, to improve the quality and yield of this type of tobacco, and to make its production more profitable. In the spring of 1904 a suitable location for conducting these experiments was decided upon, land on the farm of Mr. H. C. Babcock, 33 miles northeast of Appomattox being selected. Arrange- ments were made with Mr. Babcock for the use of 5 acres of Cecil clay land for a series of years, together with the necessary curing barns, tobacco sticks, and plant-bed land. In order to test the effect of variation in soil on the quality of tobacco, two fields were selected—one of 3 acres and the other of 2 acres, the soil of the latter being a little more loamy and darker in color than that of the 3-acre field. Prior to this the 2-acre field had been cropped with tobacco and wheat in rotation for several years and it was in a state of low productiveness. The soil of the 3-acre field is locally known as ‘* mellow red land,” and is somewhat ‘‘ puffy,” though possessing medium to good depth and friability, and owing to the DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1904. iis system under which it had been farmed it was also producing small crops. The year preceding the experiment (1903) it had been planted in corn, and yielded, with the aid of a small amount of commercial fertilizer, between 10 and 15 bushels to the acre. Prior to that it had lain out as an old discarded field for a number of years, being used occasionally as a pasture. The experiment as planned was really complete on the 3-acre field. This field was divided into plats of 1 acre each, and the 2-acre field into similar plats. These latter were an exact duplication of two of the plats on the 3-acre field, except for the difference in soil. The odd plat on the 3-acre field was used as a check against the results obtained on the others. Taking into consideration the slight differ- ence in soil, this duplication of plats was also decided upon in order to lessen the chances of failure which might occur from unforeseen conditions of soil or season. Results proved that this caution was advisable. Both fields were planted to tobacco in 1904 and 1905, but only the 3-acre field was planted to tobacco in 1906, the 2-acre field being in wheat to determine the effect of the fertilizer applied to the tobacco upon the succeeding crops in the rotation. Both of the crops grown on the 2-acre field were abnormal and from the standpoint of the experiment of no real value. In 1904 great dif- ficulty was experienced in obtaining a stand of plants on this field, owing to the unexpected presence in the soil of innumerable individ- uals of a so-called ‘* wireworm” or root webworm (Crambus caligi- nosellus). In a day or two after setting out the tobacco several of these pests were found on each plant, riddling the stalk and eating out the pith, either destroying the plant at once or weakening it so it would eventually die. No remedy was found to kill the webworm, but it is believed that by keeping the soil cropped and not allowing the land to lie out and grow up in “‘stichneck,” this pest can be over- come. On June 29 this field had been completely reset for the fourth time, and as the season for the ravages of the webworm was then over a good stand of plants was at last obtained, which started off well and made excellent growth until the end of the season. As this crop was planted fully a month after the best time for planting to obtain normal growth, it was not considered of experimental value as an illustration of average results. In 1905 no trouble was experienced in ebtaining a good stand, but, owing to the position of the field, the exceptionally heavy rains of the season washed it badly. This, together with a long-continued season of warm rainy weather occurring at a time when the tobacco plants were in such a tender, succulent condition and so vulnerable to plant diseases that they began to speck, affected both the quality and yield to such an extent as to make the result of no value from the stand- point of an experiment. 14 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. The crops grown upon the 3-acre field during 1904, 1905, and 1906, with no more than the usual seasonal vicissitudes, were quite normal, and the results are a demonstration of what it is reasonable to expect one year with another under circumstances such as obtained during these seasons. In discussing the results of the work it is to be under- stood that reference is made to the 3-acre field, except when otherwise stated. | The custom in most of the dark tobacco districts of Virginia, and particularly in the Appomattox locality, has been to apply to the tobacco crops about 400 pounds of a local fertilizer analyzing about 3 per cent ammonia, 8 per cent phosphoric acid, and 3 per cent potash— as the farmer terms it, ‘*3-8-3 goods.” The total cost of producing an acre of tobacco, charging labor at the prevailing rate of 75 cents a day, has been about $50. The yield under average conditions has been about 800 pounds to the acre, and at the average price of 73 cents per pound would return to the farmer $60. Under these conditions the farmer received little more than enough to pay the cost of production, with no pay for the managing ability required, capital invested, or risk involved. The Bureau of Soils and the Virginia Experiment Station both believe that much better results are possible by the introduction of a more intensive system in methods of cultivation and fertilization. The results of the experiments which are recorded in this bulletin furnish strong proof that this belief is well founded. Owing to the rapidly changing economic conditions throughout the South, and especially owing to the increasing scarcity and advancing prices of labor, some such radical change in the conduct of the tobacco industry in Virginia seems imperative if tobacco is to retain its commanding position as a money crop in the dark districts of the State. FERTILIZATION. To secure practical results as soon as possible and to leave the testing of untried formulas to some future time, the fertilizers used in a comparative test with that in local use were such as had been proved to be suited to the production of tobacco in other work of the Bureau. On plat No. 1 of the 3-acre field 400 pounds of a standard 3-8-3 brand of fertilizer, such as is generally used by the farmers, were applied. On plat No. 2 and plat No 3 mixed formulas were applied, which gave to the acre very much larger quantities of the important ingredients and in proportions considerably changed from those in the brand of fertilizer used on plat No. 1. The cost of the* materials used in the home mixture was greater, but not when measured by the amounts of ammonia, phosphoric acid, and potash actually applied. This can be DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1904. 