BLOSSOMS. 25 



Shiraz or Persian and Guatemala are white while those of the 

 Japan tobacco, are purple. The segments of the corolla are 

 pointed but on some varieties unequal, particularly that of 

 Shiraz tobacco. The flowers impart a pleasant odor doubt- 

 less to all lovers of the weed but to all others a compound of 

 villainous smells among which and above all the rest may be 

 recognized an odor suggestive of the leaves of the plant. 

 "When in full blossom a tobacco field forms a pleasant 



BUD AND FLOWERS. 



feature of a landscape which is greatly heightened if the 

 plants are large and of equal size. The pink flowers are the 

 largest while those of a yellow color are the smallest. The 

 plant comes into blossom a few weeks before fully ripe when 

 with a portion of the stalk they are broken off to hasten the 

 ripening and maturing of the leaves. After the buds appear 

 they blossom in a few days and remain in full bloom two or 

 three weeks, when they perish like the blossoms of other 

 plants and flowers. The flowers of Havana tobacco are 

 of a lighter pink than those of Connecticut tobacco but are 

 not as large a trifle larger however than those of Latakia 

 tobacco. Those varieties of the tobacco plant bearing pink 

 flowers are the finest flavored and are used chiefly for the 

 manufacture of cigars while those bearing yellow flowers are 

 better adapted for cutting purposes and the pipe. 



The American varieties of tobacco bear a larger number of 



