Newspaper Page Text
1HE SUNNY SOUTH
THIRD RAGE
1901
Cigars From Texas Promise f
^ To Supplant Finest Cuban Product ^
By HILTON CASTLE.
Written for Sunnv -South
HE first export of any im
portance to cross the seas
from America was the
weed tobacco. Chroniclers
tell us that the very
streets of ye quaint James
town, the gardens, and the
fields, were planted in this
commodity; so great be
came the demand for a
narcotic which today out
ranks all others in popu
larity and consumption,
with opium as a second.
In the early days of Jamestown, to
bacco passed as currency. We read of
he "tobacco-bought wives” of the first
settlers, and the salaries even of min- \
isters of the gospel were paid in part
with tobacco.
When the sailors of Columbus landed
upon the island of Cuba, Hispaniola,
they found the aborigines engaged in
smoking tobacco. This is the first we
hear of the w<vd. At first medicinal
virtues were attributed to it. and y\t- are
Informed that the little children were
taught how to manage the pipe. In
course of time a change of opinion took
place, and instead of the ‘'precious" w<
hear of tin ‘'noisome” weed. However,
neither its advocates nor its denunciators
have disturbed the serenity of its pop
ularity.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY.
One of the pleasing features of tli ■
times is the interest being taken by the
nations of the earth in the advancement
of scientific agriculture. The different
state agricultural colleges, the farmers’
institutes, the experimental stations, even
tilt school gardens, arc working won
ders along tlieir way. Within me last
lew years, among other of Ills agricul
tural interests. Uncle Sain has been
studying the question of growing a higher
quality ol tobacco.
The vicinity of the quaint old town
of .Nacogdoches, where tile first liewspa- i
per in Texas was published, has lor j
years been noted for its good tobacco !
lands. It took, however, a government !
expert to exploit the fact. The discover.!, !
through the department of agriculture at ■
Washington, that the soil of east Texas
is of the same type as that of tite world- ]
famed Vuelta Abajo district of Cuba, j
is no new news to tht public. The secre- !
tary of the department of agriculture j
in part said;
"AA'e have boon giving our attention
to tne p; eduction of high-class tobacco
for some time, our purpose being to raise
the quality of the product ail over Up-
country. It was for this i went south
1 visited all the tobacco counties around
Nashville, and then went to Mississippi.
I iearnc-d that the soil is such that the
quality can be improved, and the depart
ment has the matter iu hand. So far
we. have found the best of the tobacco
land in east Texas. The soil we liav<
analyzed is identical with that of Cuba,
and the other countries which grow the
very best qualities of the aromatic cigar
tobacco ”
CUBAN TOBACCO IN TEXAS.
For a while government expert* wera
stationed near Nacogdoches, and otnei
desirable points in east Texas, practicing
on the culture of tobacco. Their report
was highly favorable to the possibilities
of growing a high grade of cuban tobac.
co in east Texas. As to w.ieliier or nn,
east Texas 01 any other part of Uncle
Sam's dominions will ever be able to
compete absolutely with Vuelta Abaj t,
whose supremacy in the tooacco wort t
has ne\.-r been challenged before only
'.fine and experience can prove. The ii-
dustry must, of course, have its ups an i
downs. Excellent tobacco leaf has bee i
harvested in east Texas, and good cig.i.
manufactured from the leaf are today
selling at the Waldorf Astoria in Xe.-
York three for a half-dollar, but Vuelta
Abajo cigars have not as yet suffere 1
fiom the sale.
The best soil for the best tobacco
described its a rich chocolate loam, witn
a stratum of red clay underlying, that
grades into a valuable gveen sand ma. .
This green sand marl affords abundance
of phosphoric acid, lime and potash t >
the soil, and is to be found several fee;
below the surface. It has a thickness
of from 3 to 25 feet; is composed of a
crumbly, green, shelly rock, and can b;
mined or quarried where it outcrop;.
There are something like 30 square miles
rolling with ridges, and -a flat count.*y i
between it and the coast-
THE HIGH REVENUE.