185) ascertained by figuring the cost per unit of these salts from the data given in the tables. The very large increase, both absolute and rela- tive, in the amount of ammonia” furnished by the mixture will at once arrest the attention. The amount of potash furnished was also much greater, but it must be remembered that the soil was in an unpro- ductive condition, having received no application of stable manure for several years; neither had leguminous crops been grown upon it for an indefinite period. On soils that have been well manured or on which repeated heavy crops of legumes have been grown, the need of heavy applications of ammoniates, in order to produce a good crop, will be greatly lessened. However, in this section of Virginia the supply of barnyard manure is limited as compared with the acreage planted, and crop rotation is not generally practiced on a very intensive plan. Tobacco is one of the high-priced crops, and usually responds readily to liberal fertilizing, and it will generally be found that with an increase in yield there will also be an improvement in the quality of the leaf and naturally a better price obtained. Thus it will be found that tobacco will pay well for the liberal use of fertilizers when low- priced crops like corn might not do so, Composition and cost of the several fertilizers used in the Appomattox fields. | Formula No. 2. | Horm | ‘ B = ieeeeNIG) z | JENSEN _(factory-|Ground| Nitrate | Bone Pines Total -mixed).| fish. | soda. | meal. aotaEh Reese | | Guaranteed analysis: AummO ae GINIES Ee See cries oaciaacieaae per cent...) 3 10 19 BD )g eee ob eg) icra acc Rhosphonmeacids(P5O;)ms---2~ 2.222255: GOs--4| 9 [alee ee | DOE rete iees Beara OLAS MUMS Oe sewen terse oe eee ae GOs. ASR SSS | ars Seen cleo eee 50) esse Quantity applied per acre........... pounds... 400 500 100 | 100 | 150 850 Equivalent quantity per acre of— | nemmomiae (INH 3) 52 oso oss ease 22552 2 dorts.| 12 50 LOG) Reesor eae ee eee 73.5 Phosphoricacid: (PsO:))- ss. 5.<=- 5c 2555 Genes | 36 Sou lee eieeneds | Do | Se eeeeee 57 RG tashis (KS ON ees. a ee cee ass eee oes TD ll eer ae Pas Senge | Aaa as 75 73 Cost per ton delivered at Appomattox...dollars.. 25.00 | 34.50 50.50 | 30.00 3085052 eee Cost of quantities used in experiment-...... doz 5.00 8. 62 2. 53 1.50 3.79 16. 44 Cost of fertilizer constituents per pound: PRTTNVH OME CNG EL a!) eeseree ooo are 5 sine ete are aie cents... 21.66 | 14.45 TSESOM aldo - eereras eeeentatets iPhosphoreracids (PsO=)\ ic... s2ee62 aos 5. doses 5. 00 45005 See ese 4. 00) |eaee ee ae eerie IPO tashs(KSO) a s-se ee eee cee ce pee dou OOPS a eee eed lS wrath Se |= 6; Obs Ears Cost of fertilizer constituents per acre: Amuaronian(GNiblis) as sa se cee = nee dollars. . 2.60 To22 BBB Cy De aes 10. 37 Phosphorie acid: (PsO:\ia--22----2---2-- qdo=y la 1280 US AQ Hae See ces A BSt| pe eee 2. 28 IROtaASI A (KS O) hence se saeecs oes cee soe OWeeoe M60 Gaaeee salecee en sae 1 eee wae 3.79 | 3.79 | \ } aThe term ‘‘ammonia’”’ is used instead of ‘‘nitrogen,’’ because it is the term in common use in Virginia and will perhaps be better understood. 16 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCU. Composition and cost of the several fertilizers used in the Appomattox fields—Continued. | | Formula No. 3. Formula . eNO sete] | | Material. (factory- Ground, Nitrate | Bone ae a Total mixed). | fish. soda. meal. potash. | Guaranteed analysis: Ammyronia (NIEHS) peaaceeeneenceeeereee per cent. - 3 | 10 | 19 2 abl ee eee Season Phosphoriciacid(R5O-) ese seeeee eee do==ss) 9 Did ater As isle oe Bes otee Potash (KoO)t sae nose ost Seneee oo See ee doze} 3a) Seer See S| eer Dal ene Quantity applied per acre.........-. pounds. - 400 | 1,200 | 150 100 250 | 1,700 Equivalent quantity per acre of— | | JNMMTMO VEY (INNS EY) Seconeanceccsssuedasdos doa 12 | 120 | 28.5 | AR Tien Been oe 153 Phosphoric acid’ ((P50F)ssc-ssn-sben eo Oosee 36 BAG rae eer | DON eae aia 106 ROtASHV (KO) sate se nee cae eee as Ae dose == 12: | Leoees leas tee eel eee sens 125 125 Cost per ton delivered at Appomattox...dollars.- 20) 00M 84000). 2 50 500Ri 2305 00Nie 50550 eens Cost of quantities used in experiment. ..--. dows 5.00 | 20.70 32/90 | ele 50 6.31 32.30 Cost of fertilizer constituents per pound: | | /Nremraayoreuley (SHS fs) Seba aaccescoseeeesoaac cents... 21.66 | 14.45 13.:305|1 S280 hiss eee eee Phosphoricacidy(R5O;) assesses asseo dott: 5. 00 400) \22 sae eee AS OOM Ses Sea seeae ae Bolashi(KeO)\essassacc seer cates seco eer doss SOOM area or. Mesa 25 lees Ol) {lSeccoace Cost of fertilizer constituents per acre: | Jimmie), (INDEIp) cass eonesocoassassaas dollars... 2.60} 17.34 | 3.79 | G25 Rae eee | 21.75 IRhosphorie acide (Es On)\sssssesseee a= = dozer 1.80 aeclGulisasoaceec Osu sane 4,24 IPOLASHE (GO) Fe teen eee eR ee ee doses: GO een oe | Werte eee G1 |== 658 The three plats were fertilized each according to the above formulas, the same treatment being given the same plat in all three years. The 1904 crop was a late one to start, owing to unfavorable weather con- ditions in the spring, but during the season made a good growth. Marked differences could be noted between the three plats—differences that could be correlated with the varying amounts of fertilizers used, as ach plat was given the same amount and kind of cultivation. HARVESTING AND CURING. Harvesting was begun in September, the first cutting of ripe plants being made on the 22d of that month and the last cutting on October 4. Weather conditions were fairly good during the curing of the first cutting and a satisfactory cure was obtained; but after the second cutting conditions were unfavorable during the entire curing process, with the result that the colors were not as clear nor as solid as could be desired. One of the difficulties with late tobacco is the failure to obtain a good cure, owing to the cool, dry weather conditions so often encountered in the fall. As is well known by those having experience in the handling of cigar types of tobacco, the fermenting process to which it is subjected, especially by the bulk method, has an important effect in completing the color changes in the leaf. Although the leaf may be uneven in color or even green before undergoing this process, after being fer- mented the tobacco is solid and even in color. This suggested trying the effect of the bulk method on the last curing, regulating the tem- perature so as to avoid drying the leaf. PLATE lI. Bul. 46, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. DARK FIRE CURED TOBACCO FERTILIZED WITH FORMULA No. 1. PLATE II. Bul. 46, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. * ig ne ee ee ae Os i de A ie aes Eto boitien ; Re or ee " = WANE. ‘ pt Pts 57, t DARK FIRE-CURED TOBACCO FERTILIZED WITH FORMULA No. 2. a DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1904. 17 A room adapted for this purpose was fitted with bulkheads and the tobacco packed in bulk.