CHAPTEK XVIII. 



SPECIAL FERTILIZATION FOR CIGAB LEAF. 



To definitely settle certain mooted points in fertili- 

 zation for cigar wrappers, a number of progressive 

 farmers organized The Connecticut Tobacco Experiment 

 Company in 1892, bought a tract of old, worn-out land 

 at Poquonock, and arranged with the Connecticut 

 State experiment station to conduct tests on plots of 

 one-twentieth of an acre each, upon the following gen- 

 eral plan of experiment : 



1. The following experiments should be carried out on 

 the same land for at least five years in succession. 



2. While the quantity of crop should be accurately deter- 

 mined, very special attention should be given to the judgment 

 of its quality for cigar wrappers. This judgment should be 

 given by men of large practical experience in the trade in leaf 

 tobacco, and the samples should be so submitted that the 

 judges should have no knowledge of any particulars regard- 

 ing the manner in which the separate lots of leaf were raised. 



3. The final judgment on its quality should be made after 

 the leaf has been fermented in the usual way, and the whole 

 crop, rather than small samples from each crop, should be fer- 

 mented together. 



4. The following questions are those which, as far as 

 circumstances permit, should receive immediate attention : 



a. What is the effect on quantity and quality of leaf of 

 larger applications of cottonseed meal than are commonly used 

 as a fertilizer ? 



&. What is the comparative effect on quantity and quality 

 of leaf of applications of castor pomace containing the same 

 amounts of nitrogen as the cottonseed meal used in experi- 

 ments under a? 



c. If a heavy application of nitrogen, in form of castor 

 pomace, proves injurious to the leaf, can the injury be les- 

 391 



