MODIFICATION OF SIZE OF LEAVES. 31 



and rounder leaf than is now being produced in the Havana Seed and 

 Broadleaf varieties. Numerous crosses have been made and hybrids 

 produced with this end in view, and considerable progress has been 

 made in securing a rounder leaf in the native varieties by careful 

 seed selection. It has been invariably observed that these round- 

 leaved varieties and strains have suifered much less injury from 

 pole-sweat than the old standard varieties. This difference is attrib- 

 uted to the fact that in the case of the old long-leaf varieties the 

 leaves after wilting hang down close around the stalk and adhere 

 to one another, thus preventing the proper circulation of air when 

 it is most needed for successful curing; while in the shorter, round- 

 leaf types, the leaves stand out from the stalk, do not atlhere closely 

 together, and admit air freely to all the leaves on the i)lant, thus 

 preventing in a large measure the injurious etfects of pole-sweat or 

 liouse-burn. The importance of the size of leaf from this standpoint 

 can not be too strongly emphasized. The loss in the Connecticut 

 Valley, as well as in many other sections of the country, due to pole- 

 sweat often takes away the profit of the crop and is keenly felt by 

 tobacco growers. The best crops are occasionally totally ruined by 

 pole-sweat after they have been grown successfully and put into the 

 barn in good shape. Therefore it can be plainly seen that the pro- 

 duction of shorter, rounder leaved varieties in sections of the country 

 where pole-sweat is disastrous will result in great profit to the tobacco 

 growers and packers. Crops which have been badly injured in the 

 barn are a source of endless trouble, and are very expensive to sort 

 and pack successfully. 



For cigar-filler purposes a comparatively small, short, and thick 

 leaf is demanded. The small leaves are usually thicker and have 

 better body and a very much better aroma and flavor than large, thin 

 leaves. It has been definitely demonstrated from observations made 

 by experimenters on the island of Cuba and from the observations of 

 the writers made in certain filler districts of the United States that 

 the best and most aromatic fillers are always obtained from plants 

 producing comparatively small leaves. Plants which in a way seem 

 to represent dwarf types or strains almost invariably produce leaves 

 which have a much higher aromatic flavor than can be obtained from 

 I)lants of the same variety producing larger and finer leaves. 



In an attempt to improve the aroma of some of our domestic filler 

 types thru breeding and selection the Department of Agriculture is 

 endeavoring to produce new types of Cuban tobacco with very small 

 leaves, with the belief that such types will have a superior aroma and 

 will excel the filler grades which are now being grown in this coun- 

 try. These experiments have not advanced far enough to admit of 

 any very definite conclusions, but they have indicated very clearly 



96 



