34 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 195. 



It apparently is also satisfactorj' to the trade, which is essentially the 

 final test of all tobacco. 



In 1912 and subsequently, mammoth mutants have been quite fre- 

 quently found in fields of Connecticut Havana. In 1916 our attention was 

 called to two plants in a field in Sunderland by IVIr. Frank Hubbard. 

 These plants were darker green in color and had a larger leaf than did the 

 average plant, and showed no indication of budding when the plants in 

 the rest of the field were ready for topping. The number of leaves per 

 plant was also greater, and they were set much closer together on the 

 stalk. These two plants were removed to the greenhouse early in Septem- 

 ber and allowed to mature. It was not until mid-April of the following 

 spring that the plants blossomed, and seed could not be obtained until 

 May. 



Before transplanting to the greenhouse there were primed from these 

 two plants thirty-eight and forty-six leaves, respectively. It was reported 

 that these leaves cured satisfactorily. At the time of blossoming there 

 had been produced on the main stalk of each plant one hundred and thirty 

 and one hundred and ten leaves of sufficient size to be called marketable. 



In 1918 some few hundred plants were set in two fields, one in South- 

 wick, on the farm of Mr. C. H. Granger, and one in Sunderland, on the land 

 of Mr. Frank Hubbard. 



The comments of the growers are as follows: Mr. Granger said, "I 

 primed forty to fift}'' leaves from a plant, but they never cured right, and 

 about the only recommendation I can give this tobacco is a fine-shaped 

 leaf and increased weight. I topped some of it but got no better results. " 



Mr. Hubbard reported that he was much pleased with the type and 

 habit of growth, but that as the plants were not set on what he would 

 consider prime tobacco land he would prefer to try it again. Some of the 

 tobacco he had bulk-sweated, and it came through rather better than was 

 expected. The leaf had a good body, vein, etc., but contained little or no 

 light UTapper, consisting princii)ally of medium and dark wrapper and 

 binder. The taste and burn were fairly satisfactory. The yield, in com- 

 parison with the ordinary type of Havana, was approximately doubled. 



Further work with this type of tobacco, looking toward improvement of 

 quality by varjdng the fertilization and also a method for maturing seed 

 earlier, is in progress. It is believed that this mammoth type of Connecti- 

 cut Havana may possess commercial possibilities. 



High-pressure versus Low-pressure Seed Bed Sterilization. 



It has been universally recommended that in sterilizing the seed beds 

 with steam, as high a steam pressure as possible be maintained at the 

 boiler, usually from 75 to 125 pounds, and that the steam be allowed to 

 act under the pan for from twenty to thirty minutes in order to insure 

 thorough sterilization. 



Low-pressure outfits developing around 20 pounds pressure have been 