“ The room was kept at a temperature of 90° F. whenever the tobacco was being handled and a temperature of 80° F’. was maintained during the fermentation process. In fourteen days the temperature of the bulk had risen to 100° F. The tobacco was then taken down, well shaken, and rebulked. At the expiration of another ten days the temperature had again risen to 100° F. The tobacco was then taken off the bulk and assorted into the various com- mercial grades and prepared for the market. In cases where there is a large quantity of leaf to be handled there are doubtless instances where this process might be employed to good advantage, but for gen- eral practice by the farmers the Bureau and the Virginia station do not feel justified in recommending it. The practice of placing*the tobacco down in small bulks in cool rooms and allowing it to lie for some days or even weeks without the development of perceptible heat will be of some assistance In evening the colors and will often improve the gen- eral appearance of the tobacco. This practice is to be recommended if the tobacco is not put down in too high ** order,” and in any ease it should be examined frequently to see that no mold or other damage develops. e COST OF PRODUCTION AND RECEIPTS FROM SALE. Although the results from the 1904 crop were considered favorable and encouraging, it was believed that the soils on which this crop grew had not reached, with this single year of intensive methods, its maxi- mum state of productiveness. The following expense account for 1904 shows in detail the amount of time used and the expenses incurred in the various operations inci- dent to the experiment, also the cost of the fertilizer applied to the respective plats. The difference shown in the amount of time employed in some of the operations is due ina great measure to the number of plants grown on each plat. For instance, on plat No. 1, 4,500 plants were set, while on plat No. 3, 6,000 plants were set. -The prices charged for the labor and the teams emploved are at the prevailing local rates for farm help. | The following tables show a detailed account of the expenses incurred and the results obtained from the sale of the tobacco from the three plats: «For exact directions as to the method of laying a bulk, see Bulletin No. 29, Bureau of Soils. 2417—No. 46—07——3 18 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. Expenses of the 1904 crop. : Cost of labor and ma- Labor required on— ne Terie) Item. == je per 3 | Plat Plat | Plat | hour. | Plat | Plat | Plat NOs HINO 22 NOws: | No. 1. | No. 2. | No. 3. | | | | | : | Hours. | Hours.) Hours.| Cents. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Plowing, 1 horse, twice ...... aavajaiewiaversiereia cee 12 12 1 ie ees) Bsa) 2.10 FlarrOywalne; 2NOLSCS esse eee erence 2 2 2a 25 | 50 | . 50 | 50 Laying off rows, fertilizing, and bedding...) 8 8 | 8 | se] 1.40) 1.40) 1.40 Mixing and applying fertilizers............. | 33| 5 | 6 7k 26 | .38 | 45 Hertilizersdeliverediatmwanm 22 -es= sso see |e sant Seer ISoseoene |iesorial J 5525) | PGS seo sa00 Majkim oni S Waa e ee es ero. ae alert meee | 8 10 10 73\| . 60 | 1D | .7d Plants, 50 cents per 1,000 ....-.. Jesn5 sobcgced |Saasecesicocooseslesoseces | Soeccas - | 2.00) / ada2e 3.50 Setting: Ckopes neat ep een lack ae eter ae 20 25 25 | 72\. Sie SOU Pend S8a\= aele88 Cultivacin See OUT UII CSoe ee eee ae a ee 83 83 83! 173} 1.49 1.49 | 1.49 Hoeingsithinee times asec ieee etepaeapic 60 60 60 73|. 4.50 | 4.50 | 4.50 Applying anibrate Ol SOda este meee soe ola 3 3 |e ee LOR) 29 Topping, suckering, and worming......-.-.; 42 3) 64 | Wy) 38.15 4.13 | 4, 80 SS] OURAN”, THOUS HDT — Seb be cucsecoesdaouer | 6 Us 73 (| 45 | 96 96 Rarisereen ls peimd Peracre s. sees 2 isda [eee oe ell memes cee ae oeeel| eee .20 | 20 | . 20 Cuttingyand scatiolding ses -ee ce eee 25 32 37 | Ue Us eyo Qe 2. 75 Hauling to barn (4 men and 2 horses) ..---- 3 $ 4 | 50 EB Ney || 2.00 Resmlahine parma simim ee ieC ee es eee sec 20 25 3 i eeeleoO 1.87 2.25 Rakinerd Ow ME tOWACCOkes see = saa eee = 5) 7 8 Tz 38 52 . 60 Strip pingandstyim eae eee ee ee ee ceae 40 | 60 60 7z| 3.00 4.50 | 4.50 Bulking and rebulking twice ............--- 18 | 20 22 Ga) 18) 1.50 | 1.65 SOMO EAA! IMMbORE Robe ooscesoemeuceacooceaaS 61 92 115 73| 4.58 6.90 8. 63 Loading and-hauling to market.......-..---|---.--.- Jocec tees feesecee: eeeerere 2. 80 3. 60 | 5.10 Motalveost pemacrey.-.- 5. ss-sses ea |anneee ee | Sects cle sc sesaiesees see 40.89 |} 61.15 | 82.87 } Yield of tobacco and receipts from the 1904 crop, sold at Lynchburg, April 28, 1908. Plat No: i: Soo pounds ues, at pos/0 per 100 pounds sz ae ae ee $22. 40 210 pounds:short leat_at/>7.50 per: 100 pounds=- 255-2 222 -- ae ee 15. 75 VOwpounds long leat; at $10.50 per L00spounds .- 22 = S22 422i ee 7.35 673 pounds. . 45. 50 Plat No. 2: j5o poundsrlugs,. at :>6.10 per 100 pounds242 asses eae ene ee 20. 45 aps pounds short.leat, at $10:75 per 100 pounds. 2324-5 see soase eee 38. 48 159 pounds! long leat, at-$11750 per 100 poundsi=- 22 =e) ae Sesto 35 pounds wrappers, at $12.50 per 100 pounds -..-- i eee a reer 4.37 883 pounds. 81. 10 Plat No. 3: ; , 3(6 pounds lugs, at $7 per 100 pounds: -._2--- 222-222. So eee oe ee 26. 32 395 poundsishiort leat, at-$/-25 per 00 pounds: 222-2 s25= ee. a2 ee ee 28. 63 Sosepounds long leat, at $9.00 per 100) pounds. 9.4205 o- 456-2 eee 36. 86 65 pounds short wrappers, at $10.75 per 100 pounds. .--......---..--:- 6. 98 100 pounds, wxappers, at, 12-50 per 100 pounds... 3223 eee — eee 12. 50 1, 324 pounds. 111. 29 From the foregoing tables it will be seen that plat No. 1 yielded 673 pounds of tobacco, which was produced ata cost of $40.89 and sold at public auction on the Lynchburg market, on April 28, 1905, for $45.50, leaving a net profit of $4.61 per acre. Plat No. 2 pro- duced 883 pounds at a cost of $61.15 and sold for $81.10, showing a net profit of $19.95 per acre; while plat No. 3 produced 1,324 pounds at a cost of $82.87 and sold for $111.29, showing a net profit of $28.42 DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1905. ie, per acre. A comparison of the data for plat No. 1, which was ferti- lized with a 3-8-3 mixture, such as used by the farmers, with plat No. 8, which was fertilized with the Bureau’s mixture, shows an increase of $41.98 in cost of production for the latter, but at the same time there is an increase of $65.79 in the returns from the sale of the tobacco and a net profit of $28.42, while on the former plat the profit was only $4.61. It appears that the heavier application of fertilizer, provided it be composed of the proper ingredients mixed in the right proportions, will result in a larger yield of the better grades of tobacco, which more than repays the planter his original expenditure. SEASON OF 1905. In the fall of 1904 the stubble which was left from the previous crop of tobacco was plowed out with a two-horse plow, and the land har- rewed and seeded down in rye as a winter cover crop. This was plowed under in the spring of 