]> <emph>A Sketch of the Tobacco Interests In North Carolina. Being an Account of the Culture, Handling and Manufacture of the Staple; Together with Some Information Respecting the Principal Farmers, Manufacturing Establishments and Warehouses; with Statistics Exhibiting the Growth of Tobacco in the Western Counties, and Also in the Other Tobacco Producing Regions of the State, as Shown By Comparison of the Crop of 1880 with Those of Preceding Years:</emph> Electronic Edition. Cameron, J. D. (John Donald), 1820-1897 Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title. Text transcribed by Apex Data Services, Inc. Images scanned by Andrew Leiter Text encoded by Apex Data Services, Inc., Tampathia Evans and Elizabeth S. Wright First edition, 2003 ca. 365K Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003

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 A Sketch of the Tobacco Interests In North Carolina. Being an Account of the Culture, Handling and Manufacture of the Staple; Together with Some Information Respecting the Principal Farmers, Manufacturing Establishments and Warehouses; with Statistics Exhibiting the Growth of Tobacco in the Western Counties, and Also in the Other Tobacco Producing Regions of the State, as Shown By Comparison of the Crop of 1880 with Those of Preceding Years A Sketch of the Tobacco Interests of North Carolina. Cameron, J. D. (John Donald), 1820-1897 130 p., ill. Oxford, N.C. W. A. Davis & Co., Publishers Baltimore Isaac Friedenwald 1881 Call number Cp633 C18s c2 (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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 Library of Congress Subject Headings English Latin Tobacco -- North Carolina. Tobacco industry -- North Carolina. Advertising -- Tobacco. Tobacco -- Storage -- North Carolina. Warehouses -- North Carolina. Tobacco curing -- North Carolina. Tobacco farms -- North Carolina. 2003-06-27 Celine Noel and Wanda Gunther revised TEIHeader and created catalog record for the electronic edition. 2003-06-20 Elizabeth S. Wright, finished TEI-conformant encoding and final proofing. 2002-05-13 Tampathia Evans finished TEI/SGML encoding 2002-01-04 Apex Data Services, Inc. finished transcribing the text.

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 A SKETCH —OF THE— TOBACCO INTERESTS —IN— NORTH CAROLINA. BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE CULTURE, HANDLING AND MANUFACTURE OF THE STAPLE; TOGETHER WITH SOME INFORMATION RESPECTING THE PRINCIPAL FARMERS, MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS AND WAREHOUSES; WITH STATISTICS EXHIBITING THE GROWTH OF TOBACCO IN THE WESTERN COUNTIES, AND ALSO IN THE OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCING REGIONS OF THE STATE, AS SHOWN BY COMPARISON OF THE CROP OF 1880 WITH THOSE OF PRECEDING YEARS. BY J. D. CAMERON, Editor of the Durham, N. C., Recorder. OXFORD, N. C., W. A. DAVIS & CO., PUBLISHERS 1881. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1881, by W. A. DAVIS & Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. BALTIMORE: PRESS OF ISAAC FRIEDENWALD, 103 W. Fayette Street. INTRODUCTION.

The caprices of human taste and appetite present most interesting subjects for consideration, for those caprices are connected most intimately with human progress; with the spread of civilization, by the influence they exert upon the intercourse of nations; and they define most distinctly the dividing line between the creature of intellect and the creature of instinct; the one, in the gratification of appetite, or the satisfaction of cravings, plunging boldly into the mysteries of nature, and snatching new pleasures almost from the very jaws of death; coming out triumphant with new treasures, and adding to the resources of human enjoyment, stores of solace or of excitement, drawn from those things that pure animal instinct rejects as noxious or hurtful. On the other hand, the habits and the tastes of the brute creation remain unchanged throughout all time. The same food and the same drink that satisfied their original progenitors, suffice for the wants of their descendants, with the exception of certain limited modifications, enforced by soil, climate or locality.

Man is called to account, by the philosopher of his own race, for the presentation of such contrast, and condemned for his departure from the simple rule of nature. But what we are pleased to call the simplicity of nature, in our commendation of the superior wisdom of the brute, is, in reality, the approval of a blind, inflexible law, imposed and enforced by Creative Wisdom upon creatures without wisdom, beyond the limit of the narrow but safe law of instinct. For mere physical perfection, the provision for the brute may be the happier.

The liberty of man is unlimited. Set as lord and master over terrestrial creation, his reason is his guide or his prompter to good and to evil. To evil most largely; for as the animal part of his nature predominates, so does it impel him to gratify animal appetites, and search out new secrets of animal enjoyment. Investigating, exploring, subjugating in the domain of appetite, he is no less inquisitive and tyrannical than he has been in his other conquests. If it is a tribute to his intellectual power that his acquisitions have been so large and so curious, it is somewhat of a rebuke to his moral weakness that he becomes so often the victim of his own achievements.

It is very remarkable, in the notice of human habits, to find of how recent origin or application is much of what is now inseparably associated with the comfort and even the necessities of social existence. Almost all the appliances of domestic luxury and of artificial stimulants are of modern discovery, extraction or application. The ancients were, in their way, as self-indulgent as the moderns, far more extravagant in their devotion to appetite. They ate of the most costly viands, and they drank beverages that might turn their feasts into riots. But in the preparation of the first they knew nothing of the spices and condiments which give the zest to the modern table, and the latter they received almost ready-made from the hand of nature. The ready grape was prompt to convert its abundant juices into the generous wine, potent to cheer or to inebriate. But the more fiery beverages, owing their power to the artificial creation of alcohol, waited for modern chemical skill to call them into existence. The milder stimulus of tea and coffee was unknown to the luxury of the Roman and the Greek; nor was their food made grateful to the palate by the use of the sugar so indispensable to the modern cuisine. But in nothing was their ignorance so profound and so pitiable as in their want of knowledge of TOBACCO, the discovery of which marks a boundary between the past and the present of human habit, as sharp as might be presented by a contrast of the naked Pict and his modern successor, the enlightened and luxurious Briton. In the universality of its present use it is difficult to conceive of a time when it was not, as now, the common refuge and solace for all mankind, from the philosopher to the clown, from the refined Caucasian to the dusky savage, all greeting with avidity this new gift of heaven, and accepting with joy this new boon of geographical researches.

Perhaps nothing has proved so great a stimulus to the greed of conquest, the expansion of empire, the grasp of colonization, the spread of civilization and the activity of commerce, as the spur of appetite awaked by the knowledge of these newly found modern luxuries. The remotest regions of the earth were penetrated to procure them; the most active traffic was begotten to exchange for them, or the most determined wars were originated to secure them. And now, since regular channels have been provided for their procurement, or systematic cultivation adopted to supply them, they have become the great mainsprings of modern commercial enterprise and the great mainstays of modern manufacturing energies.

Giving to each one of the luxuries referred to its due share of consequence, and all its peculiar honors, there is no one of them which exacts so universal a tribute from the whole human race as

TOBACCO,

which throws its spell of enchantment over all mankind, and compels submission from all alike—from the peasant and the peer, from the millionaire and the mendicant; which elevates the philosopher, inspires the poet, animates the man of business, and cheers the slaves of toil; the chosen companion of the cheerful and the comforter of the sorrowful; alike sought after by all men, in all conditions and circumstances of life; a friend so general and so genial as to justify the poetic yet philosophical Bulwer in saying that, “He who doth not smoke, hath either known no great grief, or refuseth himself the softest consolation next to that which cometh from heaven.”

Occupying so important a relation to the mental comfort of mankind, it is not surprising that it has stimulated industry and skill to minister to the universal demand upon its capabilities; that it has awakened the energies of agriculture, fanned the wings of commerce, and given birth to active manufacturing enterprise; that it has subdued the wilderness in its search for new fields of culture, created populations where silence had been wont to hold dominion, and called flourishing towns and cities into existence to demonstrate the power of an inanimate agency.

It is not proposed in these introductory pages to go into a minute history of tobacco. If that is done, it will be in connection with the consideration of its varieties, its culture and its uses. A brief reference to its origin must here suffice. Nothing is more conclusive of its modern discovery and its American origin than the utter silence of all writers in regard to its existence previous to the discovery of America. Its almost instant adoption by the whole human race as soon as its virtues were made known, proves that the use of tobacco would not have been foregone had it been within reach. It was first heard of through the followers of Columbus, who noticed that the natives puffed smoke through their mouths and nostrils; and that they used a dried leaf which they placed in small clay pipes in which was inserted a hollow reed. The leaf was tobacco, and the pipe was the predecessor of the costly meerschaum. Not only was the use of the weed observed on the islands, but subsequently it was found in universal habit on both the northern and southern continents of America. To this day it may be found growing wild in the Western and Southern States of the American Union; and very recently a new and distinct variety has been discovered in Southern California among the ruins of the towns and habitations of a people long extinct, perpetuating itself from year to year by seeds dropped from each annual crop, and showing the uses to which it was once applied by being found in close proximity to large quantities of antiquated pipes, which could have had no other application. This is another proof of its American origin.

Sir Francis Drake, perhaps in his voyage of 1573, brought samples of tobacco into England. Sir Walter Raleigh had much to do with making it fashionable, and smoking became sufficiently popular and sufficiently general to draw forth that fierce counterblast of King James, who was as impotent in his royal wrath to drive back the tide of the new and seductive habit as his predecessor, Canute, had been to control by royal mandate the onward progress of the waves of the sea. This novel tide was to submerge not only England, but all the parts of the earth.

It has often been observed how many of human plans lead to results widely different and far remote from what was originally designed. Almost the sole incentive to the colonization of the new American shores was the discovery of gold, believed to exist in fabulous quantity in some as yet undiscovered part of the continent. When the sanguine colonists of Jamestown heard the result of their first shipment of the golden sands of James river, and learned that it was nothing more than worthless mica spangles, they may have consoled themselves under their bitter chagrin in the oblivious cloud of smoke from the soothing pipe, and learned at length that in the tobacco fields they had really, if unwittingly, found a true El Dorado. For, despairing of the discovery of the metallic gold, they sought it in the culture and sale of the weed which a new habit had made indispensable to human luxury or comfort, and which made returns that filled the coffers of the planters as effectively and substantially as the metallic representative. Gold was found above the soil, not under it; and henceforward the southern colonies went on to grow and to prosper, to become populous, wealthy and refined, and to reach that social and political height which gave them preëminent influence with the other colonies, and which has never been lost through the lapse of time, the shocks of war or the reverses of fortune. And this is all directly traceable to tobacco.

