160 AGRICULTURE 



TOBACCO 



The Tobacco Plant. America has contributed few agricultural 

 plants to the world. Among these are the white potato, the sweet 

 potato, corn, and tobacco. Potatoes and corn are useful foods; 

 the tobacco is not a food plant. 



Uses. The leaves are used for chewing and smoking. They 

 contain a stimulating compound called nic'o tine. In its pure 

 condition nicotine is a poison, and every man who uses tobacco 

 takes into his system more or less of this poison. 



History. The Indians raised little patches of tobacco and 

 used the pipe for private comfort and public ceremony. In the 

 sixteenth century, the weed was introduced into. Europe and its 

 use became a fashion and a habit. Cultivating the crop for the 

 European market was one of the first American agricultural 

 industries. The estates on which it was cultivated were called 

 ' plantations ' because, instead of being raised like most agri- 

 cultural crops, the seeds were raised in a seed bed and the young 

 plants set in the field. 



Range. Tobacco grows from the equator to Canada. It is 

 raised chiefly in the eastern part of the United States, but is suc- 

 cessfully grown on the irrigated lands of the West. Its quality 

 depends largely on the amount and season of water supply, and 

 where this is regulated by irrigation, tobacco proves a sure and 

 profitable crop. 



Soil and Climate. No other field crop is so much affected by 

 conditions of soil. A variety changes its character entirely on 

 different soils. On a fertile clay, it may produce large, heavy 

 plants with leaves rich in oil or gum, which cure dark red or 

 brown. On a light, sandy soil, this same variety will produce 