1905 in order to maintain or increase the humus supply and to improve the physical condition of the soil. When the rye had grown to the right height for turning under, the soil (Cecil clay) was too hard and dry to plow, and when it later reached the proper condition, the rye had grown too tall. The growth was so large on plats No. 2 and No. 3, and especially on plat No. 3, that it was deemed advisable to mow the rye and remove it before plowing. The condition of the rye demonstrated the marked difference in the after effect of the different fertilizers and indicated clearly the advan- tage of the heavier applications. In cutting the rye the mowing bar of the machine was set very high to leave a good stubble to turn under. On account of the number of tobacco roots which were raked up with the cured rye it was impossible to obtain an accurate measure of the quantity of rye, but as near as could be estimated plat No. 2 yielded 1,000 pounds, while plat No. 3 yielded 2,000 pounds. The growth of the rye on plat No. 1 was all plowed under, as it was not heavy enough to interfere with the preparation of the land. The tobacco crop of 1905 was planted earlier than that of 1904 and the growth started much better and more uniformly. The climatic conditions were fairly favorable and the entire crop matured at the same time, so that at harvest it was gathered at one cutting. Plat No. 3 and a portion of plat No. 2 were cut on August 31 and September 1, the remainder of plat No. 2 being harvested on September 2 and plat No. 1 on September 8. The climatic conditions were favorable for curing, the weather con- tinuing warm and the moisture conditions excellent. No difficulty was experienced in obtaining a first-class cure. The yield from each plat showed an increase over the previous year, and, judging from the market returns, the quality seemed the same. The product of the 20 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. three plats was sold at Lynchburg by public auction on the same day and under the same market conditions. The largest yield obtained in 1905 is adjudged to be due in a measure to better moisture conditions, to early transplanting, and to a healthy unchecked growth, and in part to the general improvement in the pro- ductiveness of the soil, following the continuance of the intensive methods employed. The following tables give a detailed statement of the expenses in- curred in the production of this crop and the returns from the sale of the tobacco from the three plats: Cost of growing 1905 cover crop. Labor required on— Cost of labor and seed. | Rate Item. | i per | Plat 1. | Plat 2. | Plat 3. hour. | plat 1. | Plat 2. | Plat 3. | j | | Hours. | Hours. | Hours.| Cents. | Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Plowing out tobacco stubble .............--- 22] 231 23 25a ONG2 0.62 | 0. 62 Harnowan ss 2 OrseSet eee ee Sass eee 2. | 2a 2, 25 50 50 | 50 Sowine rye..2-horse grill 22s ne ee eee 13 13 13) 30 45 45 | 45 Rye seed, 13 bushels per acre, at 90 cents....|...----- petrol oe babes stl eA ce gs 1.58 1.58 | 1.58 Mowing rye, 2-horse machine....-.......... | 13| 13] 13 30 45 .45 .45 Ralkinparverlan onsen. hs eee as ters ce Set nto a he 1 2032 see 20 | . 20 Hauling -2-horses amd: 3) Meme see. esse tae| see oe 1 | 2 AQ ise dere 40 . 80 ROtalCOSMOlRNG. se. St cones ae ee Wee ee Pee eiet noel RE wegen abe a | -3.60 4.20 4.60 EHapenses of 1905 crop. 1 5 = Labor required on— Bate COS Git mee ma Item. per Plat Plat |. Plat hour Plat Plat Plat Nome eNot2 ae NOmos INOssI | ONO HZ: | No. 3. Hours. | Hours. Hours.| Cents. | Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Gostowtentilizer sco. ene ue Sse eh eA eae ee vas Keir Bean 5.25 | 16.75 | 33.00 Plowing =2=horse; plo wmece ees ee ene se sie ce 6 | 6 | 6 25 1.50 1.50 1.50 ELA RO\ ALIVE? V4 J OVONEES|S 4 Sao ARs bas B enn Saeose el 2 2 | 25 .50 . 50 .50 Laying off rowsand listing, 1-horse plow.... 103 103 103 Ue) ak cok 1. 84 1.84 Mixing and applying fertilizers ............. 3 | 5 | 6 73| 23 38 || 45 Miaiks oon Saas sere es). opens Me ees oe 9 | 10 10 | 73| . 68 Si) .79 Costhoplantsi(s0rcemtsipents O00) seme e eee tree eal Ee See |e eee eee een eam 2.50 3.00 | 3.29 Setting and resetting.......... BAe lene ene eae 18 | 20 21 eens 5 OR 1.58 TSI A OY HONE] OLONKNO NAY, (CAN) ees nu OYeIe ENCORE) ies Oe Ie Ee ae ees lasaosdoe . 20 5204 . 20 Pansiereena(omeshalt poumdyper acres 5-20 | s-ee oale cee eee eee eee eee 09 | .09 . 09 AM PLYVIN Se POISOMees acta aee ee teens aoceee ae. Dil 5 5 7s .38 38 38 Culltivatinoeisuxa iim esr eer or age eee cere 25 | 25 25 j 173 4.38 4.38 4.38 EL OCII Se Ree ee eed Ne aoe ME fiw me en |. Pontes 38 20 20 | Wl 2°85 |= AS 50nl tele oe Poppins andssuGkenin epee pee eee 52 65 70 73; 3.90 4.88 | 5. 20 Cuttine-and scattoldinge s.- - soon cee ee. ene 35 | 44 | 47 TE PAS 3) 30 cea aaaae Hauling to barn (2 horsesand 5 men) ...... 23 L 4 o73, «1.44 2.01 | 2.30 Regulating barn andifiring 2 222222 ees -.- 16 Dill 24 74, «1.20 1.58 1.80 PakAN CxO OM ees esc oe eee me ee ee 6 | 8 9 74 .45 . 60 - 68 Stripping, assorting, and tying...........-.. 96 120 138 | Wea 720) | 9800 10.35 Haulin sso diya eli wire 2 ee ere acho salon |S cenece harall = mene aS al eee een Se ee 3. 42 5. 20 | 6. 65 COMMIUSSTO MAMAS eT TY GS AT CS eee eee ya rete ae petal ee epee ne oil ot ae ee 3.05 4,93 | 6.19 RO CALI COS Titer is seo sae eee Se en ae saps coat ices Sie 2h | a 45.04 | 64.27) 86.17 DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1906. 21 Receipts from the 1905 crop sold at Lynchburg, January 21, 19086. Plat No. 1: BUONO SMUoH atin. LO per 100 pounds... 0. 2.2L een ee $18. 36 367 pounds.short leai, at $8.25 per 100 pounds ..__.-.--........-.--2- 30. 27 iS pounds lone leat at5l0 per 100 pounds. =... ..22-... 2.25.22 11.50 842 pounds. 60. 13 Plat No. 2: % sto) pounds) lugs, at.65-40 per, 100 pounds’... 2..c% 2c 2 cn ete se Lt 18. 63 98. pounds short leat, at $7.50 per 100 pounds. -.......22._:.....-.-- 29. 85 Hs poundsloneileat. at ps. /D per 100! pounds: .°.2. 2.22.5. ... 222 Ale 60 pounds wrappers, at $15 per 100 pounds -..-.......-.-.....-....- 9. 00 -1, 296 pounds. 100. 61 Plat No. 3: oz pounds lies, at $o-40 per 100 pounds@ 2. 22: = 3... 22222. Le 17. 65 420 pounds short:leaf, at $7.75 per 100 pounds :-.-...-..2-.22 2222-222 32. 5d 695 pounds long leaf, at $9.25 per 100 pounds....-.........-2...-.--- - 64.28 85 pounds wrappers, at $14.25 per 100 pounds ..............-.-....- 12, dl 1,527 pounds. 126. 59 Total gross returns from each plat in rye and tobacco. ine 5 POURS LObAGeO 2st a ee Pe Se cll 2b 5 les $60. 13 : — $60.13 Nor 2-—b-206 pounds tobacco <1 2.2 2625s 22 jg eS eR EN eS MK 100. 61 No. 2—1,000 pounds rye, at $8 per ton.-.---..----..- Leak 2 SA Slee a 4.00 — 104. 61 Mats leo wmOGUMnUcd TOWALCOM | 0-5 o2 ceciasae ee oe eee 24 Bae oe 126. 59 Mae OOO ponndszyerat $S-per ton 2.2.2.2. 22) 8. 00 134. 