Tobacco was soon made to perform also the functions of gold in another form. Its culture once firmly established, and markets opened for its disposal, it became the common medium of exchange, the standard of value, and almost the sole currency of Virginia at least. It paid the taxes of the farmer, it liquidated his debts to the merchant, it satisfied the parson for his ministrations, and it measured the dowry of the bride. It was made in its earliest colonial days, as it has been made to do in the maturity of modern commonwealths, to bear a most important relation to the subject of revenue. King James, and his successor, King Charles, both strove to obtain a monopoly of the sale of tobacco raised in Virginia, which the Governor and Council compromised, by agreeing to contract with their sovereign for at least 500,000 pounds, at 3s. and 6d. per pound, to be inspected and guaranteed to be of uniform good quality, which is the origin of the present system of inspection. But this contract carried with it another burden opposed to the liberties of agriculture. That the sovereign might be freed from competition, and obtain full prices for the amount of tobacco delivered to him, the planter was required to gather only twelve leaves from each plant. In its early history, as in its modern experience, tobacco has been the sport of legislation, the subject of vexatious laws and tyrannical exactions, as if law-makers had conspired to punish mankind for the facility with which they had yielded to its seductive dominion.

North Carolina lagged many years behind Virginia in the extent of the culture of tobacco; for whereas all the tide-water region of the latter State became almost exclusively devoted to this staple, long before the Revolutionary War, but comparatively a small portion of the former was given up to it. The counties of Warren and Granville, and the counties along Dan, with portions of Orange and Chatham, under their former limits, were probably the only counties in which tobacco was extensively cultivated for market.

With the progress of settlement and with the acquisition of the territories beyond the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, lands and climate were both found by the Virginia and the North Carolina emigrant to induce experimental trials in those regions. How successfully, the vast production of Kentucky and Missouri has long furnished satisfactory proof. The other new western States and Territories, as they came into being, made the same ventures. The colder northern and northwestern States made the trial, and they too succeeded. The result is that there is scarcely a State in the Union which is not tobacco-growing to some extent.

In such wide diversity of soil and climate there must of necessity have been developed many varieties of quality; and as a consequence we find the seed-leaf of Pennsylvania and Connecticut with a fragrance almost equal to the famous product of Cuba; the rich and fragrant leaf of Virginia and North Carolina, unapproachable anywhere in the world as a chewing tobacco, and the foundation of those brands of smoking tobacco which find consumers everywhere in the reach of commerce. The heavier and darker qualities of Kentucky and Missouri have their peculiar excellencies and always find ready markets. The same may be said of Tennessee.

It is undeniable that North Carolina is the producer of tobacco unequalled even in Virginia; and yet owing to the course trade has almost always taken, she is deprived of her due credit both for quantity and quality. Until within a few years, when she has built up some interior markets, Virginia has absorbed her fame as well as her products. The statistical tables of 1875 put North Carolina as the fourth State in extent of crop, yet foreign commercial tables take no note of this, and the forty or more millions of leaf tobacco that go out of North Carolina, go upon the world as Virginia tobacco. It is no reproach to Virginia that this is so. She has systematized her business by the experience of two centuries, and shipments from Richmond and Petersburg had a guarantee for their excellence in the fidelity, knowledge and skill of those who controlled the market. And Virginia had given North Carolina the only market within reach of her producing regions until that change in the system of sales, established since the war, has given her markets of her own. It is now her duty to show to the world what she does, and vindicate her fame and the magnitude of her resources.

How can she part with her property in the fame of her “bright yellow tobacco,” a fame based upon its North Carolina origin and broadened by its almost exclusive North Carolina production? The name of Marshall, who opened up the golden treasure of California, and gave birth, as it were, to the Empire State of the Pacific, ought not to be held in higher honor than that of Capt. Abishai Slade, of Caswell county, who, in 1856, made that discovery by which the dark brown leaf of tobacco was turned by magic touch into a foliage

Shining as patines of bright gold,”

a color marvellous to the uninitiated; a color that inspires the seller to hold on to his wares with a kind of covetous greed; a color that fascinates and excites the buyer as if he could not pay too much for this beautiful semblance of the product of the mine.

Now all this treasure is almost exclusively in possession of our State. Until recently it was confined to the narrow belt running from southeast to northwest—embracing portions of the counties of Warren, Granville, Orange, Person, Caswell, Alamance and Rockingham, and reaching a little way over into Virginia. Now that area has been extended by the addition of the extreme eastern counties of Wayne and Lenoir, of the middle counties of Stokes and Forsythe, of the western counties of Catawba, Iredell and McDowell, and the trans-montane counties of Buncombe, Madison, Haywood, Henderson, Yancey and Transylvania.

It is a monopoly of the most magnificent kind; a monopoly of a production without a rival and of a market without a competitor; yet it goes abroad in its crude form as Virginia tobacco, and the world hears nothing of North Carolina in connection with it.

Without doing injustice to our sister State, or prejudicing her just claims to priority in so much that concerns tobacco in all its relations to agriculture, to commerce, to manufacture and to legislation, the just claims of North Carolina will be presented in these pages, with the hope that a State pride, defective in so much else, may be aroused to vindicate her reputation in this, one of her most important interests.

 A SKETCH OF THE TOBACCO INTERESTS OF NORTH CAROLINA. CHAPTER I. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES—THE WINSTON SECTION.

WHILE tobacco, as a native plant of America, will readily grow in almost all parts of North Carolina, it has long been well known that the finer qualities are restricted to certain limits defined by characteristic geological peculiarity. And it is curious to notice that this limit is fixed by one geological formation; and that in all parts of that system the results prove to be the same. For years after the discovery of the mode of curing the “bright yellow tobacco,” custom, and at length steady belief, had restricted those limits within the narrow bounds of a few favored counties; and the favorable results of experiments made beyond that zone were ascribed rather to accident than to similarity in the elements of soil essential to the perfect development of such product; or such product was disparaged as wanting in all, if possessing some,of the merits of the fruits of the favored region. One of the beneficent results of the State Geological Survey, a work yet incomplete, derided, opposed and threatened with summary suppression, was to demonstrate the wide extent of the Laurentian System.Practical experience had proved the special adaptation of certain soils to the production of the finer kinds of tobacco. Science stepped in to confirm the judgment of experience, and to give confidence to the bold adventurer who might dare to step beyond prescribed limitations.

The characteristics of this system, one of the oldest of the series of stratified rocks, are, that they contain most of the metamorphic rocks of North Carolina, “consisting of granite, syenite and other horn-blendic rocks, dionite and crystalline limestone; and these contain much magnetic and specular iron ore, frequently in many large beds; and beds of graphite are also common.”*

* Kerr's Geology of North Carolina, p. 113.

The map of the Geological Survey of North Carolina shows the extent, and also the wide separation of this system by the interposition of other formations. It makes its appearance about the centre of the State, embracing a portion of the counties of Wake, Granville, Orange, Alamance, Caswell, Person, and Rockingham, and extending some distance over into Virginia into the counties of Halifax and Pittsylvania. This has been pre-eminently the treasure-house of the bright yellow tobacco. But again, it makes its appearance, after a separation by broad belts of miocene and taconic formation, at a point beginning near Wentworth, in Rockingham County, and extending in a southwestern course nearly to the South Carolina line, and reaching nearly to the foot of the Blue Ridge; and here again is found another field for the production of “bright yellow” tobacco. Again it reappears beyond the Blue Ridge, occupying most of the mountain plateau between that range and the Smoky Mountains; and in the counties of Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, Haywood, and others adjacent, is found a new field for this valuable production.

It is thus evident that a special subject of industry must expand far beyond the limits to which it was believed to be rigidly restricted; with this difference, that while that portion of the geologic system beyond the Blue Ridge is adapted apparently only to light and highly colored tobaccos, those portions to the east of it have a wider latitude of variety, and produce with equal excellence the dark and heavy grades in demand for the worker of plug stock, and the bright and highly priced finer qualities in request for smokers and wrappers.

In this treatise it is proposed to consider these sections in the order in which they present themselves, beginning at the eastern limit of the western section, and giving information in detail so far as obtained.

THE WINSTON SECTION.

This properly embraces the counties of Stokes and Forsythe, of Davie and Davidson, and involves to large extent those of Guilford and Rockingham. The surface is undulating, sometimes boldly so; again stretching out in broad, comparatively level areas. The native growth includes many varieties of oak, hickory, chestnut, walnut, dogwood and chinquepin; the woods in parts being quite open, in others filled with dense undergrowth. The soil varies more in color than in chemical structure. In portions of Forsythe, for instance, it is gray, light and friable; while in another it is dark or reddish, and heavier and more compact; but all exhibiting the same results, analyses probably showing large percentages of potash or of alkali and alkaline earth, the darker portions tinged with the oxides of iron, but all proving their adaptability to the production of tobacco in its most perfect form.

The cultivation of tobacco in this section is no new thing. For many years it had been pursued on the richer and heavier lands, with the only aim of application to the coarse grades of plug tobacco, much of which was manufactured at home by the farmer in a very primitive method, the presses being in the open air, worked by a screw operated by the long wing-levers once familiar to the eye in the cotton regions. The curing was in the same primitive style, air or sun curing being universal. It may be a question if the lover of good chewing tobacco has not lost by the modern processes, which sacrifice flavor to color, and which give to the eye that which they deny to the palate.

But in this section there was no expansion in cultivation, because the production being the fruits of a rich, rank soil, could not come in competition with those of a soil yet richer and ranker and more extended in area, such as is abundantly found in Virginia and Maryland, in Kentucky and Missouri. It was after the discovery of the process of curing tobacco to a bright yellow was introduced, that experiment proved these lands as well suited to the production of that as well as to a high grade of dark tobacco suitable to dark wrappers and fillers as any other in the State; and with the facility of markets built up in the centre of the producing region, and manufactories springing into existence to keep alive a permanent demand, the industry now engages the interest of many counties until lately wholly ignorant of the culture or even of the various qualities of tobacco.

 WINSTON.

Forsythe County, cut off from the county of Stokes, was formed in 1848, and Winston, immediately contiguous to the somewhat venerable town of Salem, was made county-seat. For more than twenty years after its designation as the county capital, it had no other importance. Salem overshadowed it by its older population, its large mercantile transactions and its educational reputation. Winston lived in humble obscurity as a courthouse village, until suddenly the spring was touched which gave her life and energy, and made her a name more widely and interestedly known than that of her venerable sister. She has now a population of little less than four thousand, a town handsomely and substantially built, and a business, based upon the sales and manufacture of tobacco, which makes it one of the most important centres of that stupendous interest.

