174 



ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



a poor growth in a cold one. The Irish potato, on the 

 other hand, does best in a cold climate, though it will 

 grow well in the far South. 



163. Tobacco. — Of the many crops grown on the 

 farm besides those already described, we have space 

 here to mention only a few, and among these tobacco 

 is one of the more important. 



Tobacco, which is an annual, can be grown in North 

 America all the way from the equator to the southern 

 part of Canada, and in many kinds of soil. This great 

 diversity of soil and climate produces a number of 

 varieties of tobacco, though the soil seems to have more 

 influence on the variety of tobacco than the climate. 

 Light sandy soils, as a rule, produce a small bright- 

 colored leaf that is much esteemed for smoking tobacco. 

 The heavier clay soils produce a large and darker leaf 

 which is used for chewing tobacco and snuff. To pro- 

 duce a successful crop of tobacco the soil must be 

 thoroughly cultivated and kept free from weeds, and the 

 crop must be well supplied with available plant food. 

 Because of the large amount of plant food it contains, 

 and the clean method of cultivation necessary, tobacco 

 is an exhausting crop to the soil. It should not be 

 grown year after year on the same soil, but should be 

 rotated with other crops, as will be described in the 

 next chapter. 



164. Cotton. — This is a distinctly Southern crop and 

 cannot be grown profitably north of the southern 

 parts of Virginia and Kentucky. Cotton is a very 

 exhausting crop on the soil because of the way 

 it is cultivated, and because, after the crop is gath- 



