When the worms got too busy in the tobacco, it was all hands out to pick the caterpillars (Tobacco Hornworms) off. There were no insecticides to kill them; it was a case of physically picking them off by hand and destroying them. If the rain and the insects did not destroy the crop, then toward the end of August it was time to cut the tobacco down. According to Rev. Jones, they cut it to leave about six or eight leaves on the stem. It was allowed to wither briefly in the sun, and then was hung in tobacco houses to dry. The method of hanging was to use a horizontal stick about six feet long as a support. The stick, plus the tobacco, became the working unit and this stick was hung from the beams in the barn.
This work carried through September and into October. About two months after the first cutting had commenced, then stripping commencing. First, the tobacco had to be taken down from its perch in the drying barn. Then it was piled up and covered up to sweat, probably to make it more pliable. The leaves were removed from the stalk and the large fibers were removed from the leaves. A number of them were tied together to form a hand. Next, the hands were pressed into a large barrel, or hogshead, perhaps holding several hundred pounds. To pack it in tightly, a mechanical press or lever was used to amplify the forces.
After the barrel was sealed with the end cover, it might be taken down a creek in a light boat. Or it could be loaded on a cart, or even rolled to market. The "market" was the government-approved warehouse where it was inspected and weighed (or sometimes burned as unfit). As proof that the tobacco was in the warehouse and had been inspected, "tobacco notes" were issued which changed hands like money. Finally, an individual holding a note would consign the hogshead to a ship's captain for export. Very likely, it would be consigned to a person from whom it was desired to buy something.
The urge to establish a net credit abroad, and the need to clear debts in Virginia, drove the planter to ever more elaborate and larger operations. Invariably this would involve clearing more land, or even obtaining more land. As the eighteenth century came of age, land in the Tidewater regions grew scarce, and it was necessary to look to the west of the fall line. In doing so, the rivers were essentially left behind, and it was necessary to depend more and more on a road structure. To the west of the fall line, the authority of the colony was less obvious. This became Indian country, and the title to lands was less clear. The King, as the royal proprietor of Virginia, claimed the land all the way to the Pacific ocean (wherever that was), but he had to negotiate with the Indians to get them to relinquish their claims. West of the fall line, as for example Germanna when it was established, was beyond the course of the Rangers. The Germans settled at Germanna were in a no man's land. People were reluctant to settle in these regions, since the Rangers did not even go this far west.
(05 Jun 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.