Every farm in
the area where we lived had this scene behind these two energetic
brothers, some of these crops were grown on the small farms as well as
share crops. Most farmers thought it to be the most profitable product
that could be grown on those red banks of Adair county.
I remember preparing
for these crop, we usually started in February or March making preparation
for the plant bed, either by burning logs or brush to ready the ground
for the sowing of the seed for the would to be plants.
While Adair County
produced a good crop it was thought best to have "New Ground" in which
to grow this burley... The clearing of the new ground was a lot of work,
It usually involve falling of trees and cutting them up into logs or fire
wood.
Cleaning the
ground of all debris such as small bushes by using a grubbing hoe and a
axe. Once the brush and rocks was cleared from the field it was ready for
plowing. A large beam type plow with a pointed plowshare and a cutting
sword was used to brake the ground.
This was no easy
task, the ground was invested with stumps, roots and rocks which would
hang the plow. The work mule was most desirable for the pulling of the
plow, they could sense the plow getting hung in the undergrowth.
Lessons was soon
learned if this was the first time for the mules and the men or boys, when
the plow got "stumped" it would come to a sudden stop which would whack
one on the legs with the cross bar on the plow handles. Once the ground
was plowed again the roots and rocks were cleared before disking and dragging
the ground, after the ground was ready and the plaints in the plant bed
was ready for transplanting, they were hand picked and then planted in
the prepared ground, usually in late May or early June.
This was done
by laying off rows then dropping the plants in the rows and taking a wooden
peg to make a hole and then placing the plant in the hole then pressing
the earth firmly around it. This was a very back breaking job to start
very early in the morning and work until the sun was very hot about 3 -
4 hours.
When the plants was set and given time to get established then the ground must be worked again to keep the weeds and grass from the plants after this was done about three times then the plants were ready for the young boys and girls to remove any worms that was on the plants, this could make one sick from the smell of the plants. After some growth the tops were taken off the plants so the leaves would spread and grow larger.
Finely the time
would come to cut and house the plants. This was done by using a knife
that was design for this kind of work. The two most common ways to
cut and house the crop was to stake the sticks and then a spearhead was
used to place the plant on the stick by pushing it down over the spear
on the stick. The other was to split the plant and have an assistant
hold the stick while placing it on the stick. Some said splitting was best
for the curing process. The plants would wilt in the sun then later be
loaded on a wagon and taken to the barn for housing until cured and ready
for stripping and grading and then booked for later shipping.
The graded
plants were taken to a auction warehouse, this usually took place in late
November or early December.
What is the plants
behind the Wilson Brothers?
_Carlis B. Wilson