Besides the red chocolate soil, two oth
er kinds are found In the vicinity valu
able for the growing of tobacco, a grey
sand having a substratum of red olav,
and a dark grey sandy loam. to
why east Texas has not made a money j
crop heretofore of tobacco, is attributed
by some to the high revenues demanded
by the government of those engaged in
tobacco industries. .More tobacco is
grown in the United States than in any
other country. In 1890 the internal rev
enue tax on tobacco products reached tne
sum of $33,849,997. One-tllird of the I
crop is exported. |
Climatically speaking, too. east Texas j
is said to be similar to the Pinar del Rio j
district, hating the famed dews, gulf
clouds and fogs of that region.
There are today in east Texas, making
a very conservative estimate, planted :ti 1
tobacco for the market twenty-seven >
acres under shade and 181 in lie open;
ail set and in good condition. Shade grown
tobacco Yields from 1.000 to 1.200 pounds
Per acre; the bes; wrappers arc grown
under the shade or tint of cheesecloth,
the shade influencing the temperature no.;
increasing the humidity. The open grown
Cuban tobacco yields- front 700 to 1.000
pounds per acre. The prospects f >r a
larger acreage in 1906 are exceedingly '
l|rlghi. Tliio government experts an
showing ;he farmers how to cultivate tin
crop. What the country needs is immi
gration id' practical leaf tobacco rai.er--.
SMALLER THAN MUSTARD SEED.
In the raising of any crop proper soil
is. of course, the first thing to be con
sidered. If filler tobacco is Jhe desired ;
crop, Sumatra seed should be used. Far
vvnipper tobacco, cither Jiavana or Su-
matra is used. Tobacco seed is infini
tesimal in size, being smaller even than
mustard seed. The plant beds are made
ready in January and are selected near
where water may ho easily had. To ore-
\ent th- seed from springing up too
’hick, i; i s mixed with ashes, loose earth
or meal, half an ounce of the seed to four
quarts of the other ingredient. The seed
bed is covered with cheese cloth as a
protection from insects and the sun's
rays. Searching for tobacco worms is
one of the miseries ,,f tobacco raising
in < aba. the Cubans never having intro
duced the spraying method of paris green
used with flour or meal ,,r in solution
as a means of destroying the worms
I'he Cubans in more ways than one a’-*-
wedded :o the primitive modes-in the ma
nipulation of their industry. Hut they
are also in many ways ' artists” in their-
THE EVERY OTHER-DAY
NEWSPAPER . ...
a
Constitution
XJfU
Monday, Wednesday
and Friday Each Week.
Only One
^i|ar
Young Wrapper Tobacco, Growing Under Lattice Shade, in East Texas.
••• • ••• • ••• ••• 0 ••• • 9 ••• • 9 *•■ • 9 •*•••»' ©*••$«•♦• • »
• Gad History of Ohio Shakers, •
l-'lorld.i, has carried the palm as the best : • *
>-■■> raising district, but ;be east t •?> j j * Rigid Beliefs Are Modifying J& j£> •
i i •
• ... •... •... •... •... ... o n ..»... c ... •... a... • a... a-.- a -.-a a
thiri> years. lb was ill*- principal in | a*»*».-l*l*l»a»*-<-»-i
organizing the Texas Leaf Tobacco As- 1 “
socia lion.
In the T'nited States. Gadsden cot
ans- have the assurance of the secretary
ol agriculture "Leaf has been grown that
can not be distinguished from the import
ed Cuban when properly fermented.”
AN ANECDOTE OF RACHEL.
At lia- breaking out of the Crimean
war Elisa Rachel, the celebrated French
tragedienne, was in St. Petersburg, just
b-Tore leaving tin- Russian capital some
ol tl.,- officials of tlu- city gave a ban
quet. in her honor.