59 From the foregoing tables it will be seen that plat No. 1 yielded 842 pounds of tobacco, which was produced at a cost of $45.04 and sold at public auction on the Lynchburg market for $60.13, leaving a net profit of $15.09 per acre. Plat No. 2 produced 1,296 pounds of tobacco and 1,000 pounds of rye hay at a cost of $68.47, and the rye and tobacco together sold for $104.61, showing a net profit of $36.14 per acre; while plat No. 3 produced 1,527 pounds of tobacco and 2,000 pounds of rye hay at a cost of $90.77, and the rye and tobacco together sold for $134.59, showing a profit of $43.82. IJgnoring the cost and proceeds of the rye, we find that plat No. 1 showed a profit of $15.09; plat No. 2, $36.34, and plat No. 3, $40.42 against the profits for the last crop (1904) of plat No. 1, $4.64; plat No. 2, $19.94; and plat No. 3, $28.41. SEASON OF 1906. Wheat was used as the winter cover crop following the tobacco grown in 1905, as it was thought wheat would not run up so early in the spring as rye. The wheat grew well, and, as in the previous year, the growth on plat No. 3 was much larger than on the otner plats. 4 22 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. The entire growth was plowed under early in May. The amount of vegetable matter plowed under on plats Nos. 2 and 3 was several times greater than on plat No. 1.. This should give plats Nos. 2 and 3 con- siderable advantage over plat No. 1 in the matter of permanent soil improvement and should show plainly in subsequent crops of the rotation. In plowing the field in preparation for the 1906 crop, one-half of each plat was plowed in the usual manner with a 2-horse turn plow to a depth of about 6 inches, while the remaining half was plowed in a similar manner but was also subsoiled (see Pl. IV) to an additional depth of from 6 to 10 inches. The season of 1906 was an extremely wet one, and there was no time during the growing period when the crop lacked moisture in the least. With these conditions there was no time during the growth of the crop that the slightest difference could be observed between the crop on the snbsoiled land and on that not subsoiled. Had the season been droughty or even normal there might have been a marked difference. The entire crop grew well up to the middle of August and gave promise of a heavy yield and good quality. From that time on to harvest, there was protracted, wet, muggy weather, with no sun for several days at a time, which began to affect the quality and yield of the crop and, in common with nearly all other tobacco in the vicinity, the leaves began to speck badly. The resulting damage placed the buik of the tobacco in the lug grade. It is worth noting, however, that although the excessive wet and dull weather ruined the quality and yield of the tobacco, yet the plats which received the heavier applications of fertilizer did not speck more than the lighter fertilized plat, while the tendency of the lower leaves to yellow was less on the heavily fertilized plats than on the lighter fertilized one, showing that the larger amounts of fertilizer were beneficial to the plants even under the adverse climatic conditions. Hapenses of 1906 cover crop. | | S 1 Labor required on— | Rate | Cost of eee seed Item. | per | Plat 1 Plat 2.! Plat3./ POUT | plat 1. | Plat 2. | Plats. | Hours. | | Hours.| Hours. | | Comes. | Dollars.) pats Dollars. 3 | Plowing, out stulbblies2 Morsesas25- 4-424. 3 | 3 204). Ono 0.75 0.75 Harrowing, DZRINOLSES Ae sen reels a anes ere | | Ziel | 50 50 00 . 50 Cost of seed wheat, 14 bushels..............- [ease Esra Weesensése [Scale Lies il ayaa aan 1. 20 1.20 i 20 Sowing wheat, Dorseaduill 285s ee ae | ae | 1: | 13 30 | .45 . 45 .45 TROTAMICOS ES A Oe oe ater sk eae Pe tegh eees R Ph en 2 lise een O05 22.00 Sea n0 bo ps) DEMONSTRATION WORK AT APPOMATTOX, 1906. Expenses of 1906 tobacco crop. Cost of labor and mate- Rate rials. Item. aaa ——= per. |= = <== Plat | Plat |. Plat | hour. Plat Plat Plat INOS | NOS 21 WNOns. No: tt Nol enon. | Labor required on— | Hours. | Hours. Hours.| Cents. \Dollars. Dollars. Do’lars. Rlowinewanmds2erorses 4-5 4. 6-22 = 3 es sien 6 6 6 25 1.50 1.50 1.50 aero wna sNOISCS secon ae ee ok Sere cie seo 3 3 3 25 75 ID + iD COSEGH IRenMNZGS). 355 See Se sonaseeoBons Jeane SAC denSn pans ere aaetse on ISM asocor 5.25 | 16.75 33. 00 Laying Off TOWS..-- 2-2 ---- oF eseehesssoSscosS5 9 | 10: 103 173 1.58 | 1.84 1. 84 Mixing and applying fertilizer. ............. 3 Ds 6 73 apEid 41 45 Wiley akginye? Will Re gene sooopnpohbese soe=snbosce 12 | 14 15 73 . 90 1.05 1.13 Wosm Ol plas sacaesecme re ea a= es ae See eed scl erinis aia |arigaie sisal Oe te oe oe 2.00 2.40 2. 60 Setting and resetting.~ 22.5.4 2252....-524.-: 16 | 202 21 Ti 11520 1.54 1.58 Cultivating, five times ..............-....... | 19 | 19 | 19 ye ae o heer ase 3.33 JEN) FINS GSoC Se eee BOs. Se anes Seen en 22 223 223 7k 1. 65 1.69 1. 69 Topping, suckering, and worming...-....-.. | 49 64 | 69 | 74 3.68 4. 80 5.18 Guitinevandscatiolding= 222... 3.2525... ace. 24 34 | 4] 72) 1:80 DDD 3. 08 EULER Sere eR aS 3 | 5 6 473} 1.43 | 9:38 9.85 hiring And resulating barn) s....2.--2.2...- 9 | ily 20 72 . 68 ifs! 1.50 PAINE GO Willlc2 ssccce es cee tee arn ee 4i 32 eli 7i 34 64 -83 Sirippinewand assonung 22 see =e ce ones es 70 | 99 | 110 | C3\— 2) 7.43 8. 25 LEESEPU IE AYES), Pa Tg as) Fa A ec Se aa |e Peeetse 2.64 4.61 6.52 CommissionsandisellinsCharevesicc fess: - eae een eee meen se cs (yee hens 1.92 3.30 4.5] ‘CUSEOH GOWER BEND) .5608 soc sc easosesesedasaes |osos sees jozeeeneassessece | Etec verse 2. 90 2. 90 2. 90 TRIMS By Seats Ses eek en ee | canes 2 5 Seie, Reece ISH ae 39.03 | 60.15 | 83.49 Prices obtained for the 1906 crop at Lynchburg, February 27, 1907. Piat.No. 1: 172 pounds common lugs, at.$4.70 per: 100 pounds. -_.......--.2+--: 2... $8. 08 285 pounds good lugs, at $7 per 100 pounds --.-.-----. Poh eee Te Ame ee eee 19. 95 pours leat ate. ou per LOO pounds <2... 2S See eee 6.12 529 pounds. 34.15 Plat No. 2: Sus pounds common lugs,at go per 100 pounds 2.2./2.52..02.¢.-.-2<22.2 18. 40 tmepouuas coum lugs, atip/.20 per 100 pounds... 2....2.222622.2.25-..222 34.58 mepeunas eat. atpo per 100 Pounds - 2 4.25252 Ye. sce seed hse ee eek 6.93 922 pounds. 59. 91 Plat No. 3: 5930 pounds common lugs, at $5 per 100 pounds......-----.------------- 26.50 ju pannas: cood lies, at./-50 per LOO pounds... ........--..--2.--+------ 52. 50 Tapousds leat> at, $8.00 per 100 pounds -....-.-..-.-.---+-------=-2--- 6. 37 1,305 pounds. 85. 37 From the foregoing tables it will be seen that plat No. 1 yielded 529 pounds of tobacco, which was produced at a cost of $39.03 and sold at Lynchburg at public auction for $34.15, showing a loss of $4.88; plat No. 2 produced 920 pounds of tobacco, at a cost of $60.15, and was sold for $59.91, showing a loss of 24 cents; while plat No. 3 produced 1,305 pounds of tobacco, at a cost of $83.49, and sold on the market for $85.37, showing a profit of $1.88. These poor results are due entirely to the unfavorable weather conditions during the latter part of the erowing season, although the proportionate increase in the various plats, due to the effect of better methods of fertilizing and cultivation, shows as wellas during normal seasons. 