A Labor Intensive Crop

Two gentlemen inspecting tobacco leaves

Harpers Ferry Center

Tobacco was one of the most labor intensive and time-consuming crops grown in the American colonies. An English visitor named Richard Parkinson explained that the long and financially risky process of cultivating tobacco often failed "...for want of knowledge and care" and could end up being "worth nothing." He warned that "the curing of tobacco is an art." Tobacco is a crop that depletes the ground's nutrients, making it difficult to grow on the same ground for long durations of time.

The production cycle for tobacco began in early January. One Chesapeake farmer noted that "the best time for sowing the seed is as early after Christmas as the weather will permit."

Small seedbeds, rarely larger than a quarter acre, were prepared and often fertilized with manure or wood ash. Then the pebble-sized tobacco seeds were placed in the ground and branches were placed over the seeds to protect them during the winter months. Despite precautions, weather, pests, and disease took a high toll on the young tobacco plants. An experienced planter knew of these challenges. As a visitor to Maryland stated, the planter, "...commonly takes care to have ten times as many plants as he can make use of."

In the spring, the planter readied his tobacco for transplanting into larger fields. Some planters waited until the seasonal frosts were over, while others waited until the tobacco leaves were "as large as a dollar."

Another Englishman named Nicholas Cresswell observed the transplanting process in Charles County in 1774 near Haberdeventure. Cresswell noted that "...the Land is first hoed into small round hills about the size of Moleshills and about 4000 of them per acre." Then, enslaved African Americans made a "hole with their fingers or a small stick" and placed one plant in each hill. Cresswell estimated that "Two Negroes will plant three acres in one day."

Planting was followed by a summer-long battle against the heat, weeds, and tobacco hornworms. The latter is a large green caterpillar which feasts upon the tobacco leaves. If ignored, tobacco hornworms could devastate the "cash" crop, leaving the planter in debt and placing more emphasis on the following year's tobacco crop. With two or three poor growing seasons in a row, tobacco planters could find themselves so far in debt that they would have to sell their land.

After eight to twelve healthy leaves were growing, the tobacco plant was "topped." This operation required the removal of the top of the plant to prevent the tobacco from flowering. In turn, this channeled the nutrients to the remaining leaves.

In the cooler days of September, each tobacco plant "...changes its coulour [sic], and looks greyish; the leaf feels thick, and if pressed between the finger and thumb will easily crack." At this point, each of the tobacco plants were cut off just a few inches from where the stalks grew out of the ground.

After the harvest, tobacco was hauled to barns by cart. Here, the heavy stalks were hung side by side across beams with the plants hanging upside down to air dry. When dried, the leaves were stripped from the stalks, sorted by quality, and bunched into flat, fan-shaped bundles.

These bundles were then packed into hogsheads, wooden barrels capable of holding between 500 and 800 pounds of tobacco. When filled, the hogsheads were hauled or rolled to waterside warehouses to await shipment to England the following spring. By the time the tobacco arrived in Europe, about one and half years had expired since the tobacco seeds were originally planted. At the same time, the planter was already actively working with a new year's crop.

Successful tobacco planters could be assured of status and power in their respective colonies, but for those few who succeeded, there were many others who failed.