In the town of Winston there are three sales warehouses, fourteen plug factories, one smoking factory, not at present in operation, and one plug factory, so immediately in the vicinity as properly may be included in the interests of the town. A brief sketch of each will be given in detail, together with information, as far as could be obtained, of such points and establishments as are practically tributary to the business of Winston. And first of the warehouses,

 BROWN'S WAREHOUSE.

In 1872, Mr. T. J. Brown was encouraged by the increasing cultivation of tobacco in this section, to venture upon the enterprise of opening a warehouse in Winston, which he did in an old barn of small size, 30×40 feet. The sales were advertised to take place daily, but supplies were irregular and small, and sale days were few and far between. There was then only one plug factory in the place, whose yearly output was not more than twenty thousand pounds. The culture in the surrounding country was small, conducted in primitive methods, without the use of artificial fertilizers, and curing was effected by the air or the sun or by wood fires. The introduction of coal curing, and more recently of flues, has completely revolutionized the whole system, the result of which is the abundant production of fine yellow tobacco, as well as a very superior article of dark grades. The increase of production compelled an increase of accommodations, and Brown's warehouse is now a building 70×200, with full skylight and abundant conveniences within and without. The sales take place daily during the season. The house is known under the name of T. J. Brown & Co., and is formed by Messrs. T. J. Brown, W. B. Carter and J. R. Pearce. Mr. R. D. Moseley is auctioneer and Mr. P. A. Wilson bookkeeper.

Mr. Brown reports that the condition of the growing crop is very superior, and greatly increased in quantity. Many new men have gone into the business this year, and older planters have enlarged their operations. In characterizing peculiarities, he describes the tobacco of Stokes County as remarkably rich and waxy. He estimates the sales of Winston for the current year at seven millions of pounds, of which home manufacturers take about one-half; the remainder is bought on orders for Canada, the Western cities, Baltimore, etc., some large houses in the latter city, such as Gail & Ax, obtaining a large proportion of their stock here.

Mr. Brown adds that when he embarked in business in 1872 there were no banks in Winston, and no facilities whatever to aid a struggling enterprise. All this is now changed, there being ample bank accommodations, and also the convenient addition of a revenue office. The growth of the town in size and in business is more marked within the past five years than at any previous period.

The next warehouse in date of erection is that of

 PHOL & STOCKTON.

The house, built in 1874 by W. A. Lash, was known as “Lash's Warehouse.” It was subsequently occupied by Norwood & Pearce, who were succeeded by Haines & Brown, then by Cabell & Hairston, then by Sheppard & Wiles; and about July 1st of the present year (1880) it passed into the possession of the present proprietors, Phol & Stockton. The building is of wood, 70×200, well lighted, and with ample accommodations; those for wagons and horses being now largely increased. Mr. John Sheppard, formerly of Richmond, afterwards of Danville, is general business manager. He has been a warehouseman since 1865, and inherits a family instinct which has given to Richmond so many men distinguished in tobacco life.

Mr. Sheppard reports the estimated annual sales at this warehouse at two million of pounds. The bulk of receipts are fine wrappers, both bright and mahogany, and fillers. The counties in North Carolina tributary to Winston are Forsythe, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin, Rowan, Davie, Davidson, Iredell, Wilkes, Guilford, and Rockingham; and Virginia is largely represented by Patrick Henry and Grayson counties. Stokes and Davie stand at the head of the market for superiority in all grades; the fine tobaccos of these counties, and of Guilford, compare favorably with the best made in Granville. Mr. Sheppard thinks the tobacco of this section better suited to all general purposes than any other part of the country; and there is eager and steady demand from the North, the West, and from Canada, which has the effect of maintaining always a firm market.

The soil of the lower or southern part of Forsythe is light sandy loam; the upper part and that of Stokes, red and heavier; the growth oak, hickory, chestnut, etc., with undergrowth of chinquepin; in some parts the woods open and covered with grass. The lands in Davie and Davidson are chocolate-colored loam, and almost entirely free from rock.

The firm of Phol & Stockton is composed of T. A. Wiles, floor manager; N. T. Stockton, bookkeeper; E. Phol, financial agent, and James Stockton, general supervisor.

 THE PIEDMONT WAREHOUSE

was established by Hobson & Scales as the Planter's Warehouse. Mr. M. W. Norfleet took charge of the house in 1876, and gave it its present title, and increased its capacity to 14,200 square feet, with ample accommodations; wagons unload inside of the building, and there is a wagon-shed 190×20. The sales are held daily. The first year's sales did not exceed half a million pounds. They are now more than four times as great, and the increase this year is from 50 to 75 per cent. over that of the last.

Large orders are made to this house from distant points—from Detroit, from Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Baltimore, and from Canada. The large house of Gail & Ax, Baltimore, has been purchasing here for the past five years.

Fillers as fine as any made in the United States can be abundantly had here; the best from Stokes, which, in addition to some peculiar virtue of soil, has had the benefit of the longest experience. Mahogany wrappers of superior excellence, and lugs and smokers of remarkable sweetness and flavor, fill the market; and there is a fair proportion of bright wrappers and smokers.

Mr. M. W. Norfleet is the head of this house and general supervisor, Mr. W. A. S. Pearce is bookkeeper, Mr. James S. Scales floor manager, and Mr. J. Q. A. Barham auctioneer.

 FACTORIES.

Culture and manufactures react the one upon the other. The first, finding a ready demand for its product, is stimulated to increased industry and encouraged to the application of higher skill. The other, obtaining its supplies with certainty and convenience, ventures to enlarge its operations, and becomes ambitious to expand its profits and its reputation. Such has been emphatically the case in Winston, where supply and demand have gone hand in hand; where the producer found a market when his products were ready for it, and where the consumer obtained his supplies without going far beyond his own doors to seek them. And that these supplies have been of superior excellence is proven by the fact that the fabrics of the Winston factories have so impressed their good qualities upon purchasers that the factories there have been spared during this year the mortification of suspended operations or short time, such as rival towns have been forced to submit to. On the contrary, the Winston factories have been worked to their utmost capacity to meet a constantly increasing demand. This is the testimony of the whole of them, as will be seen in the notice given of each one, and is the result of skill in manufacture, and of the perfect adaptation of the raw material used to the end sought to be attained.

One of the most extensive factories is that of

 BROWN & BROTHER,

who worked under the same firm name in Mocksville, N. C., as far back as 1858, but who subsequently removed to Winston. They occupy a brick building, four stories high, exclusive of a commodious attic, 50×200 feet. It is perfectly arranged for the business, with every possible appliance for convenience and for safety; the large “dry rooms” being separated from the other part of the working space by fire-proof partitions. Hydraulic power in connection with steam is used for the press work. Two hundred and twenty-five hands are employed, during eight months of the year, in making all styles and grades of plug and twist; the latter being a specialty for the Southern and Western trade.

The production for the current year will reach five hundred thousand pounds, and, with continued proportionate increase of business, is expected to reach one million pounds next year.

The prominent brands of this factory are “Honest 7,” “Cottage Home,” “Waverly,” “Ruby,” “Little Joker,” “Archer,” “Brick Factory,” “Golden Link,” “Gold Dust,” “Oliver Twist,” “H W's.” “Slap Jack,” “Dexter,” “Brown's Mule,” etc. “Oliver Twist” is a popular brand of twist.

The Messrs. Brown report that Winston is not so good a market in which to obtain brights as fillers; in which last there has been in recent years marked improvement, and they are little, if at all, inferior to the noted Henry (Va.) County fillers. For fine wrappers, Davie, Davidson, and Rockingham counties are most approved.

 P. H. HAINES & CO.

began work in 1874. They occupy a brick building 118×55, with an extension wing 105 feet long, the main building being four stories high. Hydraulic power, applied by steam, is used. One hundred and seventy-five hands, including forty-five rollers, are employed, who will turn out half a million of pounds this season, with a constantly increasing demand; and there is an expectation of a much larger production next year. The usual sizes of plug and twist are made for a large trade extending from Baltimore to Texas, including all the intermediate States South and West. Last year a considerable quantity of the manufacture of this house was sent to Kansas, and it gains favor wherever used.

This house is composed of energetic and sagacious young men, intelligent and sagacious in their business, and shrewd and enterprising to adopt every possible improvement, thus maintaining and advancing a reputation gained by attentive skill — keeping abreast with all rivalry, resulting in operations the extent of which is not surpassed by any similar establishment in North Carolina.

 BYRUM, COTTON & JONES

opened in 1879, the firm being composed of Taylor Byrum, Robert Cotton and E. D. Jones. They occupy a brick building three and half stories high, and 40×100, and use hydraulic power in pressing. They employ about sixty hands, including fifteen rollers, and make plug and twist; of the former, from 6×3 to 12×3; and of the latter, six and twelve inch. Among their prominent brands are Wachowa, Silver Wave, Smart Aleck, Mamie Lee, Shoe Heel, and Oneida. The amount annually made is about one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds, with a steadily progressive increase. The trade of this house is now spread over ten States: Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. All stock for this factory is obtained on the Winston market.

 C. HAMLIN & CO.,

successors to C. Hamlin, began business in 1872. Their building is brick, two and a half stories, and is 40×100. They employ about sixty hands, including twelve rollers, using improved machinery, and turn out annually about one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds of the usual sizes and grades of plug and twist. Their trade is principally with Baltimore and the South. Like all the other houses in Winston, this one shows a constantly increasing business.

 T. L. VAUGHAN & CO.

Mr. T. L. Vaughan, though not the first manufacturer in Winston, erected its first tobacco factory. The present firm was organized in 1878. It occupies a brick building 118×53, with an “L” of 58 feet long, also of brick, the whole two and a half stories high, and is practically three stories high. One hundred and twenty-five hands are employed, including twenty-eight rollers, who produce annually two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of the usual sizes and grades of plug and twist. The trade is principally with the South, though large shipments are made to Cincinnati and Memphis. The business of this firm is also increasing, and the product next year is expected to exceed largely that of the present one.