24 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. Asa result of these three years of field experiment the Bureau of Soils and the Virginia Experiment Station feel justified in asserting that under proper conditions it will be of financial benefit to the farm- ers in the dark belt of Virginia to use fertilizers much more liberally on their tobacco than they have been accustomed to do. Itis of course necessary to discriminate in order to make high fertilizing pay. A soil suitable for growing a fairly good quality of tobacco should be chosen. It should possess reasonably good depth and mellowness so as to be easily tilled and have a proper water-holding capacity. Fertilizers can not be expected to make up for shortcomings of the soil in these’ regards. Without proper moisture and friability in a soil it is impos- sible for the plant to get the full benefits from the fertilizer applied either in large or small quantities. Good cultivation and handling are also necessary to make a success of a tobacco crop. PART III. METHODS OF CULTIVATING, CURING, AND HANDLING. SEED BED. The custom of going annually into the woods and clearing and burning a given area of land for a plant bed is still followed in Virginia. This work is usually performed and the seed sown during the winter months, at a time when the other farm work is not pressing. Jn former years it was considered necessary to select a piece of land bordering a small stream, which is usually both rich and moist. At the present time, however, not so much attention is being paid to such location, and desirable land for this purpose is often found on the higher levels. The prime consideration in selecting a suitable locality for the seed bed is to see that the soil is loamy and mellow; that it will not bake during a drought, and that it will absorb the rain without becoming mucky. The soil may be safely judged by the forest growth, the presence of oak, hickory, dogwood, etc., being usually considered a strong indication of good plant-bed land. The slope of the land should receive some attention, both as regards the tendency to wash from excessive rains and its probable effects on the earliness of the plants. A southern or western exposure is the most desirable. . . If possible the wood should be stacked long enough before burning to become seasoned. A mixture of dry and green wood is more effective than either green or seasoned wood alone, as a steady moderate heat is more desirable than excessive heat. From 3 to 4 cords of wood with a plentiful supply of brush will usually be found sufficient to burn 100 square yards of land. After the brush and leaves are cleared off the land long poles are placed upon the bed about 5 feet apart to serve as skids on which to slide the fires. A layer of brush and wood is placed along the upper side and fires "© “ON VINWHOS HLIM Gaza OoOoOVEdO | GaYyNO-saYl4 AUVG Bul. 46, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE III. PLATE IV. Bul. 46, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLOWING UNDER WHEAT AND SUBSOILING. ate = e oe se ret METHODS OF CULTIVATING AND CURING. 25 started at frequent intervals. After the fires have burned in one place long enough to dry out the soil to a depth of 3 inches the burn- ing wood should be pulled along the skids to a new place on this bed. This operation is repeated until the entire surface of the bed has been burned. With moderate fires it will take from one-half to three- quarters of an hour between ‘‘ pulls” to burn a place sufliciently. For two reasons it is not desirable to burn a bed when it is wet. One is that it will take considerable more burning to dry out this extra moisture and it may also do harm to the physical condition of the soil. Whenever possible the bed should be worked up and then seeded down immediately after burning. There is no other time that the soil will work into such good tilth. Most of the ashes and coals should be raked off. It will be found advantageous in preparing the soil to plow it several’ times in different directions with a shovel cultivator plow. Remove all the small roots and small stumps and cut off the large ones low enough so as not to interfere with stretching the cloth over the bed. Before sowing the bed, rake it off with a fine- toothed rake. The fertilizer applied should not contain any potash, as the ashes that are left upon the bed will supply enough. The custom in these experiments has been to sow the seed in acid phosphate, about 25 pounds to 100 square yards, using from 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls of seed @ for this amount of bed. Top dressing of hen, hog, or horse manure and nitrate of soda will also be found valuable. If horse manure free from grass can be obtained, it will serve both as an effective mulch and fertilizer. If suitable manure is not available for the purpose, fine straw scattered over the bed will serve asa good mulch; but of course it would have no value as a manure. For protection against dry weather in the spring, this mulching of the bed is considered important. Beds so mulched will rarely need artificial watering and will stay moist and the plants continue to grow when other beds are dry and hard and the plants at a standstill. The manure or mulch should be applied some time before the plants come up, and it is also advisable to apply broadcast from 15 to 20 pounds of nitrate of soda to each 100 square yards of bed at this time. In the middle section of Piedmont Virginia, plants usually begin to appear the very last of March. The cheesecloth covering should be stretched over the bed before this time. Under normal conditions nothing more need be done to the bed until the plants are large enough to set out, ~ unless the stand of plants is too thick and heavy or weeds appear in the bed. In this case the plants should be thinned out or the bed weeded. @\f the seed is clean, 1 tablespoonful is sufficient; but if there is considerable chat and dust in it, 2 tablespoonfuls will be advisable. 