the newly developed type than from the Broadleaf then 

 under cultivation. Ordinarily restrained government 

 agriculturists described it in such glowing terms as "very 

 handsome, showy tobacco . . . ," "fine burning qualities, 

 sweetness of taste . . . ," "silkiness of leaf, which sweats 

 to a good rich color." 



Seeds were imported for each new sowing and the 

 plants obtained from them for the first three years were 

 known as "Spanish" or "Havana." After a necessary cul- 

 tivation of four years in Connecticut soil the type ac- 

 quired certain desired characteristics and was then 

 called "Havana Seed." The tobacco grown on the east 

 side of the Connecticut River differed markedly from 

 that produced on the west side. The soil in the eastern 

 area is more sandy; that in the western clayey. East-side 

 leaf was finer and lighter-colored; that from the west 

 side had more body and a less delicate fibre. Growers 

 were getting a yield of over 2,500 pounds per acre and 

 their product was bringing 40 cents and more per pound 

 for wrappers around 1875. The wise old farmers said, 

 "We were wrong about Broadleaf. This seed stuflF is 

 really the finest for wrappers." Once again they were 

 premature. 



By this time men of the soil had accepted a fact of 

 nature, a fact which no one was ever clearly to under- 

 stand. No matter whether seeds came from Virginia or 

 Maryland types used for non-cigar purposes or from 

 Cuba, when planted in Connecticut they evolved only 

 into binder and wrapper types. In the years following 

 its introduction into Connecticut, Havana Seed tobacco 

 became generally known as "American," as distinct from 



38 