 BITLING & WHITAKER,

in the extent of their operations, and in the repute of their product, are second to no house in Winston. They began work in that town in 1876, and occupy a building of wood, four stories high and 40×116. The annual capacity of the house is five hundred thousand pounds, which will probably be exceeded this year, and certainly so the next. It employs about two hundred and twenty-five hands, who turn out all grades of plug and twist, for which an active demand is found, principally in the South and Southwest, and also in Baltimore and Cincinnati. This firm are the manufacturers of the brands celebrated as “Lucille,” “Empress,” and “Sprig of Acacia.”

 W. W. WOOD

built his factory in 1877, and began work in 1878. His building is of brick, four stories high, and is 40×140. He employs one hundred and twenty-five hands, who this year will produce two hundred and fifty thousand pounds nett tobacco. The first year his products were sixty-five thousand pounds, the second year two hundred thousand, and the current year as above stated. But Mr. Wood, by a happy invention, will hereafter largely surpass, in all probability, any result he has as yet attained. With high inventive genius, he has patented a mill which is designed to pack tobacco in new and very attractive forms, the mill pressing into the “shapes” the lumps, which form a central decagon, from which extend the corresponding radical pieces, the diameter over all being about twelve inches, and the whole neatly packed in an oaken bucket containing forty-five pounds, and appropriately branded “The Old Oaken Bucket.” The style is so novel and beautiful that the eyes of the trade have been strongly drawn toward it; and the demand for the new style is already so great that Mr. Wood will probably abandon altogether the hardly less celebrated brands of “Mark Twain” and “Maud Muller,” and devote his efforts exclusively to “The Old Oaken Bucket.” Mr. Wood has been engaged in the tobacco business in many of its various branches throughout his business life.

 HAMILTON SCALES,

better known as Ham. Scales, began the manufacture of tobacco in Winston in 1870, and was the pioneer of the business. There being no sales warehouse in the place at that time, his supplies were obtained by direct transactions with the planters on their farms. He erected his present factory of wood in 1875. It is 2½ stories high, 60×34, with a cooling room 34×18, and dry-house 16×16. He works on an average fifty hands, producing annually one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds of plug altogether, the most prominent brands of which are “Aleck Stephens,” “No. 1,” in 30 pound packages, “Bob Toombs” and “Piedmont.” His trade is principally with the South, with uniform steady increase.

 BAILEY BROTHERS,

consisting of W. D. Bailey and P. N. Bailey, removed from Statesville, where they had worked as manufacturers since 1874, to Winston during the year 1880. They occupy a building of wood, three stories high, 35×70, and employ fifty hands, turning out one hundred thousand pounds of plug and twist. Their trade, constantly increasing, is mostly with the Southern States.

 P. W. DALTON & CO.,

the firm being composed of P. W. Dalton, W. J. Cooper and Lee Hendricks. They began work during the current year, 1880, in a building of wood, two and one-half stories high, and 40×50, with a dry-house 20 feet in length. They employ on an average through the working season fifty hands, who will make this year one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of nett tobacco of all the styles and grades of plug and twist. Owing to the steady increase of demand, this house expects next year to increase its production to two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Its trade is mostly with South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, with scattering transactions with all the territory from Virginia to Texas. The most prominent brands are “P. W. Dalton,” “Little Harry,” “Little Gracie,” “Little Nina,” “Old Virginia,” “Orange Leaf,” “Rose Bud,” “Yellow Jessamine,” “Geranium,” and “P. W. Dalton's A. A. A. A.”

 R. J. REYNOLDS

began business at his present location in 1874, gradually enlarging his building as his business increased, until he now occupies a brick building, 38×128, three stories high, and employing one hundred and twenty-five hands, with a nett result of two hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds for the current working year. The steady increase of business will compel additions to the buildings next year. The trade is partly with the South, but more extensive with the North and West, exacting a great variety of styles and grades for so many different markets. The prominent brands are “Strawberry,” twist; “Oronoko,” pounds; “World's Choice,” pounds; and Reynolds' “Bright 7 ounce twist.”

 H. H. REYNOLDS

began business this year, 1880, in a building partly brick, partly wood, 38×110, and two and one-half stories high. He employs between sixty-five and seventy hands, making one hundred thousand pounds nett tobacco, exclusively twist. The trade is with both North and South and is exclusively wholesale, and the attention of this house is largely given to working up jobbers' brands.

Mr. Reynolds reports as a general feature of the business in Winston, that the “Little Oronoko” is mostly used for fillers, and the “Broad Oronoko” and “Silky Pryor” for wrappers. A new and apparently accidental variety locally known as “Sea” is coming into use in the counties along the Virginia border. It prizes a dark rich color.

From two other factories in Winston, and from one in the vicinity, no information was obtained. Their aggregate annual production of plug and twist is estimated at three hundred and fifty thousand pounds.

Besides the factories in the town of Winston, there are many points within a comparatively short distance, and most of which purchase their stocks in the Winston market. Chief among these is

 MOUNT AIRY,

in Surry County, which is in the centre of a fine tobacco country, the products of which are “brights” of fine color and quality, and very superior “mahogany.” Curing is effected by coal and by flues, the latter coming into more favor, and there is a great demand for Lyon's sheet-iron flue.

A warehouse was opened at Mount Airy a few years ago, but was soon abandoned as such and converted into a factory. There are three factories in the town, to wit: those of Messrs. Brower, Banner, and Ashley; and within a radius of four miles of the town four more, those of Messrs. Sparker, Patterson, R. L. Gwynn, and Fulton. The nett aggregate product of the whole of the above is about five hundred thousand pounds.

 KERNERSVILLE,

in Forsythe County, has five factories, producing in the aggregate about three hundred thousand pounds of plug and twist. The manufacturers are Messrs. King, Leake, Beard, Roberts & Co., and Kerner, all with good and increasing business.

 BETHANIA,

in Forsythe County, was long ago widely known as the seat of the extensive cigar factory of Lash & Bros. That has long been closed, but has been succeeded by the plug and twist factory of O. J. Lehman & Co., who make about one hundred thousand pounds yearly; and in the vicinity is the factory of C. H. Orender, who makes about seventy-five thousand pounds of the same.

D. W. Dalton, in Stokes County, twenty miles from Winston, makes of plug and twist about one hundred thousand pounds.

N. D. Sullivan, at Walkertown, in Forsythe County, is one of the most noted manufacturers in the county, his work being uniformly fine. He is remarkable for his strict adherence to his prices, not permitting his agents to sell for more than the sum he had fixed, even though there had been an advance in the market.

Piggott & Co., at High Point, Guilford County, have a plug factory which produces between seventy-five thousand and one hundred thousand annually.

At Walnut Cove, in Stokes County, Dr. Wm. Lash has a plug factory with a yearly capacity of about seventy-five thousand pounds.

At Mocksville, H. B. Howard & Co. have a plug factory with about the same capacity;

And Payne, Lunn & Co., at Salisbury, have a plug factory turning out about two hundred thousand pounds a year.

 AGGREGATE PRODUCTION.

This can only be ascertained approximately. The three warehouses in Winston only estimate their sales; but suppose them to reach seven millions of pounds for the crop season closing with the month of September, 1880, the manufacture of nett tobacco in the Winston factories reaches 3,275,000 lbs., to which may be added ten per cent. for stems, which gives 3,602,500.

The factories at Mount Airy, Kernersville and elsewhere in the surrounding country, obtain most of their stock in Winston, and this will add at least one million more to the receipts of the Winston warehouses. To this must be added the very large amount bought on orders and shipped in the leaf, and also the large quantity shipped on speculation. The aggregate will therefore exceed, rather than fall below, the estimated receipts of the warehousemen.

All accounts coincide as to the excellent condition of the growing crop, and the large increase in area planted. No account places it less than twenty-five per cent., and therefore the receipts on the Winston market for the next year will fall little short of ten million pounds.

 REVENUE RECEIPTS.

Dr. W. H. Wheeler, the Collector for the 5th District, kindly furnishes the following amounts paid on Tobacco for the year ending June 30th, 1880, in the different counties composing the district:

Alamance. . . . .$ 538 56 Caswell. . . . .15,846 60 Forsythe. . . . .314,998 82 Guilford. . . . . 24,460 68 Person. . . . .49,204 84 Rockingham. . . . .244,930 67 Randolph. . . . .2,860 08 Stokes. . . . .70,008 70 Surry. . . . .78,486 62 Total. . . . .$801,335 57

CHAPTER II. STATESVILLE SECTION.

ALTHOUGH no market has been permanently opened at this point, its relation to the rapidly developing culture of tobacco in Iredell and adjoining counties, naturally tributary to a point commanding such superior facilities for transportation as Statesville, makes the existence of one only a question of time.

The geological structure of this section is also the Upper Laurentian; and its similarity in general features attracted the attention of tobacco planters from the counties of Person and Caswell, who foresaw the fruit that awaited judicious experiment. That experiment has been made and with success, and the culture of tobacco now engages the attention of the farmers of Iredell, as well as those of Alexander, Caldwell, Mitchell, Wilkes, Yancey, and others who possess like characteristics of soil and climate.

Mr. R. J. West, of Statesville, engaged in the tobacco business for many years, and at present a partner in a warehouse at Hickory, furnishes the following information:

The culture of tobacco in this section as a market crop was undertaken since the war. The inducement to it was the similarity in soil to that of the lands in Caswell County which produced the bright yellow tobacco. Settlers from that and other similarly situated counties came to Iredell, some as instructors in the mysteries of curing, but the majority as permanent citizens of a virgin territory. Thirty or forty families from these counties are engaged in the cultivation. Their success has been marked, the result being a rich, large, bright yellow tobacco, inferior to the best Caswell tobacco only in texture. Fine dark wrappers and good rich fillers are made.

The production this year in Iredell County is estimated at a million and a half of pounds, the increase over last year being several hundred per cent., and success will lead to a future wide expansion of the crop. The market for this has been divided between Hickory and Winston, but Hickory will be the chief market for the incoming crop. Shipments have been made to Danville, and more or less of the crop will always seek distant markets.

Little or no tobacco is raised in the southern part of the county, but in all other parts the culture is rapidly increasing. One immediate effect has been the increased value of lands, which have risen from three dollars an acre to ten dollars and upwards.

The counties tributary to Statesville are reported to be making rapid strides in tobacco culture. In Caldwell and Alexander Counties the lands are thought even better than in Iredell, and Wilkes County is represented as superior to all of these, and, in all, the increase in the crop this year is estimated at at least one thousand per cent.

