February 5, 2010

Tobacco - continued

In the 1930's and 40's following the Depression, farmers had an allotment according to the acreage on their farm.  Some farmers rented a neighbor's allotment to increase the acreage of their crop. There was a government subsidy to guarantee that the sale price would not be lower than a certain price, thereby guaranteeing at least a small profit.  A farmer could secure a bank loan for seed and fertilizer to grow his crop. And during this era many people ran a credit account at the small grocery store which would be paid off when the tobacco was sold.  Many people had no money left after the sale of the tobacco when they had paid off the bank and the grocery store.

Tobacco was sold at a regional market - most Mt. Victory farmers went to Lexington, KY.  Representatives from the large cigarette companies would bid on the tobacco at auction.

Once the tobacco was out in the field, the farmer trusted the creator to provide enough rain to ensure a "good set."  Then weed control was the order of the day.  A horse drawn plow cleared the balk - that's the space between the rows.  A plow could be used only while the plants were small.  As the plants grew, the leaves reached across the rows.  Then came the hoeing to cut the weeds which were between the plants and to heap fresh soil around the base of the plant.  The tobacco that Daddy grew would reach five or six feet in height.

By July and August suckers began to grow between the leaf and the stalk.  These had to be removed because they produced an inferior grade of tobacco and took energy from the growth of the primary leaves.  What a job!  The maturing tobacco now exuded a sticky, gummy substance that not only got on our hands but produced a strong nicotine aroma which was sickening.   It was also necessary to top the tobacco plant - this was removing the cluster of flowers which grew at the top of the tobacco.  Pest control was another job to be done.  It was usually assigned to the children.  The main culprit was the horn worm, sometimes called a tobacco worm or a tomato worm.  The worms were soft and green with antennae - the worms were often as large as a man's forefinger.  They had to be removed by hand.  They were pulled off and then slung down onto the ground where they would pop. This was not a pleasant task!  In later years the tobacco worms were controlled by using a pesticide. 

Daddy saved his tobacco seed.  He selected the best specimen and placed a paper sack over the top of the flower cluster and fastened it at the bottom to protect the seed until it matured. These seeds would be used to grow next years tobacco crop.

 http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/tobacco/tobacco.html
Text transcribed by Apex Data Services, Inc.
Images scanned by Melissa Meeks
Text encoded by Apex Data Services, Inc., Andrew Leiter, and Jill Kuhn Sexton
First edition, 2002
ca. 150 K
Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2002.

        © This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.
Source Description:
(title page) Tobacco
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. Crop Book Dept.
50 p.
Richmond, Virginia
Published by Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co.
1915
Call number Cp633.71 V81t (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)