26 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. Asa rule, about 10,000 plants can safely be counted on from each 100 square yards of bed. The cost of production varies considerably according to the convenience of the wood supply for burning the bed, the variation in the amount of labor necessary to prepare the soil, and the favorableness of the growing season. Fifty cents a thousand would be a conservative estimate of the cost of growing plants one year with another. PREPARATION OF THE FIELD. The success of a crop of tobacco is often made or marred by the carefulness or carelessness of the preparation which is given the field before the crop is set out. No other general field crop will pay better for painstaking foresight in this regard than tobacco. If a crop rota- tion is followed, the crop preceding tobacco should be one which will add a fair amount of vegetable matter to the soil and permit of fall or winter plowing. It is also very important that the preceding crop shall leave the field as free as possible from insects, especially the dreaded root webworm, or so-called ** wireworm ” (Crambus sp.). Con- siderable headway can be made by the use of poisons in combating ecutworms and some other insects affecting tobacco, but when the field becomes infested with root webworms a partial failure is generally assured in spite of anything that-may be done. The worm has been found to be particularly troublesome in fields where much ironweed, a variety of Vernonia shrub, has grown previously, and this weed should not be allowed to grow after August 15 on a field intended for tobacco the following year. If it shouid be found impossible to keep this weed down, it should never be plowed under, but should be burnt off or mowed down and then burnt. In this way thousands of egos of this insect will be destroyed. For the heavy tobaccos of this section of Virginia there is not a crop better than the cowpea for tobacco to succeed. It is a legumin- ous crop that, through the aid of nodules on its roots, can add to the soul’s store of ammonia, subtracting it (nitrogen) from the air. It also adds vegetable matter to the soil and its hay makes a first-class stock food, besides permitting fall or winter plowing. At Appomattox no other available crop was found which left the field so free from insect pests. The moths of the root webworms do not seem, according to the experience of the writers, to like the vine as a place for depositing theireges. Therefore the use of the cowpea is strongly recommended whenever practicable as a crop to precede this heavy, dark type of tobacco. The tobacco field should be deeply and thoroughly plowed. When plowed in the fall or winter, it should be deepened a little each year until the top soil is at least 8 inches deep. Winter plowing, aside from the benefit to the physical condition incident to repeated freezing and thawing, places the field in a condition to be readily put in order i METHODS OF CULTIVATING AND CURING. 27 for transplanting at an early date. Land not plowed in the winter often gets hard and dry in the spring, so that it is impossible to place it in good condition until it is too late to obtain the best results from the crop. It is a matter of experience that early crops are usually the best and most economical to produce. ‘Therefore winter plowing is important as assuring an early crop. In the dark tobacco districts of Virginia the greater portion of the crop is set out between May 15 and June 10, with the heaviest setting, if the climatic conditions are favorable, during the closing days of May. This, from our experiment, is never too soon, and it would be a great advantage to the farmers if they planted their crops as soon after May 15 as possible. If this were practiced, they would then have a good opportunity to perfect their stand before it is too late, and all of the plants would have a chance to mature properly. DISTANCE OF PLANTING. There is considerable difference of opinion among tobacco growers as to the number of plants which it is most profitable to set to the acre. Noinvariable rule is possible, as the ideal number varies with the conditions of soil and season. From 3,600 to 5,000 to the acre will perhaps express the limits within which most crops are planted. The usual practice is to make the rows 33 feet apart and set the plants 3 feet apart in the row. A crop set at this distance will give 4,200 plants to the acre. It is probable that a large portion of the crop in the dark district is set with a less number of plants. Experience and the experiments of several of the experiment sta- tions go to show that the thinner plantings, other conditions being equal, will give a thicker and larger leaf and one that will cure up with a clearer color and better luster than where the plants stand closer together. Thicker plantings, on the other hand, will normally produce larger yields to the acre and the tobacco will be finer in texture and fiber. The aim of the grower should be to strike the medium for the best average profit. It is, of course, true that there is a counterbalancing relation between the thickness of setting plants and the height to which the plants may be topped. The Bureau and the experiment station in their experiment have grown as high as 6,000 plants to the acre on plat No. 3, and judging from the sales that number was not beyond the limits of profitable returns. With the adoption of a more intensive system of cultivation on richer soils, it is their opinion that it will be found profitable to piant closer than is now the custom. It would appear conservative to suggest that at least 5,000 plants can be grown to the acre on soils that are in a reasonably good state of fer- tility. This number will be secured by making the rows 33 feet apart and setting the plants 23 feet apart in the row. 28 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. METHOD OF APPLYING FERTILIZER. As before stated, it is the custom in the neighborhood of Appomat- tox to apply 400 pounds of fertilizer to the acre on the tobacco crop. This is applied almost exclusively by dropping a small handful in the furrows directly at the spot where the plant is to be set or by drilling it along the whole length of the row. Only a few farmers, judging from the above practice, seem to believe in broadcasting. When used in the larger quantities, as on plat No. 3, there would probably be many advocates of the broadcast method for at least a part of the fertilizer. In the absence of reliable experimental data we can not express decided opinions. It is not probable that the difference between the two methods would be large. For the sake of uniformity the fertilizer was drilled in upon all three plats in the experiment. In order to secure an even distribution of each of the ingredients of the home mixture, the fish was distributed in the furrows separately, and the other ingredients, after being carefully mixed, were also dis- tributed in the furrow. A double-shovel plow was then run through the furrow, mixing the fertilizer with the soil and insuring at the same time a deep bed of loose soil directly under the plant. A small bed was made by a one-horse turn plow upon this furrow. This made a bed of loose soil in which to set the plants, and the furrows left at each side made certain that no water would stand directly around the plant in the event of heavy rains. The so-called hills were made by striking through the bed with a hoe at the place indicated for the plant to about the normal level of the field. After making sure that the spot was free from trash