In Mitchell County, which is north of the Blue Ridge, and which is broken and mountainous, the area north of the North Toe (properly Estato) River is considered specially adapted to fine yellow tobacco, being identical, in fact, with the lands of Madison County, hereafter to be referred to.

Much attention is paid to the improvement of the plant. The Messrs. Deake, of Bakersville, introduced the Yellow Oronoko and Silky Pryor. Tobacco of low grade had been cultivated for many years, but it was not until the introduction of better seed that attention was given to curing. This is as yet imperfect, but a crop from this county, sold in the Lynchburg market, was pronounced by French and Italian buyers the best they had ever seen. The prominent farmers in this county, who may be regarded as the pioneers of its tobacco interests, are Selden and Garrett Bailey, and others of that name in Hollow Poplar township. Albert Slagle in Red Hill township has the largest crop in the county; John Peterson has a large crop, and — M'Kinney one which is described as “extra fine.”

In Yancey County, west of and adjoining Mitchell, and identical with it in natural features, there is a considerable quantity of tobacco raised on Jack and Pig Pen Creeks, and also on Carey River, which finds favor in the Marshall and Ackerville markets. In this county the production of tobacco increases with marvellous rapidity, and will soon absorb all agricultural interest, as it is the only crop which will profitably bear transportation in the absence of all railroad facilities.

WAREHOUSE AND FACTORY IN STATESVILLE.

There has not been in this place the energy of enterprise to meet the industry of the planter which distinguished Winston. One warehouse, of full capacity and excellent arrangement, was suffered to be closed through bad management; it is probable that it will be opened the coming season. There is only one factory in operation, that of Mr. McElwee, which makes both plug and smoking tobacco, both on a small scale. Mr. Thomas J. Bennett, from Franklin County, Va., is foreman, and worked a plug factory in Charlotte in 1858, and was subsequently with the factory of Dr. Keene at Salisbury.

H. L. Ayres is a manufacturer of cigars in Statesville, but uses Connecticut tobacco exclusively.

It is impossible that such advantages of position and proximity to so large and excellent a source of supply can be neglected by the business men of Statesville, who in all else are models of energy and sagacity; therefore their shortcomings are noted, not in condemnation, but with surprise.

 CHAPTER III. HICKORY AND ITS TRIBUTARY INTERESTS.

HICKORY, in Catawba County, is a railroad creation, springing up on the site of the “Old Hickory Tavern,” the ruins of which, in the centre of the busy life and fresh-looking buildings of the new town, are reverently preserved, both as a memento of humble origin and as an eloquent note of progress. The situation of Hickory on the Western North Carolina Railroad is a commanding one, being the convenient shipping point for part of the adjoining county of Burke, of Caldwell, Alexander, the upper part of Iredell, parts of Wilkes, Watauga, and McDowell; and it became the centre of the large miscellaneous trade which developed it rapidly into the dimensions of a very thrifty town. Tobacco is soon destined to rank as its most important subject of business.

The country around Hickory is rolling, falling away somewhat boldly on the south and southwest towards the outlying spurs of the South Mountains; less boldly towards the north and northwest, where it expands itself in gently undulating folds; the whole covered with a not very dense growth of oak, hickory, chestnut and pine, with an undergrowth of dogwood, gumwood and chinquepin. The soil is sandy or gravelly loam, gray, with yellow or reddish clayey subsoil; with few rocks, and they in process of disintegration. The general appearance of soil and growth readily suggests to the practised eye a perfect adaptability to the culture of superior tobacco, and experience has confirmed such judgment.

But the culture as a market crop is of very recent introduction and of slow development, the most rapid advance having been made within the last three years.

Mr. J. K. Bobbitt, a former Granville planter, furnishes the following information:

He removed from Granville in 1875, and settled in the county of Burke, near the Catawba line, and within a few miles of Hickory; his object being to make fine yellow tobacco on lands he believed equal to the choicest lands in Granville County. His success has been complete; his crop last year averaged $22.50, and he made thirteen hundred and seventy-nine pounds on one and a half acres. He thinks that the plant has a quicker growth and more perfect maturity than in Caswell or Granville; is subject to few diseases, and is altogether free from “spot,” which he ascribes to cooler and moister nights; but worms are as troublesome here as elsewhere. He also thinks tobacco is more readily cured bright here than in Granville, and that it possesses equal weight. More matured experience in culture, curing and handling, he thinks, will make it equal to the best.

In this vicinity the progress of culture is readily traced. In 1878, those who made a crop for market were Captain R. B. Davis, Addison Morgan and John D. Morgan. In 1879, in addition to these were L. A. Bolling, J. A. Hartsell, F. A. Wiley, C. M. White, Mrs. Holden, M. Martin, P. B. Summers, — Huffman, and perhaps others. In 1880 there is a large addition to the number of planters, as well as a large increase in the crop planted by each; among whom are D. W. Rowe, 20 acres; D. Abernathy, 12 acres; R. B. Davis, 10 acres; R. W. McComb, 10 acres; and J. A. Hartsell has doubled his crop. F. A. Wiley, this year, as last, has 5 acres planted within the corporate limits of Hickory. In addition to the above are A. Morgan, 15 acres; J. D. Morgan, 5 acres, and P. K. Morgan, 6 acres; all within four miles of Hickory, in which area there are altogether 240 acres planted in tobacco this year.

The counties tributary to Hickory are all increasing their production in like proportion. In Caldwell County, north of the Catawba river, it is estimated that two-thirds of the land is suitable to fine tobacco, and the cultivation is rapidly increasing. Among the principal planters are W. P. Mangum and W. O. Mangum, 10 acres each; Charles Satterthwaite, 15 acres; Sam Scheares and Chris. Satterthwaite, together, 20 acres; the widow Scheares, 10 acres; Daniel Hickman, 7 acres; A. Martin, 5 acres; Babel Sherrill, 5 acres, and many others; and most of the above are from the counties of Granville, Caswell and Person.

In Burke County, near its eastern border, are found J. K. Bobbitt, 3 acres; Hannibal Adams, 7 acres; — Morgan, 10 acres; Hugh Ervin, 3 acres; Wm. Adams, 3 acres; Ephraim Aby, 4 acres; Aaron Cook, 2 acres, and others; these being also mostly from the counties east. Beyond the Catawba river, in the northern portion of Burke, the tobacco impulse is general; and the greater portion of the county will eventually be cultivated in that staple, a course justified by analysis of soils having a large percentage of lime and potash, elements favorable to the production of good tobacco.

Wilkes County increases its crop this year by several hundred per cent., with a quality of tobacco said to be equal to that of Granville. The same is said of Alexander County. McDowell County makes a very fine bright tobacco, but there has not been the same increase as in the counties already named. A considerable interest has been roused in Lincoln County, on the south, and the product is a very good bright.

Mr. J. K. Bobbitt claims to have been the first to erect a tobacco-barn in the county of Burke, and deserves honor for an example since so extensively followed. The increase in the value of lands in this county has been very decided, the advance being from three and five dollars to ten, fifteen dollars and upwards per acre.

In connection with the progress of the tobacco industries of this section, it seems proper to give in his own language copious extracts from information furnished by Mr. J. G. Hall, of Hickory, a manufacturer, and also warehouse proprietor, a man of intelligence and active enterprise, to whose energies the new town of Hickory owes much of its rapid advance. He says: “The progress of tobacco culture in Catawba and adjoining counties, with their centre of trade at Hickory, has not been rapid, but continuous. Prior to 1877, little or no attention had been paid to it. It is true that, up to that time, the firm of Marshall, Lancie & Co., afterwards A. W. Marshall, had engaged in the manufacture of tobacco at Hickory, and here and there over the county might be found a man who, coming from the central tobacco regions of the State, attracted here, no doubt, by the finest climate in North Carolina, would cling to his first love and endeavor to raise tobacco. These first planters may rightfully be styled the ‘Pioneers of Tobacco’ upon the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, the true Piedmont region. Their success, limited as it was, was sufficient to attract attention, and to give good foundation for the belief of a few of our citizens that ‘the culture of tobacco’ actually belonged to this section of the State, and continuously through the past three years this faith in our soil and climate has been proved by works, and all our most intelligent planters ask is a little more time and experience to place them side by side with the most successful agriculturists in North Carolina. . . .

“We shall give the practical result of this confidence. In January, 1877, Messrs. Hall Bros., merchants in Hickory, N. C., conceived the idea of stimulating the culture of tobacco by the erection of a sales warehouse, which was made ready for business in February of the same year. The sales of this warehouse, the first in North Carolina west of Salisbury, were of necessity small, reaching only sixty thousand pounds during the season of 1877, and then followed in 1878 the block up of all the tobacco markets with the very large crop produced in the old tobacco regions in 1877. The immense production of that year, largely of a very common article, depressed prices to a greater degree than known for many years before or since, and had a depressing effect upon those among us who had hoped for a home market, the result of which was a partial abandonment of the culture the next year in some counties, particularly in McDowell, though since then it has been resumed.

“In 1878 the sales at Hall's warehouse amounted to about one hundred thousand pounds; but this did not properly represent the amount of production, for any one familiar with the history of new tobacco markets is aware that none can control at once more than a portion of the crop of the surrounding country. Our market entered the lists against such formidable rivals as Danville, Winston, Durham, and Lynchburg. Against such competition we are happy to say, to-day, that with five factories in Hickory, and the possibility of others next spring, we shall have a good demand for all the manufacturing stock that the season will produce.

“In 1879 Hickory handled about one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. In February of the present year (1880) another warehouse was erected here, and the proprietors, Messrs. Wiley & Clinard, have handled during the season about sixty thousand pounds, with the expectation, during the next crop season, to increase that amount to several hundred thousand pounds. It is estimated that these two warehouses will handle during the coming season one million pounds, and this estimate is based upon the following data:

“The stimulus given within the last three years to tobacco culture in this section will result in a crop this season of not less than fifteen hundred thousand pounds from the counties of Catawba, Lincoln, Cleaveland, Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Wilkes, and Iredell. Some of these counties will continue, more or less, to ship to other markets; but it is safe to say that out of these Hickory will receive one million pounds, the result of the demand of its factories, which consult their interests by laying in their stocks at home. . . .

