







Harvesting,
or "priming,"
tobacco by
hand
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Priming, Topping, and Worming
Tobacco in its various stages of growth can be
seen at the Homestead in the tobacco field where the crop is under
cultivation. Agricultural information in the census of 1870
indicates that Duke raised a smaller amount of tobacco than neighboring
growers. Tobacco cultivation around that time was a task which
required long hours of work. During the winter months, the site of
the plant bed was burned and cultivated. Burning was done to
sterilize the soil and in turn decrease the probability of weeds and
insects. Soon the bed was sown and covered with finely-cut brush to
protect the young seedlings from frost damage. Preparation of the
tobacco field itself was also begun in winter. The soil was cleared
of debris and fertilized. When the ground had dried just enough, the
field was plowed several times, and a peg-tooth harrow was used to further
break the soil.
In May or June during the rainy season, the
seedlings were transplanted from the plant bed to the field. Workers
first carefully drew the seedlings from the bed, laying each small plant
at intervals in the field; other laborers followed, using a peg to form a
hole for the seedling, after which the peg was employed to cover the roots
with earth.
During the months that followed, the maturing
plants required constant attention. When it reached a height of two
or three feet, each plant had to be "topped," a procedure in
which the top portion of the plant was removed to control its future
growth, and so provide more nourishment for the remaining leaves.
"Suckering" was the operation of removing new shoots or
"suckers" which appeared at the base of the leaves after
topping. If not removed, these growths would rob the developing
leaves of nourishment. Several types of worms, including cutworms
and hornworms, were a constant threat and, unless controlled, could
quickly destroy the entire crop. "Worming" techniques
included using turkey and guinea fowl to control the pests, or simply
picking the worms from the tobacco by hand and destroying them.
Tobacco that managed to survive insects or
disease usually was ready for harvesting by late August or early
September. An experienced eye was required to determine the ripeness
of individual plants; a ripened tobacco leaf appeared spotted and curled
at the tip of the leaf.
During the early 1870s farmers usually cut the
entire tobacco plant, instead of removing the leaves separately. A
small knife with a curved blade was used to split the stalk within three
inches of its base; the entire plant was then severed below the split,
inverted, and placed on the ground between the rows until gathered by
other workers carrying tobacco sticks. The sticks, about four and a
half feet long, held seven or eight stalks of tobacco. A nearby
wagon carried the full sticks to the curing barn; the entire tobacco plant
was cured, rather than single leaves--a practice which evolved and was in
use later in the curing barn at the Duke farm.
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