240 TOBACCO LEAF. 



cutting of it before it is ripe. Sometimes this disease 

 will spread over a field in two or three days and ruin 

 the crop, making black, deadened spots as large as a 

 silver dollar, but this rarely happens. Good drainage 

 and a sufficient depth of soil to carry off all superfluous 

 rain water, are the only safeguards against the blight- 

 ing effects of this disease. 



Spotted Leaf. There is another disease, similar to 

 the last, called "Frog eye" or "White speck," often 

 occurring in tobacco thoroughly ripe. It is sometimes 

 caused by too much potash in the soil, and sometimes 

 from the taproot of the plant coming in contact with 

 an impervious water plane. This disease is most fre- 

 quently seen in the tobacco grown in Florida. It was 

 once regarded as a sure indication of the fineness of tex- 

 ture in the leaf. Forty years ago the Florida wrappers 

 affected with this blemish commanded the highest 

 price with the manufacturers of domestic cigars. A 

 similar trouble at the North causes what are called 

 "calico plants," in cigar tobacco. 



Frenching (from the French word friser, to curl) 

 attacks tobacco grown upon old, clayey lands inclined to 

 be wet, that have been much compacted by the tramp- 

 ing of stock, or through other means. Rainy weather 

 is also a predisposing cause to this disease, and it some- 

 times manifests itself over a considerable area, but if the 

 tobacco is closely plowed and a vigorous pull is given to 

 the plants so as to break the taproots, a large majority 

 of them will recover, if treated before the disease has 

 gone too far. The first appearance of the disease is seen 

 in the buds of the plants, which turn to a honey-yellow 

 color. As the leaves expand, they become thick and 

 fleshy, growing in long, irregular, narrow strips with 

 ragged outlines, the leaves often cupping downward. 

 When cut and cured, such leaves are lifeless, with a 

 dingy, dead color, and are ,very light in weight. 



