Tobacco Culture in Wisconsin is a 1911 booklet written by James Johnson of the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.
Tobacco cultivation began in Wisconsin between 1840 and 1850, but it did not take off until 1853. “During that year Ralph and Orin Pomeroy came to Wisconsin from Ohio, bringing with them the necessary knowledge and experience to produce a marketable crop.”1 The acreage of tobacco in the state rose from about 1,000 acres in 1870 to around 40,000 acres at the time this booklet was written (1911). Wisconsin was known for many years for producing binder tobacco; it was one of the largest suppliers of binder leaf for cigars.
After surveying the types of tobacco grown in Wisconsin, Johnson recommends that the Connecticut-Havana and Comstock Spanish types be grown in the state, as they are the most lucrative and safest to grow. They are also the leaves that the tobacco industry relies on Wisconsin to produce.2
Johnson covers the entire process of cultivating tobacco: choosing the right soils and site, preparing the seeds, preparing the field, transplanting to the field, growing, harvesting, and curing.
Tobacco Culture in Wisconsin is in the public domain and can be read for free on Google Books.