or other obstructions that might interfere with the setting of the plant, a pat was made with the hoe, which completed the hill. A man will ‘cut off” in this way about 6,000 hills in a day if the field is reason- ably free from trash and in a condition of good tilth. Variations of this method might be desirable or necessary according to the condition of the field. SETTING THE PLANTS. The aim at setting time is to have the plants grow off quickly and uniformly. A regular start in the growth of the plants is more important than many farmers seem to realize. There is a saving of labor all through, and it is possible to cultivate much more effectively if the crop maintains a uniform state of development. The ideal condition would be to have the crop sufficiently uniform to justify cutting clean as you go at harvest time. It would be the most economical way of handling and best for the quality of the tobacco. In drawing plants from the bed care should be taken to have them uniform in size and hardness. They should not be bruised or allowed to lie around and curl up. When transplanted, care should be taken METHODS OF CULTIVATING AND CURING. 29 that the earth is pressed firm around the roots at the bottom of the kole as well as at the top. It is very important in setting a plant that the head should be just at or slightly above the level of the ground. It is, of course, necessary to take advantage of such planting seasons as come, but hot weather, moderate precipitation, with several days of cloudiness and little wind are the conditions most favorable to the newly transplanted plants. Cold winds and heavy rains are very unfa- vorable. About the third day after transplanting, a good idea may be obtained by the grower as to which plants will probably live. If the season In which the plants were set was a good one, there will still be left a good supply of moisture in the soil, and it is then the time to make an effort to perfect the stand of plants. Select the very strong- est plants in the seed bed and reset the doubtful hills, pouring around each plant about a cupful of water. When the water has settled down, draw a little dry soil around the plant to keep the moist soil from baking and forming a clod about the roots. If great care is exercised in set- ting on the third day, the new plants will start growing at once and the entire field will be uniform. Of course, if the soil is full of worms, especially the wireworm, an even start is out of the question. If this worm is found attacking practically every plant, as is sometimes the case, the grower might as well give up the field for tobacco that year, unless he chooses to wait until the last of June before resetting the field, at which time the worm disappears, but the chances would be less for a profitable crop from such late setting. CONTROLLING INSECT PESTS.” Cutworms.—Some headway was made in fighting the cutworms, which were present in considerable numbers, by using a mixture of Paris green and corn meal or wheat middlings and sifting a small quantity of this mixture on each hill either before or after the plant was set. The worms come to the surface when the soil is moist and eat this mixture. Whenever heavy rains washed the poison away the appli- cation was repeated. This mixture was also used in killing the bud worm and is best applied by shaking it over the plant. A tin can hold- ing a quart or more with holes punched in the bottom and a handle made of stiff wire was found a convenient arrangement for applying the poison. Hornworm.—The greatest pests of tobacco last season in Virginia were the hornworms. They made their appearance in two main broods. The first of these appeared during the latter part of June and the first part of July; the second early in August, remaining from « For descriptions and full directions for the control of the insect pests of tobacco see Farmers’ Bulletin No. 120, by L. O. Howard, Bureau of Entomology, U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture. 30 IMPROVEMENT OF VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED TOBACCO. that time until frost. The August brood was by far the more trouble- some. Many farmers pay but slight attention to the June brood, the tobacco being in many cases so small that the leaves which they muti- late could be primed off at topping time. If the tobacco is forward, however, the worms will do as much harm as at any other time, and they must be kept off. Spraying with Paris green at the standard rate of 1 pound of Paris green and 1 pound of lime to 125 gallons of water was found effective. The mixture was kept well agitated during appli- cation, as the Paris green settles and the last part coming from the tank might be so strong as to damage the tobacco. The tobacco is not easily damaged by Paris green at the stage of its growth when the first crop of worms are present, and if care be taken not to get the settled solution on the leaves very little risk is taken. For combating the hornworm in August the use of Paris green is of very doubtful expediency. In these experiments and from the experience of the farmers it has been demonstrated that the use of Paris ereen in the later stages of the growth of this type of tobacco is attended by great danger of burning the leaf, if applied in sufficient streneth to kill the worms. Hand picking is therefore the great reli- ance of the Virginia growers. An effort should be made to check the worms when they are small, as at that stage of their growth the damage done by them is less, and they will usually be found near the damaged portion of the leaf upon which they are feeding. After they get larger they travel from one plant to another and easily elude very close searching. It is the habit of the moth of the hornworm to spend its days in seclusion, but at dusk it flies over the tobacco fields, depositing its eggs on the underside of the leaves of the plant. Many of the moths were poisoned by the old-time remedy of putting a few drops of sweetened cobalt solution in the flowers of neighboring jimson weeds or in arti- ficial flowers made for the purpose and set up on stakes about the field. The natural lessening of the worm damage and of the labor neces- sary in catching the worms is one of the several reasons why early planted tobacco is Jikely to be more profitable than late planted tobacco. lf the crop is ready for harvest by the last of August the tobacco is only liable to damage from the hornworm for a short period of time, whereas if the tobacco is set late and not ready for harvest until the latter part of September or the beginning of October the worms have a longer period in which to cause damage. CULTIVATION. The practice of many farmers in the dark district of Virginia is to cultivate the crop twice with a double-shovel plow and then for a last cultivation to lay the crop by with a turning plow by throwing four furrows to the row, two on each side. a. ce