CELEBRATED BRANDS OF TOBACCO. 393 



the tropics, and is hardly inferior to any grown in the West 

 Indies, and is especially adapted for cigars and cigaritos. 

 After the first harvest another, and sometimes a third crop 

 is gathered by allowing one shoot to grow from the parent 

 root, which oftentimes develops to a considerable size. The 

 quality of leaf, however, is inferior ; as is the case with all 

 second and third crops grown in this manner. 



ST. DOMINGO TOBACCO. 



This well-known West India variety is inferior to most 

 kinds grown on the neighboring islands. The plant attains 

 a large size, cures dark, is coarse, and of inferior flavor. It 

 is a favorite tobacco in Germany, and thousands of Ceroons 

 are annually shipped to Hamburg. The West India islands 

 produce many varieties of tobacco, which is owing more to 

 the composition of the soil and climate than to the method 

 of cultivation and curing. 



The demand for St. Domingo tobacco is limited. It has 

 no established reputation in this country, and on account of 

 the high duties can not compete with our domestic tobaccos. 



LATAKIA TOBACCO. 



This variety of the tobacco plant is one of the most cele- 

 brated known to commerce. It attains its 

 finest form and flavor in Syria, where it is 

 cultivated to a considerable extent. For 

 smoking it is among the best of the varieties 

 of the East, and is used for the more deli- 

 cate cut tobaccos and cigars. It grows to the 

 height of three feet each offshoot bearing 

 flowers, the leaves of which are ovate in 

 form, and are attached to the stalk by a 

 long stem. The flowers are yellow, and 

 number only a few in comparison with 

 most varieties. When growing, the leaves are thick, but 

 after curing are thin and elastic. The stalk is small, as are 

 also the leaves. While growing, the plants emit a strong 