“Having given some idea of the increase of production since 1877, I may properly add something about the improvement in quality. In 1877 the great bulk of the crop was poor and trashy to an extent that defied classification. It was an almost valueless nondescript. Every year witnesses improvement, and now sweet fillers and good mahogany wrappers are made as perfectly as can be desired. Many of the new planters have not yet acquired the skill in culture and cure needed to bring out the full perfection of the ‘fine gold-leaf’ tobacco which sells at its fabulous prices; but these same planters have also demonstrated the possibilities of this section for the highest excellence of that beautiful article. . . .

“We shall continue to outstrip those counties (the transmontane region whose specialty is ‘bright yellow’) in the production of sweet waxy fillers. . . .

“In regard to prices at Hickory, it is just to our manufacturers to say that a noble public spirit to sustain and build up a home market has led them sometimes to pay for their stocks more than they would have paid in other markets; at all events paying the prices obtained at distant leading markets with freight charges added. For the fine grades buyers have paid twenty to seventy-five dollars. At these prices it must be admitted that no great margin for speculation is left. These facts should convince our planters that we have a good market, second to no other.

“Our manufacturers will use of the present crop as follows: Hall & Daniel, five hundred thousand pounds; A. W. Marshall, fifty thousand pounds; A. Martin, fifty thousand pounds; H. C. Latta, fifty thousand pounds, and Cobb & Son twenty-five thousand. Other manufacturers will be added to the list before the beginning of the working season of 1881, and it may therefore be safely assumed that the Hickory manufacturers will use in 1881 seven hundred thousand pounds.”

WILEY & CLINARD'S WAREHOUSE,

known as “the Farmer's Warehouse,” was opened on the 4th of February 1880. It is a modern building 100×50. It is well constructed and lighted and has excellent accommodations and conveniences for the planter and his teams. The operations of this house have been given in the preceding statement. Mr. R. J. West is the auctioneer.

 FACTORIES. HALL & DANIEL

are manufacturers of plug, eleven, ten and six inch twist. The estimate of their production, as well as that of other factories in Hickory, is given in the statement of Mr. J. G. Hall.

 MARTIN & WARREN

make plug, twist and smoking tobacco, ten inch, sixes and eights plug, and “Hickory” smoking tobacco.

 A. W. MARSHALL

makes both plug and smoking, eleven, ten and six inch plug.

 H. C. LATTA

manufactures plug and twist, eight inch twist and ten and six inch plug.

 COBB & SON

make plug and twist, eleven inch plug and six inch twist.

 J. S. TOMLINSON

is the proprietor of the very popular brand “Sweet Sixteen” of smoking tobacco, manufactured for him by A. W. Marshall, which is made of home stock, and commands ready sales, growing steadily in favor.

The character of the tobacco manufactured in Hickory is similar in most respects to that made at Winston.

 CLIMATIC INFLUENCES OF THIS SECTION.

Success has invariably attended skill and industry in the cultivation of tobacco in this section. The very considerable number of planters who have come hither from the older counties of Granville, Caswell, and others are uniform in their testimony that they regard their transfer as an advantageous one; making tobacco, they think, equally as fine, under certain aids from soil and climate they had not before enjoyed. Mr. R. B. Davis, an old planter from Halifax County, Va., but for a number of years a resident and planter of Catawba County, N. C., in his Manual discusses this question at some length, a few extracts from which are given.

Discussing the difficulties with which the planters of the old counties referred to have to contend, Mr. Davis says:

“Now the planters of Granville (and not of Granville only, but of all the border counties of Virginia and North Carolina) know that it is becoming yearly a thing of increasing difficulty to grow a ripe and sound crop. And this for the reason that the plant will not usually stand long enough on the hill to ripen and bleach sufficiently to be easily cured yellow. For, if on the one hand the crop be too long delayed by drought, a fine cure is out of the question; while on the other hand, if there is rain enough, there is apt to be excess of it; and then begin all the diseases to which the plant is heir—such as frenching, and firing, and spotting, and rusting, and shedding of the leaves. And with this fear constantly before him, the planter is under the necessity of cutting while the plant is already wasting, but before it is fully and uniformly ripe, giving him, as a result, withered sand lugs at the bottom and green tips at the top, while the middle portion may be such as he desires.

“But in this section of the State the planter is under no such necessity; for here the plant will stand upon the hill until it has ripened a clear lemon color from top to bottom, without waste, or spot, or blemish. . . . How is this, then, to be accounted for? The true explanation, I undertake to say, is to be found in the elevation of the Piedmont as compared with the central portion of the State. For it is to this greater elevation that we are indebted for our cool nights; and cool nights, in my opinion, are the salvation of the tobacco crop.”

(The elevation of the town of Henderson, in Granville County, is five hundred and five feet above tide-water; Newton, in Catawba County, is 1021 feet.)

 CHAPTER IV. THE TRANSMONTANE SECTION.

CROSSING the Blue Ridge at the Swannanoa Gap at an elevation of 2657 feet above the sea, a broken plateau spreads out to the limits of the State northwest, west and south, from which spring numerous mountain chains, culminating in the lofty peaks of the Black Mountain, the highest of which is 6707 feet above sea level. There is no level land except narrow strips of valley along the abundant streams. The only lands left to the cultivator are the numerous hills, rising often into the magnitude of mountains, bold and steep, but covered with deep, rich, gray, friable soil, universally clothed, in a state of nature, with a growth of majestic oak, chestnut, walnut, locust, buckeye, maple, black birch (or mahogany), with frequent appearance in ravines of spruce pine and heavy undergrowth of laurel, and frequently of white pine of great height. Rock is not frequent, though sometimes outcropping in the form of cliffs of moderate height, or in veins which stand in vertical strata down the sides of the hills, and occasionally occurring in broad sheets of an acre or more, naked and bare, and asserting a genuine mountain character, which otherwise is contradicted by the luxuriant foliage and giant size of the trees and the richness and beauty of the flowers.

The geological formation is also of the Upper Laurentian. The soil has long been noted for its fertility; producing the cereals in great perfection, and admirably adapted to the grasses. At the time when the turnpike along the French Broad river was the great thoroughfare of travel from the west to east, and when that road was filled with an endless throng of hogs and sheep and cattle driven from the officina animalium of East Tennessee and Kentucky, the steep hillsides and tops along the road were cultivated in corn for the supply of the stock on the way to the markets of North and South Carolina. The demand was constant and the business remunerative. But the construction of the railroad lines across the eastern end of Tennessee, connecting with both the northern and southern markets, at the gain both of time and economy, brought the business of the farmer to a sudden end, except as demanded by the necessities of his family. The turnpike became almost as deserted as one of the old Roman Ways, only trod by the tourist or traversed by the weary mail-coach dragging its slow course over a highway torn by freshets and abandoned to decay.

There was little that the farmer could do to better his fortunes, until the fact dawned by slow degrees that these bold and beautiful hills had an adaptability to the production of very fine tobacco almost without equal in the whole State of North Carolina.

Mr. S. C. Shelton, from Henry County, Va., and Mr. W. T. Dickinson, from Pittsylvania County, Va., may justly claim to be the pioneers of tobacco culture in this section, and to have prepared the way by which home markets were at last opened, or by which the fame of Buncombe and Madison tobaccos was wafted to the more distant markets of Lynchburg and Richmond. Of these gentlemen more will be said in its proper connection.

The increased production of tobacco in the county of Buncombe, and the certainty that adjoining counties would speedily engage in the same industry, suggested the enterprise of a

SALES WAREHOUSE

in Asheville, which was undertaken by Mr. J. D. Wilder, of Danville, Va., who had had large experience in the warehouse business with Capt. W. P. Graves, of that town; and in November, 1879, the first warehouse west of the Blue Ridge was opened for the use and encouragement of a home market.

The sales during the season of the current year, 1880, amounted to about six hundred thousand pounds. The supplies were drawn from the four counties of Buncombe, Madison, Haywood aad Yancey. The attention of planters has been turned almost exclusively to the production of brights. Nearly everything sold in this warehouse during the season were wrappers and smokers. Not over one thousand pounds of good fillers were offered. In quality, Mr. Wilder reports that the tobacco is somewhat wanting in body, but surpassingly fine in color. From want of experience, the curing has not been as perfect as it ought to be, nor are the appliances for curing the most approved in kind; and the farmers, from the same want of experience, are deficient in the arts of handling. Sorting is carelessly attended to, and injustice to the finer kinds is done by injudicious intermingling of qualities and colors. But this will be corrected as experience is gained. The average price for the season was from $16 to $17 per hundred; 90 cents a pound was frequently obtained, and for small lots $2.50 per pound has been given.

The mode of curing in common use is with coal or rock flues. In cultivation farmers are beginning to use fertilizers. The lands are fertile, but the seasons are short, and the maturity of the crop is found to be hastened by the aid of artificial manures.

The warehouse of Mr. Wilder is near the Swannanoa Hotel, and is a wooden building 94×64, with sky-light, and ample accommodations for the farmers and their teams.

Of this warehouse Mr. J. D. Wilder is general manager. Mr. J. J. Hill, of Danville, was auctioneer the last season.

Mr. Thomas, of Richmond, Va., is now erecting a large warehouse, which will probably be ready for the incoming crop.

 FACTORIES.

Already several of these have come into existence, with results so satisfactory as will lead to the enlargement of their operations and the erection of others. That of

J. E. RAY

has been in operation since 1875, and now obtains all its supplies at home. Its operations are yet somewhat contracted, six or eight hands being employed. Its brands are in high repute—smoking tobacco alone being made. They are “Asheville's Best,” made of the best bright leaf, exceedingly beautiful. The next in order is “Black Mountain” and “Swannanoa,” both of which are fine grades. Mr. Ray uses some flavoring, principally “deer tongue,” obtained from the North Carolina coast counties.

The tobaccos of this factory are gaining repute abroad as well as at home, the greatest demand being from Richmond, Va., and Galveston, Texas.

 MR. S. C. SHELTON

is both manufacturer and planter. In the latter capacity he came to Buncombe County from Henry County, Va., with the view of testing the soil and climate of this mountain region. He began his experiments with three acres, with results so satisfactory that he gradually enlarged his operations to one hundred and fifty acres. This, however, he has much reduced, having engaged in manufacture.

He thinks soil and climate both better suited to fine wrappers and smokers, though good fillers can be and are produced in limited supply. The use of fertilizers on fresh lands has not been deemed necessary, but Mr. Shelton approves their use, and this year applied them liberally.