At the end of the feast one of the Rus
sian officers, a nobleman of high rank,
said to Rachel, in a bantering sort of
We will not bid you ‘goodby,* but
merely 'au revoir.' for we will soon be in
I’afis to drink your health In sparkling
HIS is a haven of rest." So | verted him to th- doctrines of shak.-ris--
said theo ther dav a for- 0, ' !ibac '- v ’ communism of goods and TV-
, . * pie-iief that Mother Ann the head -»i
mer cowboy, who is now a . . «
’he -Mount Lebanon .omnium;
member
shaker
Village, Warren c-
i >hio. This village r<
ils century mark M.
li has been a bat-
many men and wrap-
children, too, for
years. It, linweve
quires people of a r
finely ins-pired person
iety of Union |the new society his f;
ated in tilt- estate
v. Mr. Me Xenia--.
apt
Lebaiu
of United Beli
Itlien called themse
i a large nimpany o|
jov- r. Oil May 25, 1305
j large society was form:
lies
fine, having many of them sp
hups twenty years making :h
tamed Vuelta Abajo cigars, or a
engaged in the tobacco industry
HOPES ARE HIGH.
zMr. George Bruce, ,-f Iloust"
] is authority for ev«*rytliing perta
of this land in the Nacogdoches vicinity. I tobacco, having had experience
which topographically speaking is gently 1 industry along all its lines for uj
ent p°r-
c wori 1
t herwise
n, Tex
ining '
in th
war i -
|shakers the husbands
themselves to that quiet kind of haven, i to s-ust.-iin the ham,.
Plied Rachel, “France is I Tht village owns 4.000 acres- of land 3 th, ‘i.r residen
the family h . . Th,. society
existence with several hundred!
J hers and with an - state cor
what had been several s-epai-iti
A nunil r or the leaders were strong
I characters and some were educated men.
j llH ‘ and property of all weni into
-the common scheme. They set to work
i building and planting. They erect-d their
imv-n mills and snops and wen; soon an
entirely -self-supporting community. They
I rapidly grew in numbers and wealth
■nu-ii- fame spread abroad Tn 1825 they
wore visited by Governor George ("in-
ton.of New York, by Henry Clay. Gov. r-
linr Morrow, of Ohio, and General W II
Harrison. On Ma> 2. 1826. the duke o;
Saxony, with his retinae, paid them a
\isit. They were looked upon as having
heg nn , possibly, a government that might
be t a r-rea citing in its effects upon so
ciety.
. I’he shakers have always hc.-n thorough-
. Iv democratic, as is to he expected from
: their tenets. They practiced their beliefs.
One of the earliest members was Anna
Middleton, a slave, who was cordially re-
o.-ivod and continued a welcome part of
the society. < fiber colored people have
been from time to time sharers in the life
: of the community. They have been piiil- ,
anthropic and generous, contributing free-,
ly. sometimes largely, to the needy and-
suffering. During the civil war and in 1
times of plague and disaster in our own
country or elsewhere they have given of
their plenty t n others.
They are strongly opposed to war.
During the war of 1812 a number of the
members were drafted and carried to th"
front, but they refused to lift a gun or
i to drill, and were finally allowed to go
■ home. During the civil war. when Presi-
; dent Lincoln heard of the plight of sev- |
■ oral drafted shakers, he granted them |
, a furlough, which, of course, lasted until i
the war was over.
They have passed successfully through
1 many financial and social trials. A large 1
' part of tlieir land first came to the so-:
i oiety through farmers who joined it in
tile early days. Whole families came in
, with all they had. They have added to j
j the estate by purchase. After the death'
I of Worley, who. having given nis farm.
! lived and died a member, his children j ,
I sued for the property on the unsuccess-j
! fit! plea of insanity. The suit dragged
on for years and cost the society mix- .
j iety, members and money. Indeed. law-'
| suits were for years the bane of the so- .
j eiety. Dissatisfied shakers on going away '
! sought to recover an equivalent of wages
I for their work.
j Heirs sued for gifts of their relatives to
the society. In the experimental stage-
1 tbe rights of the shakers wore not leg- 1
• ally defined. Now the courts have de
cided nearly all points of their contracts!
