109 



when immatare to avoid frost. While a majority of the counties return 

 inferior quality, many others with a smaller area to cure or a more 

 southern location claim a superior crop, as Floyd, Fluvanna, Henry, 

 Patrick, Pawhatan, and others. Counties in North Carolina, with few 

 exceptions, have crops of more than average quality. The fly worked 

 among the young plants to some extent, and drought, a severe storm in 

 September, and frost wrought further injury. 



Qnalityis rather below average in Tennessee, owing to a wet spring, 

 drought, and early cutting to escape frost. In Kobertson about half is 

 good; a fourth was cut before it was ripe, and the remaining fourth was 

 frosted in the field. In Mercer, West Virginia, superiority in quality 

 was obtained by favorable weather for maturing and curing. The crop 

 was good in Fayette, and fair in Kanawha, but very poor in Cabell, 

 from early drought. The quality is generally inferior in Kentucky, 

 from the destruction of young plants by the fly, injury from drought, 

 causing imperfect growth and late maturing; so that much was either 

 cut immature or frosted in the field. In some places the early-planted 

 was good; in Clinton, one-fourth good, one-fourth medium, and one- 

 half poor. Among the exceptions are Hardin and Meade, above aver- 

 age in color, but light in weight; Hickman, very good; Larue and 

 Clinton, early planted, above average; Graves, good; Pendleton, good 

 fiber, well colored ; Owen, above average ; Simpson, fine ; Todd and 

 Trigg, one-half excellent, the remainder frosted. 



Counties in Ohio return comparatively poor quality. Montgomery had 

 one of the poorest crops ever raised. A small insect destroyed a large por- 

 tion of the plants in Vinton. Fifty per cent, deterioration is returned 

 from Monroe. Late planting and subsequent drought were i^romineut 

 causes of poor quality. In Washington the crop is claimed to be good. 

 In Indiana and Illinois the quality is quite uniformly good ; it was in 

 some counties more carefully cultivated and handled than usual. 

 Drought injured the AVisconsin crop. Most of the Missouri counties 

 make favorable report of quality, many indicating an improvement over 

 last year, and some admitting injury from drought. 



VARIETIES AND USES. 



Few, if any, i^lants are so modified by peculiarities of the soil on 

 which it is grown, and by circumstances of fertilization and culture, as 

 tobacco. Whether the crop is worth in market five cents or fifty per 

 pound depends more upon these points than upon the variety grown. 

 And yet there are many varieties, showing the most marked points of 

 difference. Fashion, as to color and other points, contributes to widen 

 the range of prices. 



The Connecticut seed-leaf, used for wrappers for Havana fillers, and 

 lower grades of fillers, or binders to cheap cigars known as seed-cigars, 

 is cultivated almost exclusively in New England, /, e., the Connecticut 

 Valley, from Cheshire County, in New Hampshire, to the sea. The 

 Housatonic Valley, in Connecticut, has recently made this crop some- 

 what prominent; and, by a superior system of warehouse classification, 

 it realizes returns almost equal to those secured on the Connecticut. In 

 the town of Westfield, in Hampden, Massachusetts, the Havana seed is 

 grown, said to be a cross of the Connecticut with Havana ; a plant of firm 

 leaf, better flavor, and greater value for wrappers of fine cigars than 

 the broad-leaved common variety. In the vicinity of Hartford are vari- 

 ,eties bearing the names, Connecticut seed-leaf, broa^i seed-^eaf, Belknap, 

 Puritan, and Ohio broad-leaf. 



