TOBACCO LEAVES 



giers and Cape Colony, in Mexico, Brazil, 

 Florida, Connecticut, in Ohio and British 

 Columbia, but the plants which sprang into 

 being were changelings which bore little 

 resemblance to the parent stock. 



Little wonder is it that a tobacco so ad- 

 mired by Christendom, Islam, and the 

 lands of Buddha should become so mo- 

 mentous a mercantile fact. The real won- 

 der is that such a little territory as the 

 Vuelta Aba jo should have won and held 

 its throne against all the lands of the earth. 

 A greater wonder is it that the reputation 

 enjoyed by the leaf should be based upon 

 varying qualities and not a uniform 

 growth. For as the stars differ among 

 themselves in glory, so do the Vuelta leaves 

 differ in excellence. At one extreme are 

 the highest grade wrappers, which bring 

 as much as $1,000 a bale, while at the 

 other end is filler leaf, which ranges from 