! with members in favor of the order.
They have suffered many persecutions. ,
years ago their communistic and ccli-1
jhute ideas made them unpopular among
| many. It was falsely reported also that
; they detained children and women j
! against their will. At one t imc an armed I
YEAR
'J?h is i3 th3 greatest newspaper proposition over ms tie to the .South
ern people. It is conducted a ion? the lines of a dally nu-vsvtctar, jprTiagY J
a condensation of the news of the world for circulation -by Rurs3 ^Free .j j
Delivery carriers in alt territory outside tho immediate reach tof Th©^|
Daily and Sunday Oo-tsttt.ution. This unsurpassed newspaper, comingf;A*
ovory other day trill bo almost a Daily at the price of a Weekly. . y f
fell
YOU CAN GST THE TEX-WEEKLY CONBTI-i
TUTION FEES DURING THE BEST OF YOUR/il
WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION TEEM BY SENDING;
$i.G0 FOB A YEAR’S .SUBSCRIPTION TO
TRI-WEEKLY, <• THE TEX-WEEKLY WTLLIHafi
SENT YOU AT QNOE AND IT WILL CONTINUE!j
UNTIL THE EXPIRATION OF YOUR WEEKLY
SUBSCRIPTION AND THEN FOR A YEAR. "
j!_
Tho frequency of issue and swift dispatch of its-mails sent h? ti» •'/
most direct Una of fast flying express train* will give The T2J-WEEKLY fj
CONSTITUTION drcula*iou as the FAEMEE'S 2VB3Y-’i>air—riR-HAYS-
NEWSFAFEH from Virginia to Texas. It will cover and enliven thefel
whole South Mke Its- ova genial sunshine and carry the-firet r.ew&- evflry-,‘||
where. Only §1.00 per year.
TrS-Weekly Cosistslistion and Sunoy^j
South Only $1.25 Per Year. ; :
THE SUNNY SOUTH, the great Southern Hter-sry weekly, meets \
the demands of the. people for an excellent home story paper at a popular -
price. Its serial stories are from the best authors, and the literary genius
of the Whole South is exploited to fill it3 columns. The Household is.,
conducted by Mrs. Mary E. Bryan, who has long charmed Southenf.
readers by her ready pen, and har exp&tience has but added to; the Vigor
and interest of her splendid work. Short stories, sketches, articles of i
industrial and reminiscent interest, poems, incidents of travel and ad-
venture, war sketches and visions of peace and plenty, and columns of
sunshine add- to the literary feast that is offered each. week. ,
This great paper with The TRI-WEEKLY CJONSTiTUTTON, making A
four papers per week, for only $1.23, is ihe graxiest combizuttlcn - offer a
ever made for the home.
The Weekly Constitution Atone AVUtjj
Be Only 50 Cents Per Year.
THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION, printed on Mondays only, will;he.,
sent to those who desire for only 50c per year. Many have not yet‘the
dally mail facilities and are situated ao a weekly paper meets their pree- .
ent needs for reading. The price, 50c, is Just one-naif the former rate. - jf.
ft”
Note These Special Prices.
Take Advantage of Them at Once. ;'
Tri-Weekly Constitution (3 times a week) one year, paid in advance, $li00 .‘
Weekly Conrtltntlon (once a week) one year, paid'in advance ... .50
Tri-Weekly Constitution and The Sunny South, comprising four jmb-
llcatione each week, all combined for one year, paid in advance." 1.25-'
Weekly Constitution and The Sunny South one year, paid in advance. .75 h
Get an agency, make up a club in your own community and secure uj
your own paper free, with a club of Sve, or take the work that will pap--.j
a good canvasser easily from $50.00 to 8100.00 per month. Every - Bural
Free Delivery Route in the whole South needs a live, active agent. The .. j
terms are liberal; send us today. Address all orders to
The Atlanta Constitution
Crop of Tobacco, in the Open, East Texas.
tint rich enough to treat all her prisoners ini'e s from i -banon It
o; war b. champagne.” Jmotis Miami valley. ' The
NOT READY TO DIE. i^® Se . d . anywhere and the estate is m-
t From Th,- Uhl,-ago Journal.) !h' 1® t^ ™ ■ " are 'UU
••If.” said tile Ch-mist. "you will give ! buil,1in & E for various purposes. I'--
this new tonic a ttial, I'm sure you w’.ll houses, the barns, the lawns and tin-
nevr use any other.” great farm are all in first class condition.
