388 YARA AND VIRGINIA TOBACCO. 



an extent as Havana. The leaf when growing, is in color a 

 fine green, and when cured is of considerable body and fine 

 texture. A writer in alluding to Yara tobacco says : 



"The most noted vega or tobacco plantation is situated 

 near Santiago de Cuba and is called Yara. The choicest 

 tobacco is that grown on the banks of rivers which are peri- 

 odically overflowed. They are called Lo Rio, Rio Hondo, 

 and Pinar del Rio, and the tobacco is distinguished from all 

 other grown upon the island by a fine sand which is found 

 in the creases of the leaves." 



The flavor of Yara tobacco is so essentially different from 

 Havana, that it is not cultivated as extensively, if indeed it 

 could be. It is grown more particularly for home use and 

 for exporting to Europe, where it is considered one of the 

 finest of tobaccos. Of the other varieties grown in the West 

 Indies such as St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Trinidad, much 

 may be said both in praise and dispraise. St. Domingo and 

 Trinidad have been cultivated for more than two hundred 

 years. St. Domingo tobacco has a large leaf, but is of infe- 

 rior flavor to most varieties of "West India tobacco. 



Virginia tobacco has acquired a reputation which has grad- 

 ually strengthened for more than 

 two hundred and fifty years. It 

 was one of the first products to be 

 cultivated by the English colony, 

 and in less than a quarter of a 

 century after the settlement of 

 Virginia, had acquired a reputa- 

 tion hardly surpassed by its well 

 known rivals, Trinidad, Brazil^ 

 St. Domingo, and Varinos tobac- 

 cos. The plant grows to the 



TOBACCO. hei g ht f from five tO S6Ven 



feet; the leaves are long and 



broad, and when cured are of various colors, from a rich 

 brown to a fine yellow. The finest of Virginia tobacco comes 

 from the mountainous counties, but the amount is small in 

 proportion to the vast quantities raised on the lowlands of 



