Soils and directed by Marcus L. Floyd of East Windsor. 

 The crop met all expectations. In order to publicize the 

 event and invite competition from manufacturers, the 

 harvest of 300 bales was auctioned in Hartford in May 

 1902. Some bales brought $2.65, none less than $1.40 

 per pound. 



The highest price per pound paid for Connecticut 

 wrapper leaf prior to tliat date had been 40 cents. News 

 headlines sent the tidings dramatically across the state: 

 ". . . the salvation of the Connecticut farmer was at hand 

 ... no more hard times." A leaf gold rush followed. 

 Valley farmers bought seeds in Florida indiscriminately, 

 paying as high as $2.00 an ounce. Despite the urgent 

 advice of state and federal experts to give the new plant 

 further trial and to restrict production, land with light, 

 sandy soil was bought at extravagant costs. As a result, 

 fields set out to wrapper tobacco increased to 700 acres. 



T 



urning over a new leaf 



The growing season in 1902 was cold and wet and the 

 tobacco so poor it had no market. Wrappers sold at losses 

 of 75 to 90 percent and many newly formed companies 

 failed. Stubbornly blaming the weather, the Valley 

 farmers repeated their mistake in 1903, again with dis- 

 astrous results. Then they retired, leaving the field to 

 men willing to work out a partnership with nature. 



A specialist from the U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry 

 supervised a succession of plantings in search for uni- 

 formity. From one field a superior crop developed from 



43 



