6 PRESENT STATUS OF TOBACCO INDUSTRY. 



cut Valley and western Florida. Thorough experience and good judg- 

 ment in the growing and handling of this tobacco from beginning to 

 end are essential to success. The average yield to the acre in the 

 Connecticut Valley is about 1,600 pounds. In Florida both Cuban 

 and Sumatran types are planted, but the latter is believed to produce 

 the best wrapper. The yield to the acre averages about 1,000 

 pounds for the Sumatran and 700 to 800 pounds for the Cuban. 



Binder leaf may be considered as a lower grade of wrapper, and the 

 imperfect leaves from wrapper-producing types are largely used for 

 binder purposes. The requirements for binder are less exacting, 

 especially as regards color, than for wrapper, and the leaf is generally 

 heavier than the wrapper grade. Wisconsin is usually classed as a 

 binder-producing State, for the reason that a large portion of the 

 output is especially adapted for use as binder. The yield to the acre 

 in this State averages 1,200 to 1,300 pounds. 



THE SHADE-TOBACCO INDUSTRY. 



A few years ago it was found in Gadsden Count}', Florida, that 

 Cuban and Sumatran seed when grown under an artificial shade of 

 coarse cheese cloth or wooden slats yielded a much higher percentage 

 of wrapper leaf than when grown by the ordinary method in the open 

 field. The market price for this product warranted the intensive 

 methods required in its production, and the industry developed with 

 extreme rapidity in this county and in Decatur County, Georgia, until 

 the annual output reached several million pounds. For the past year 

 or two, however, there has been a -marked decline in market prices, and 

 as a result the acreage has been much decreased. 



For a time the prices obtained by the growers left a good margin 

 of profit, but at present the market price is little, if any, above the 

 cost of production. The average yield to the acre has been about 

 1,000 pounds. 



Tobacco is also being grown under artificial shade to a limited 

 extent in Connecticut, the Cuban type giving the most satisfactory 

 results. 



FILLER LEAF. 



Theoretically, each plant of the cigar type produces wrapper, 

 binder, and filler, the best lower and middle leaves serving for wrapper 

 and binder and the remainder, especially the heavy upper leaves, 

 being used as filler. The prime requirement for filler tobacco, how- 

 ever, is flavor and aroma, and here the Cuban (usually called Havana) 

 is the standard of excellence. The best filler-producing soils gener- 

 ally give a product too heavy for use as wrapper or binder, tliough a 

 small percentage of these latter grades may be obtained. The bulk 

 of the filler croj) is grown in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Xew York. 



[Cir. 4S] 



