East and Jones: Round Tip Tobacco 



53 



BROADLEAF TOBACCO— THE OTHER PARENT OF ROUND TIP 



Very different are the characteristics of Broadleaf tobacco leaves as compared to Sumatra leaves 

 shown on the opposite page. The leaves of Broadleaf are large and thick, of coarse texture and 

 strong flavor while Sumatra leaves are small, thin and without flavor but possessing the round 

 tips. The hybrid of the fourth generation from the crossing of these two plants is what is now 

 called Round Tip. (Fig. 2.) 



texture and flavor of all wrapper tobac- 

 cos. The Havana seed leaf is some- 

 what less coarse than the Broadleaf 

 and is not quite so pointed at the tip 



PRODUCING A NEW TYPE 



The situation in the valley, then, has 

 been this: Four varieties have been 

 grown, each is imperfect in itself, but 

 differing from each other in such a way 

 that there was the possibility of com- 

 bining the best characteristics into a 

 single type of marked excellence. A co- 

 operative plant breeding project was 



Broadleaf Sumatra 



large leaf small leaf 



narrow tip round tip 



drooping leaf upright leaf 



leaves close leaves apart 



texture coarse texture fine 



leaves thick leaves thin 



flavor good but strong flavor none 



yield high yield low 



undertaken by the Connecticut Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, Harvard 

 University and the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, therefore, 

 with this object in view. 



After examining the possibilities in- 

 herent in all four varieties, Sumatra 

 and Broadleaf were selected as the two 

 parents most promising in their quali- 

 ties. The chief characteristics in 

 which the two varieties differ, and the 

 qualities which it was hoped might be 

 obtained were as follows: 



Prospective type 

 large leaf 

 round tip 

 upright leaf 

 leaves close 

 texture intermediate 

 leaves intermediate 

 flavor intermediate 

 yield high 



