I905-] DISCUSSION. 203 



any crop that we have carried on. The results are more 

 quickly secured. In other words, by using seed of tobacco 

 grown under bags and protecting them from cross-fertilization, 

 in this way we are able to secure a uniform plant, and by cross- 

 ing the types which we now have, and maintaining the purity 

 of the seed of the best types thus secured, we are able to im- 

 prove the crop very materially. The fact of the matter is that 

 the improvement of the crop along these lines, by breeding and 

 seed selection, seems to bid fair to give us very good results, 

 and seems to be very practical, and in fact the most practical 

 of any of our work which we have yet carried out. 



A Gentleman. You spoke of getting good, large, fully- 

 developed seed. Is there any difference in the seed that grows 

 on the edge, or on the extreme top of the plant, over that 

 grown lower down? 



Air. Shamel. I think possibly that grown in the central 

 cluster of the flower produces larger seed than the buds, which 

 are grown in other locations, and I believe that seed should be 

 saved from those buds, rather than from others, if a prefer- 

 ence is to be given. 



Mr. FooTE. I would like to ask about the covering of the 

 seed with the bag. Is there any particular kind of bag which 

 would be particularly advantageous for this purpose? 



Mr. Shamel. No, sir; I don't think that it is necessary 

 to use a bag which is impervious to water altogether. The 

 ordinary manilla paper bag will shut the water out, or it will 

 not admit the water freely into the bud, and will dry out 

 rapidly after a shower is over, after the sun comes out. In 

 fact, so rapidly that we have had no difficulty with the mil- 

 dewing of the seed under the bag. As a matter of fact the 

 seed that stays under the bag is freer from bacteria than the 

 seed on the outside, such as I have here on the table. This 

 last year I had some Japanese bags which were absolutely 

 impervious to water. The way they were prepared, they were 

 very light and very strong, but they did not seem to give us any 

 more satisfactory results than the ordinary bag. 



