416 TOBACCO CULTURE. 



extent than during the three hundred years succeeding its 

 discovery. Now its cultivation has been reduced to almost 

 an exact science, and the quality of the leaf is in a great 

 measure within the control of the growers of the plant. 



Formerly it was supposed that the varieties that grew in 

 the tropics could not be successfully cultivated in the tem- 

 perate regions, but recent and repeated experiments have 

 demonstrated the fact that the tobacco of Cuba ran be grown 

 with success in the Connecticut valley. While the tobacco 

 of the tropics is the finest in flavor, the more temperate 

 regions produce the finest and best colored leaf. The tobacco 

 of the tropics, as to the uses to which it is put, is limited, 

 while the tobacco of the more temperate regions can be used 

 for all the purposes for which the plant is designed. 



The cultivation of the plant varies with the variety, the 

 soil, and the use to be made of the leaf. Thus a tobacco 

 designed for cutting purposes is cultivated somewhat differ- 

 ently from that designed for the manufacture of snuff or 

 cigars. In the one case the plant is allowed to remain grow- 

 ing longer in the field, while in the other the work of topping 

 the plants is performed at an earlier stage of their growth. 

 Primarily but little attention was paid to the color and 

 texture of the leaf, the principal object being the production 

 of a leaf of large size, rather than one of good color, and of a 

 silky texture. Now, however, these are most important con- 

 siderations, and give value to the tobacco in proportion to 

 the perfection of these qualities. 



The soil, too, is carefully chosen and fitted in the most 

 thorough manner, while the fertilizers used are selected with 

 reference to the color of leaf desired. When first cultivated 

 in the United States it was thought that tobacco designed 

 for various uses could not be grown in the same state or 

 section ; now, however, tobacco for cigars and for cutting are 

 grown nearly side by side. But in the fineness of the leaf, 

 tobacco culture has made its greatest stride. By a careful 

 selection of soil, and by the judicious application of proper 

 fertilizers, the leaf tobaccos of Connecticut, Cuba, and 



