Virginia Tobacco

My activities in Harvesting Virginia Tobaccos. Placed in Lurtigen, Canton Fribourg, Switzerland. in Mr. Fritz Herren Farm

Brightleaf is commonly known as "Virginia tobacco", often regardless of which state they are planted. Prior to the American Civil War, most tobacco grown in the US was fire-cured dark-leaf. This type of tobacco was planted in fertile lowlands, used a robust variety of leaf, and was either fire cured or air cured.

Sometime after the War of 1812, demand for a milder, lighter, more aromatic tobacco arose. Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland all innovated quite a bit with milder varieties of the tobacco plant. Farmers around the country experimented with different curing processes. But the breakthrough didn't come until around 1839.
Brightleaf tobacco leaf ready for harvest. When it turns yellow-green the sugar content is at its peak, and it will cure to a deep golden color with mild taste. The leaves are harvested progressively up the stem from the base, as they ripen.
Brightleaf tobacco leaf ready for harvest. When it turns yellow-green the sugar content is at its peak, and it will cure to a deep golden color with mild taste. The leaves are harvested progressively up the stem from the base, as they ripen.

It had been noticed for centuries that sandy, highland soil produced thinner, weaker plants. Captain Abisha Slade, of Caswell County, North Carolina had a good deal of infertile, sandy soil, and planted the new "gold-leaf" varieties on it. Slade owned a slave, Stephen, who around 1839 accidentally produced the first real bright tobacco. He used charcoal to restart a fire used to cure the crop. The surge of heat turned the leaves yellow. Using that discovery, Slade developed a system for producing bright tobacco, cultivating on poorer soils and using charcoal for heat-curing.

Slade made many public appearances to share the bright-leaf process with other farmers. Prosperous and outgoing, he built a brick house in Yanceyville, North Carolina, and at one time had many servants.

News spread through the area pretty quickly. The infertile sandy soil of the Appalachian piedmont was suddenly profitable, and people rapidly developed flue-curing techniques, a more efficient way of smoke-free curing. Farmers discovered that Bright leaf tobacco needs thin, starved soil, and those who could not grow other crops found that they could grow tobacco. Formerly unproductive farms reached 20--35 times their previous worth. By 1855, six Piedmont counties adjoining Virginia ruled the tobacco market.

By the outbreak of the Civil War, the town of Danville, Virginia actually had developed a bright-leaf market for the surrounding area in Caswell County, North Carolina and Pittsylvania County, Virginia.

Danville was also the main railway head for Confederate soldiers going to the front. These brought bright tobacco with them from Danville to the lines, traded it with each other and Union soldiers, and developed quite a taste for it. At the end of the war, the soldiers went home and suddenly there was a national market for the local crop. Caswell and Pittsylvania counties were the only two counties in the South that experienced an increase in total wealth after the war.

[songs copyright is Wham! and it recording company properties]

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• tobacco
• tabak
• virginia
• lurtigen
• switzerlan
• phillip
• morris
• agriculture

[valstar1000]

I was born in Switzerland and it is a beautiful country with lots of cattle, guns, farms and beautiful girls with a very low crime rate.

[rudyrahadian]

@valstar1000 yaa.. i absolutely agree with you .. swiss is beautiful country..looking forward to go there (again)

[thedirtynasty]

This song is just so brutal, and hardcore.

[elmagicocom]

Beautiful plants. if only the bottom leaves are used for smoking what can we do with the rest of the plant? if commercial cigarette tobacco was treated with as much respect the world would be happy and healthy.

[purplemutantas]

@koryan Nasal snuff and snus are even better. As far as I know those are the two safest methods of tobacco consumption.

[koryan]

@Michaeltanase exactly! moderated tobacco use has therapeutic benefits, and the odd smoke is perfectly okay. Better to use dip though...

[ramseydarkstar]

OMG buddy cant back up a trailer! from like 3:44 to 4:25 ... lol wtf was the point of the footage?

[ramseydarkstar]

@smooretogo yeah very soon in the groth

[ramseydarkstar]

that song made me think of Family Guy for some reason.. lol

[smooretogo]

I understand I'm supposed to top off the plants before harvest for fuller leaves....?

[RavenMad101]

@RavenMad101First of all Hemp IS Cannibis. Secondly I am certainly not a filthy hippy. And yes Tobacco flowers are beautiful. You can't eat tobacco nor make flour or fuel out of it either. Cannibis is not just for smoking that is the most useless part of the plant. It is the most versatile plant on earth. Tobacco is good for two things smoking and hummingbirds. Do they not teach you manners in Switzerland? PEACE

[valstar1000]

@RavenMad101 Not really hemp is better than your pot filthy hippie and Tobacco flowers are beautiful and are fed upon by hummingbirds.