THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY IN 

 MARYLAND TODAY 



O 



ronoko as a staple 



Tobacco production dominated the Southern Mary- 

 land area from its colonial inception. The name 

 Oronoko became commonly attached to the type of 

 tobacco grown in the state as early as mid 17th cen- 

 tury. Oronoko is said to be derived from a type culti- 

 vated by the Spaniards near the Orinoco River in 

 -Venezuela. Its seeds were introduced to the Maryland- 

 Virginia area around 1610. 



