12 TOBACCO CULTURE. 



Their cultivation differs also from that of other tobaccos. 

 These soils are deep, alluvial bottoms, dark in color, fertile, 

 line in texture, and contain about one-fourth part of sand. 

 They are easily worked and high in moisture. 



THE SEED. 



The quality of seed from which tobacco is to be grown 

 is of the greatest importance. This is because the quantity 

 of the yield (with most kinds of tobaccos,) is of less impor- 

 tance than the quality of the crop. In other words, quality 

 of each class of leaf usually regulates its value. Seed plants 

 should be grown from first class seed only, and each kind 

 by itself. When different kinds are grown close together, 

 they mix badly, though in outward appearance the plants 

 give no indication of this mixing. 



The practice of growing seed plants by themselves is 

 necessary because tobacco has a decided tendency to depart 

 from fixed types, and to adapt itself to local conditions, 

 through its extreme sensitiveness to climate and soil condi- 

 tions. The pollen of the plant is carried long distances, and 

 the presence of different types of tobacco nearer than a mile 

 from the seed plants is likely to result in mixing, or crossing 

 of varieties, a condition which usually results in deteriora- 

 tion. The seed plant should not be allowed to develop 

 suckers, and the seed pods should be borne only upon the 

 main stem of the plant. When seed plants are grown by 

 themselves, only perfectly developed plants, with all dis- 

 tinctive qualities of the leaf, should be reserved for seed 