The causes which favor the production of fine tobacco so especially are the elevation of the country, the dryness of the climate by day, and the coolness and moisture of the nights. Tobacco “yellows” on the hill much more readily and uniformly than in the country east of the mountains, and the curing, done by flues or coal, is effected more quickly. The variety planted principally is the broad-leaved Oronoko; the Silky Pryor is the next best. The climate or soil, or both, does not appear to suit the Connecticut seed leaf.

Since Mr. Shelton came to Buncombe the culture of tobacco has rapidly developed, and he thinks it destined to be the finest section in the United States for the finer and fancy qualities. It is becoming the chief industry of the county. Mr. Shelton is the patentee of a new process of curing, which will be spoken of in its proper place.

He took the first premium at the State Fair in 1871 for bright wrappers, and the same at the Virginia State Fair at Richmond in 1872. At the Vienna Exposition he was awarded a silver medal for his brand “Speckled Trout” of manufactured tobacco, and, at the Paris Exposition, had honorable mention for the same brand.

His factory, in Asheville, is engaged in making a favorite brand of twist, put up in very novel and attractive form, and also in the manufacture of superior and much admired smoking tobacco, for which there is already a steady demand.

 E. J. HOLMES

began the manufacture of smoking tobacco in Asheville on the 15th of January, 1880. He employs at present eight hands, and makes three brands: “Golden Leaf,” which is remarkably beautiful, unequalled in brilliancy of color, and much admired for fine flavor. “Land of the Sky” and “Pisgah” are lower grades, but both of excellent quality. The raw material is bought on the Asheville market. The natural leaf alone is used; no flavoring whatever being added. These brands are in great demand for the South Carolina and Alabama markets.

Mr. Israel, connected with this factory, prized the first hogshead of tobacco ever shipped from Buncombe County to Danville, in the year 1872.

J. R. Sams intends during the fall to begin the manufacture of smoking tobacco in Asheville.

 ARDEN.

One and a half miles from the Henderson County line and ten miles south of Asheville is Arden Park, at which lives Mr. C. W. Beale. He has in operation a cigarette factory, the material for which is obtained in the vicinity. Tobacco is cultivated all around and in the adjoining county of Henderson, and extensive preparations are now being made by clearing the mountain sides to engage largely in the cultivation next year. The country on the south of Asheville contains much gently undulating land, with broader valleys than are found to the north; these are flanked by mountains of moderate height, and with an inclination gentle enough to invite to cultivation. The soil is darker, with a greater admixture of clay, than the north side of the county. Mr. Beale thinks both climate and soil develop in the tobacco grown here peculiar characteristics of flavor, giving it a marked resemblance to Turkish tobacco. Samples sent to Constantinople have compared favorably with the celebrated Latakia of Asia Minor. This tobacco ripens early, and cures bright with great readiness.

The cigarette factory at this point is the first of its kind west of the mountains, and the peculiar excellence of its product is giving it a wide repute. It was commenced during the year 1880, and is under the management of Mr. James Riley, recently from Buckinghamshire, England.

 CHAPTER V. DOWN THE FRENCH BROAD, BUNCOMBE AND MADISON.

THE road down the French Broad leaves Asheville at some distance from the river, at liberty to divert itself for a while through a country hilly but not mountainous. But the license is soon withdrawn, and four miles from Asheville the road is compelled to come to the river side, and between the broad and boisterous torrent on the one hand and the obtrusive and rugged hills on the other, is glad to compromise for the narrow pass-way left between its rude antagonists. Here and there, at long intervals, the hills retreat far enough to permit the erection of such comfortable mansions as that of General Vance, or such hospitable hostelries as that of Mr. Alexander, or such typical farm-houses as that of Mr. Brown. With these exceptions, there is scarcely room enough between river and mountain for house to stand, until the “Midway House,” a mile from Marshall, twenty-one miles from Asheville, is reached.

But because the gorge is narrow and because the hills are bold, it does not follow that nature holds unbroken sway. These hills are covered with deep, rich soil, and crowned with grand forest growth. They are easily brought into cultivation, and respond generously to the demand upon them. Once, as before stated, they were devoted, where cleared, to corn and other grain; now they are coming into more profitable use for tobacco. Occasionally, fine crops are seen almost overhanging the roadside; but it is farther back from the river that the new enterprise is more largely engaged in.

MR. A. M. ALEXANDER

is one of the largest cultivators along the river. He lives ten miles north of Asheville, at French Broad Post-office; at which point is that delightful summer resort so well known to the eastern tourist. He has been engaged in the culture of tobacco about eight years, increasing his crop each year, and in 1880 having a crop of thirty acres. Crops here are estimated by the acre, not by the number of hills as in the eastern counties.

For bright wrappers Mr. Alexander relies exclusively on new ground. In clearing such the timber is merely deadened, the undergrowth cleared or burnt off, the ground then coultered, then ploughed with a narrow bull tongue, then harrowed and raked, and then the hills are made.

Up to this year he has not used artificial fertilizers. They are now coming into use for lands not fresh. The Star brand and Ober are principally used.

Seed are put in the plant beds in February, and plants set out from the 1st to the 10th of June. Last year Mr. A. planted some as late as the 22d of July, and for the proceeds of that planting received $14 per hundred. He works his tobacco about four times. He tops first to eight leaves, reducing them subsequently to six. More care is being taken with grading than before, and tobacco is now divided into six classes. Curing as a rule is by flues, Ragland's plan being followed.

Worms are quite as abundant here as elsewhere, and the bud-worm is troublesome.

Mr. Alexander's system of farming is to clear his steep hillsides and put them the first year in tobacco. The next year he seeds these down to grass—timothy, orchard and clover—and has now one hundred acres heavily covered. This is not the universal practice. Every farmer now cultivates tobacco, but often uses the same land to the fourth year. The increase this year in the vicinity of French Broad Post-office is about 35 per cent. over last year. Lands have advanced in price, and are valued at from $5 to $10 per acre. 50 cents to $1 an acre not long ago was the general valuation of mountain lands.

The prosperity of the people is rapidly increasing. Tobacco brings money into every household. Last year Mr. Alexander had a female tenant who cultivated two and a half acres with her own hands, and her crop was sold in the Richmond market for $680.

 MR. J. M. SMITH

lives in Madison County, immediately across the Buncombe line, and between the waters of the French Broad and Big Ivy. His lands are a continued succession of bold rolling hills, rising to an elevation of from four hundred to five hundred feet above the level of Big Ivy, with absolutely no level ground, the hills rising abruptly from the course of the small streams which intersect them, compelling the use of the hillsides, however steep they may be. The soil is a rich gray loam, with yellowish sandy subsoil. When cleared the land is easily worked, and does not readily wash, owing to the depth and porousness of the superincumbent stratum. Mr. Smith has land in tobacco which he has been cultivating for the fourth year; but he relies for his best results on new ground. These, like Mr. A. M. Alexander, he is seeding to grass, to which he has now devoted about one hundred acres.

He uses fertilizers on the older lands, beginning with the third year. He plants the broad-leaved Oronoko, about five thousand plants to the acre. He has been engaged in tobacco culture since 1870, beginning with fifteen acres, but subsequently reducing his crop until he had acquired experience, and then gradually enlarging until now he has fifty-four acres in cultivation, which, like all the crops seen in this section, were in perfect condition.

Approving the tenant system, he puts it largely into practice, to his advantage and that of his tenant. A tenant was pointed out who came to him the year before last absolutely penniless, but willing to work; telling Mr. Smith if he would erect him a cabin and put him in charge of a few acres, he would marry and make a crop of tobacco. Mr. Smith built the cabin and assigned him a portion of a ten-acre field sloping abruptly towards the north, and in which the girdled trees were still standing. His first year's crop brought him $650, after paying one-third of the proceeds of sale to his landlord.

This is the country for the poor but industrious man. Mr. Smith has ten tenants who cultivate each from four to ten acres. One tenant last year, from one and a half acres, cured and sold eight hundred and thirty-nine pounds, for which he received $345.94. Another from four and one-quarter acres last year made two thousand nine hundred and eighty pounds, for which he received $985.72; and from the same extent of ground, the year previous, made two thousand eight hundred and ninety-four pounds, for which he was paid $824.20.

In cultivation, Mr. Smith gives one thorough working with the plough and goes through three times with the hoe. He tops to eight leaves as soon as can be done without injury to the top leaves. He cures altogether with reference to wrappers and smokers, using flues, both iron and rock. Coal is not much used.

He plants the last of May or first of June. Tobacco ripens by the first of September, yellowing well on the hill, curing in the barns, which he makes eighteen feet square, with five and a half tiers, being perfected in sixty or seventy hours. He thinks both climate and soil exactly adapted to the fullest development of a superior article of tobacco. The latter contains all the necessary elements; and the former, through the influence of cool nights, and the nightly appearance of fogs, which not only supply moisture but protect against early frost, supplying all the conditions for a perfect plant.

The crop here has no special enemy except the worm, which is not very troublesome. The crop is gone over thoroughly once a week.

The elevation of Mr. Smith's farm is about twenty thousand eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. He finds an eastern or southern exposure the most advantageous.

Mr. Smith and his neighbors sell mostly in the Lynchburg market. The esteem in which the Madison tobacco is held is demonstrated by the following account sales of ten thousand seven hundred and sixty-five pounds sold by Lee, Taylor and Payne, Lynchburg, last winter for Mr. Smith, the original of which is in the possession of the writer of this. The prices paid seem to indicate that all the requisites of color, body, size and perfectness of leaf were fully met:

One lot 54 pounds at 90 $ 48 60 One lot 104 pounds at 85 88 40 One lot 199 pounds at 70 139 30 One lot 324 pounds at 69 223 56 One lot 118 pounds at 68 80 24

Three lots 387 pounds at 65 251 55 One lots 167 pounds at 60 100 20 One lots 251 pounds at 56 140 56 Two lots 605 pounds at 55 332 95 Two lots 444 pounds at 51 226 44 Two lots 646 pounds at 50 323 00 Two lots 272 pounds at 49 133 28 One lots 414 pounds at 48 198 72 One lots 345 pounds at 47 176 25 One lots 399 pounds at 46 183 54 Three lots 843 pounds at 45 389 35 One lots 53 pounds at 44 23 32 One lots 144 pounds at 43 61 92 Two lots 537 pounds at 42 225 54 One lots 47 pounds at 41 19 27 Five lots 1810 pounds at 40 724 00 Two lots 333 pounds at 38 88 54 One lots 26 pounds at 37 9 62 One lots 300 pounds at 36 108 00 Two lots 294 pounds at 35 102 90 One lots 165 pounds at 34 56 10 One lots 162 pounds at 32 51 84 Two lots 308 pounds at 30 92 40 One lots 136 pounds at 29 39 44 One lots 93 pounds at 27 25 11 One lots 233 pounds at 25 58 25 One lots 189 pounds at 22½ 42 52 One lots 60 pounds at 21½ 12 90 One lots 373 pounds at 20 74 60   10,765     $4852 21 Or an average of over $45.00 per hundred.

