44 The Bulletin. 



never l>efore. Nobody is makiug any more land, of course ; it all has to be 

 .done out of the old land. The object of this meeting is to put our heads 

 together, our shoulders together, our ideas of every sort together, to meet the 

 great problem of feeding this great world, of clothing this great world. Every- 

 where there have been similar gatherings. I hope ours will be the biggest 

 of all. 



We want you gentlemen to take part in every discussion, and don't hesitate 

 to ask questions. Pop up in your seat, tell your name, and ask your question. 

 If we cannot answer it, we will say so; if we can, we will do the best we can 

 to help you. Say anything that comes into your mind that has a bearing on 

 the subject. We are not here to hear any general talk, and our program has 

 been devoted to specialties. 



Major Graham and I were asked to confine ourselves to two minutes, so as 

 to give the agriculturists more time ; but I wish to say this : We want j^ou to 

 feel that this is your headquarters whenever you are in Raleigh. 



RELATION OF QUALITY TO YIELD OF TOBACCO PER ACRE. 



E. G. Moss, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



The tobacco crop is perhaps one of the most highly specialized crops that is 

 grown extensively. It is a crop that under favorable conditions can be made 

 very profitable; at the same time, under adverse conditions, will prove to be 

 very unprofitable. The reason why the chances for a profitable crop of 

 tobacco are so much greater than the other field crops is the fact that both 

 quality and yield must be considered, and the first consideration in all tobacco 

 is quality. The majority of the field crops are grown for their seed or grain, 

 but tobacco is grown primarily for its leaf, and anything that affects this leaf, 

 either directly or indirectly, has a tendency to injure its value. I want to 

 talk with you a few minutes about the relation of quality to yield per acre. 

 What I have to say applies more particularly to the bright flue-cured tobacco, 

 such as grown in North and South Carolina and a portion of Virginia, but to a 

 very large extent is equally applicable to the heavier types. 



By quality, as referred to tobacco generally, is meant everything that gives 

 it commercial value, which, of cour.se, means texture, gum, elasticity, color, 

 aroma, burn and physical condition. So, on the face of it, we can readily 

 appreciate some of the difliculties that arise when the tobacco farmer tries to 

 increase his yield in pounds per acre. In the corn crop you can take a piece 

 of land, plow it deep, pile on all the barn-lot manure you want, or turn under 

 a legume crop, fertilize heavy, and plant the corn, and no doubt you will 

 double or treble the yield, and also have better corn. While, if we do this 

 with tobacco, we would get an increase in pounds, but the decrease in value, 

 due to an extremely poor quality, will be greater than the value obtained in 

 the increase of yield. Consequently, from the immetliate crop, we not only 

 fail to get pay for the additional work and manure, but liave lost money by 

 using it. Now to bring this to figures, we will assume the average yield per 

 acre is 700 pounds, and the tobacco sells for 20 cents per pound or $140 per 

 acre. By heavy manuring and injudicious fertilizing, we get 1,400 pounds 

 per acre, which will ordinarily bring not over 9 cents per pound, or .$126, re- 

 sulting in a loss of .$14 per aci-e in actual value. 



However, we are satisfied that the yield per acre may be materially increased, 

 yet, at the same time, retain what gives it commercial value, namely, quality; 

 and from time to time we hope to demonstrate this to the farmer in such a 

 way that he will adopt the methods that prove to be the very best for his 

 particular locality. 



From experimental data, the indications are that there are several sources 

 from which the nitrogen is derived that do not give the best results when used 

 under tobacco, and fre<iuently the fertilizer mixer gets a very large percent- 

 age of his nitrogen from these sources. At the same time it is conceded that 

 the potash for tobacco should invariably come from the sulphate. Unfortu- 

 nately, the mixers nearly all use the other forms of potash, unless si>ecified in 

 the contract that it shall come from the sulphate. However, we cannot put 

 all the blame on the manufacturer, as the mixing is a business proposition 