"I-Ixvuse mo.” replied the customer. And there are -’Illy fifty people now hi
"but I prefer something a little l'-ss fa- the Shaker community.
Union Village is rich and prosperous.
| There is room in it for many times its
present membership. The society H "t =
had at times as many as 700 people and
the estate is capable of supporting 3,000
or 4.000 persons. Tliero-is welcome there
for manyjof the homeletts and dish-at- -
cited, of decent eharae-ti r, who will accept
the terms of residence. These terms are
not severe, except for those who con
sider the prohibition of marriage a ha’d
rule. The shak. is provide any man oi
woman who will obey their regulation •:
comfortable and even luxurious living.
There are spacious rooms in the grea;
family houses. There are tables .spread
with good food. I lit t e arc nooks, mage-
mob of 500 persons invaded their estate
and ordered them to break up and im
part. They calmly -xpressen i tidiness
to die for their beliefs and held their
ground. Severn! times incendiaties have
burned their barns and contents, causing
them to lose large sums of money, at
one time as much as $10,000. As tin'-
years have passed prejudice has diea
away, and they have been accorded tlu-
privilege of their customs undisturbed.
They have suffered occasionally rrnm
scoundrels among their own numbers. In
several instances a trusted agent has
mace off with hundreds of dollars. In
spite of all they have prospered in ma
terial things.
They have felt the touch of the modern
spirit. The shaking dance has been dts-
I pensed with, chiefly out of consideration,
1 possibly, to the aged, for whom the vio
lent exercise was too great a tax. Their
I uliar religious dogmas have fallen by
the wayside.
Their beliefs now differ little, if at all
from most Christian bodies. They respect,
but do not worship Mother Ann Lee. In
deed. tit°v «mniafkize in religious matters
untiling more than the living of a spirit
ual life after the teachings of Christ,
They have many transient members,
who for one reason or another become
dissatisfied tn the world, come to them,
are admitted, make the experiment, find
themselves displeased and who depart as
they wish. They call certain of their
transients “winter-shakers.” These really
come oniv for a home for a season.
to beautiful vt
The people sect
py and entirely
A hundred years ago
and nortln rn Kentucky
what is known as ^thi
rival.” It was a stran
Nobody knows how to ;
what was its significant
eontpanied by invoiunt:
Kentucky re-
- phenomenon.
iotint for it. or
I! was ac-
•y movi-itiPti's
call*
suddenly
' lost all
eve witll
rks." Men and women were
■■eized by these oonvtiMotis and
ontrol over their bodies. \n
; of that dav sai l tlie jerking
■tide could he
A Tobacco Field, m Hast Texas.
of the head front side to side e
likened only to such movements as one
would ma'ke if hot irons were thrust suc
cessively against opposite cheeks. In a '-
dition. however, to singular convulsions
and unrestrained emotions ther. was aDo
a great awakening of religious interest
and life. The fame of this revival snrea 1
throughout the land. The news excited
the interest of the society of shakers at
Mount Lebanon, X. Y., and that order
sent three missionaries into Kentucky
and southern Ohio to investigate.
MARRIAGE TIES DISSOLVED.
These missionaries west throughout this
region visiting camp meeting^ where the
revival was showing itself, and after a
time they were led into Warren county.
There they tarried with one Michael Wor
ley, a prosperous farmer and a member
of the Presbyterian church. They con-
Setting Tobacco in Field, Nacogdoches, Texas.