W. T. DICKINSON

lives in Buncombe County, near Weaversville, ten miles northeast of Asheville, and is largely engaged in the culture of tobacco. He is one of the most experienced farmers in the county, having acquired his knowledge in Pittsylvania County, Va., from which he removed to Buncombe in 1854. He is therefore fully competent to form an accurate judgment upon the quality of the mountain tobacco. His crop this year is forty-four acres, of which thirty-two are in one body.

His lands are gray, with red clay subsoil, soil much broken and heavily timbered. Planting is done late in May or early in June, and the plants grow off readily, yellowing finely in the field, and ready for cutting early in September.

From the ease with which curing is effected, Mr. Dickinson thinks both soil and climate peculiarly adapted to fine tobacco. He thinks it matures earlier than in Virginia, through the influence of cool nights and heavy dews. In curing he uses the ordinary sheet-iron flues. The time of curing is shortened by the maturity of the leaf as it comes from the fields. He uses fertilizers, the Anchor brand, on all his lands, old and new, with a product of about twelve hundred pounds to the acre.

The cultivation is rapidly extending. Yellow tobacco is almost the sole object. The lands, which are cheap and abundant, and held at an average of five dollars per acre, are taken up by the citizens of the vicinity, and, as yet, there is little immigration into this part of the county.

Mr. Dickinson sells partly in Danville, partly in Lynchburg, and obtains good prices. His last year's crop is still on hand.

He describes the lands in Yancey County, adjoining Buncombe and Madison, as identical in character, and coming rapidly into use for the same purposes. In all these counties he estimates the increase of the crop of this year over that of the last at from one hundred to three hundred per cent.

 MARSHALL AND VICINITY.

Marshall, the county seat of Madison County, is compressed into one of those narrow recesses which rarely open in this part of the French Broad, the open ground being not more than eighty yards wide and extending about four hundred yards along the river. A small island in front once formed part of the town, but was overflowed in the great flood of 1877, and has now reverted to nature. Back of the steep and toppling hills which overhang the town lies a country broken and mountainous indeed, but very fertile. These are reached from the river through the narrow gorges which occasionally divide the hills, and furnish roadways roughly available for vehicles. These furnish the roads to market.

Since the discovery of the capacity of the lands for the production of fine tobacco, they have come rapidly into use.

The superior fertility of the Madison County lands makes itself known to the most careless observation. The great size of the trees, their greater variety, the luxuriousness of foliage, and the density of the undergrowth, all indicate wonderful exuberance of soil, increasing in richness with the descent of the French Broad; and Madison County may justly claim to possess advantages surpassed by no other, if equalled by any county.

The course of the French Broad is generally north. All the lands on the east side are finely adapted to tobacco, those on the west largely so, but to less extent. The culture within the past three years has become a part of the business of almost every farmer. The increase this year in acreage is about fifty per cent.

In the infancy of a great industry its pioneers deserve honorable mention, and the names of some of the farmers within a radius of five miles of Marshall are given.

Wallace Rollins adopts the tenant system, and has this year one hundred acres in cultivation; I. Nichols has 30 acres; H. Rice, 28 acres; James M. Gudger, 27 acres; H. A. White, 25 acres; P. H. Kilpatrick, 20 acres; M. A. Robinson, 20 acres; Z. Henderson, 15 acres; J. M. Robinson, 15 acres.

At Mars Hill, ten miles north of Marshall, H. J. Carter, S. C. Huff, I. R. Sams, and E. Carter, average about fifteen acres each.

Last year Z. Henderson, from two and three-quarter acres, netted $1027; Lee Henderson, from one hundred and forty rods, sold four hundred and fifty pounds at 75 cents per pound; renters from fifty acres averaged $212 per acre.

Morning fogs along the river are of almost daily and nightly occurrence, with the singular exception of the area embracing the Warm Springs, sixteen miles below Marshall, which is said never to be obscured by fog. This may be the result of the thermal influences, which give heat to the Warm Springs and which equalize temperature. These fogs are considered highly advantageous to tobacco in giving moisture and in retarding frosts. The season of maturity being prolonged, that for planting may be postponed. Last year Z. Roberts planted on the 29th of June and obtained an average of $30 for his crop, making seven hundred and fifty pounds to the acre. Geo. Gohagan planted late. In ninety days from planting his crop was cut, for which he was paid, at the barn, $25 for the crop, round.

The average per acre throughout Madison and Buncombe is estimated at seven hundred and fifty to eight hundred pounds.

 MARKETS.

Most of the tobacco of the county is carried off to Richmond, Lynchburg, and some to Danville. A fair proportion is sold at home. Mr. D. F. Davis, merchant at Marshall, is a considerable handler, having taken last year direct from the farmers about sixty thousand pounds, acting as their agent, and he finds from the number of sellers that nearly every farmer in the county to a greater or less extent raises tobacco.

THE WAREHOUSE

of C. A. Nichols & Co., however, affords the largest facilities for the home market. It is a wooden building of ample size and good arrangement, with daily sales in proper season.

From a report of sales made January 26th, 1880, it appears that during the preceding fortnight sales of 6,194 pounds were made for $2,041.25, being an average of $33.00 per hundred; a very high average, and one seldom exceeded. The business of this warehouse during the coming season is expected vastly to increase, both on account of the good prices obtained there and the very large increase of production in the surrounding country.

In addition to the counties west of the mountains already named as engaged in the culture of tobacco, very encouraging progress has been made in haywood, which possesses equal excellencies of soil and climate. During this season many very considerable crops have been planted, and are reported in good condition. Transylvania County, equally favored by nature, has undertaken the culture, and so have some of the counties west of Haywood. The whole country west of the mountains, at all adapted to tillage, may be expected to strive after the same prize that is enriching the others.

 CHAPTER VI.

IT thus appears from the preceding statements that a new and very large territory is added to the production of that beautiful substance, fine yellow tobacco, which, confined hitherto to somewhat well defined limits, has commanded prices which might almost appear fabulous or fanciful had they not been sustained by healthy and unwavering demand. The question may arise whether, with greatly increased supply, prices will not necessarily be reduced. This undoubtedly will be the case inevitably were the demand confined to the United States, which, until within a few years, and for special uses, has been the sole consumer. But within those few years Europe has become somewhat familiar with the merits of bright yellow tobacco. One of the beneficent results of the Philadelphia Exposition was to bring the world together; to bring its peoples into close contact, and present their varied industries and products to comparison or contrast. The bright yellow tobacco was favorably made known, almost for the first time, to England and France. The former has become a consumer to a considerable and growing extent, the exports having increased within two years four or five-fold. But for the antiquated restrictions imposed under the Continental regie system, the French, a nation of smokers, and constitutionally nice and delicate in taste, would also become large consumers. Italy and Austria also would be glad to exchange their heavy nicotized native leaf for the fragrant and innocent weed of North Carolina.

International legislation should be invoked to destroy a system which carries with it the ignorance of political economy which characterized the dark ages, and banish from the commercial code modes fashioned on the principles of monopolies, the rewards of venal favorites, or the desperate resorts of impoverished monarchs.

But the high prices obtained of late years must of necessity give way to some extent before the excess of supply over a demand abroad dependent upon future creation.

The American people lie under the grievous error that they are the principal producers of tobacco, and that, as with cotton, the whole world is tributary to them. Hence they are impatient under the fluctuations of the market, ascribing them to the combinations among dealers by which prices are regulated by interested caprice. It is well that Americans should know that tobaccco is the production of almost every country on the globe; that its flexibility exceeds that of almost any other agricultural product; that it ranges from the equator to from 40 to 45 degrees on either side; that it is of universal consumption; and that therefore, as a foreign product, American tobacco can enter upon the markets of Europe in successful competition only by some incontestible excellencies of quality and with some favorable conditions of price.

The total crop of the United States for the four years ending in 1874 was 1,775,000,000 pounds; the total exports abroad for the same period were 982,697,476 pounds. Now, the United States come into competition with the following countries, whose products are given for the year 1874:

The German Empire produced 99,516,501 lbs., Hungary 45,000,000, the average price of which was 3s. 6d., the tobacco being bright, and used for cigars and cutting. The Austrian Empire, including Hungary, produced 58,000,000 lbs. Turkey produced 43,000,000 lbs. of light yellow tobacco, used for cigars and cutting, the best coming from Macedonia and Syria. The prices varied from 3d. to from 3s. to 4s. There were no exports to the United States, all being to other parts of Europe. North Brazil produces a tobacco used for cigars and cutting, at a price from 3d. to 1s. 6d. The exports from Bahia, which were mainly to England, France, Germany and Holland, were, in 1869, 19,914,523 lbs.; in 1870, 23,864,909 lbs.; in 1873, 34,419,385. The export duty is 9 per cent. imperial and 6 per cent. provincial. Cuba produces exclusively cigar tobacco, at prices ranging from 1s. to 12s. A Cuba plantation consists of thirty-three acres, and produces 9,000 lbs. The Philippine Islands produce 23,000,000 lbs, one-half of which is exported to Europe, at prices from 6d. to 5s. The business is a government monopoly. Japan of late years has largely increased its production, which is a light brown leaf, used for cutting, and sold at from 3d. to 8d. The plant is not cut like American, but pulled at intervals. It is largely used by English manufacturers when American is high. China produces a large quantity of light brown and bright yellow, mostly consumed at home, except when exported under the stimulus of high prices abroad. Prices range from 3d. to 6d. New Grenada produces a cigar tobacco valued at 6d. to 2s.; exports in 1868-9, 12,571,805 lbs. Java exports 33,000,000 lbs. light cutting and cigar tobacco, valued at 8d. to 4s.—all to Holland. Ecuador exports 1,120,000 of light cigar wrappers, worth 1s. to 2s. Venezuela, Guayaquil and Guatemala export to Germany and England about 4,000