28 TOBACCO BREEDING. 



tobacco grown from the seed of the same variety and under similar 

 conditions as respects shape of leaves is shown in Plate IV. It is 

 ver}' important that this variability be reduced to the minimum, 

 and the writers have found that it is possible to greatl}^ reduce the 

 variability by systematic seed selection. Plants producing leaves 

 which are very long and narrow are frequenth" found growing be- 

 side others with well-rounded leaves of a desirable length. Plants 

 bearing leaves of the ideal cigar-wrapper shape and those that were 

 totally worthless on account of their shape, as well as many grada- 

 tions between these extremes, have been found growing side by side. 

 In the case of a field of Florida tobacco grown from freshly im- 

 ported Sumatra seed a similar variability was observed in the sum- 

 mer of 1905. The production of leaves of undesirable shape results 

 in a direct loss to the grower and manufacturer alike. The cost of 

 production to the grower is no greater where the leaves are all of 

 uniform size and shape, and the cost of grading is greatly reduced. 



In nearly all varieties of cigar-wraj^per tobacco, most of the leaves 

 are small and narrow near the basal end and this portion of the 

 leaf is seldom wide enough for wrapper purposes. Figure 5, A, 

 shows a leaf wide at both ends, from which wrajDpers may be cut 

 down to the extreme basal end, thus avoiding the waste which can 

 not be avoided in the form of leaf shown in figure 5, B. It is im- 

 l^ortant to produce the form of leaf shown in figure 5, A, not only 

 because it will yield more wrappers to the pound and necessitate 

 very much less waste in cutting, but because more wrappers to the 

 acre may be obtained. 



The variability in the shape of leaves on the same plant is often 

 very marked, and may be as readil}' corrected by proper methods 

 of seed selection as the variation among the individual plants in 

 the field. The size and shape of the individual leaves on almost 

 all plants varj more or less, but on some much more than others. 

 An occasional plant will be found on which the leaves are compara- 

 tively the same size and shape from the top to the bottom of the 

 plant, Avhile in other cases there are marked differences in this 

 respect. AMiere this uniformity is found the top leaves are seldom 

 as thick or heavy as where there is a lack of such uniformity, and 

 therefore a larger percentage of the leaves is adapted for cigar- 

 wrapper purposes. 



By selecting for seed the j^lants possessing leaves of the most 

 desirable shape from top to bottom and protecting them from cross- 

 fertilization, it is possible to produce a crop which Avill be uniformly 

 like the parent plant. It can be plainly seen that this will result 

 in a larger vield to the acre of much more valuable tobacco because 

 of the uniformly well-shaped leaves, best adapted to cigar-wrajjper 



96 



