\ 



104 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



COMPARISON OF RECENT TOBACCO CROPS. 



The tobacco area of 1879 was greater "tban that of 1878 by 35 per cent., greater than that of 1877 by 50 per 

 cent., and about equal to that of 187fi, and the yield per acre is reported as about the same for the different years. 

 The quality in 1879 did not differ from that of 1878, but was better than that of 1877, and was about the same as 

 that of 187G, being sound, of good quality, and thick in leaf. 



VARIETIES OF TOBACCO. 



A great many varieties are grown, as the Connecticut Broad Leaf, Ohio Broad Leaf, Connecticut Long and 

 Narrow Leaf, Belknap Broad Leaf, Wellington Leaf, Deer's Ear, Duck Island, Wilson's Hybrid or domestic Havana, 

 Spanish, Cuba, and Maryland Broad Leaf. The seed-leaf is raised more than any other. Of this variety all the kinds 

 mentioned are represented, the Connecticut being perhaps the most extensively cultivated. The domestic Havanas 

 come next, and both kinds are almost exclusively used for cigar fillers and wrappers, while the lower grades of 

 seed-leaf are quite largely exported. The Glessner and Pennsylvania Broad Leaf are most highly commended in the 

 reports, and are beginning to equal the Connecticut Seed-Leaf in general cultivation. The seed-leaf varieties are, 

 in general, large, drooping, and tall, but with much difference in the length and breadth of leaf. The Havana 

 grows tall and slender, with leaves erect, short and round, and far apart on the stalk. There are many varieties 

 of the Cuban tobacco, and the nomenclature is in inextricable confusion one being called Cuba, another "Havana", 

 and another Domestic Havana. The Havana is raised mostly in Clay township, Ouoridaga county, and is there 

 said to come nearest to the true Cuban flavor. The distinction between these tobaccos is not difficult to point out. 

 The seed-leaf is native, and then there are the foreign or Cuban varieties, all more or less changed by soil and by 

 climate. The hybrids are supposed to be crosses between the Cuban varieties and the seed-leaf, and tend to 

 supersede the foreign varieties, because, with as fine flavor, they will produce more. The Wilson Hybrid grows 

 erect, with broad, well-formed leaves, glossy, thin, and fine 'in texture. It is delicately organized, with veins and 

 stems small and the ribs of moderate size. Mr. Wilson, who has experimented for thirty years in tobacco, tried 

 the Cuban with moderate success, and from a western seed-leaf and Havana seed from the Vuelta Abajo district 

 he obtained a cross which is the Wilson Hybrid. He claims a high rank for its flavor, color, and the excellence of 

 the cigars made from it, its erect habit and tenacity of life under adverse circumstances, and affirms that it does not 

 require as strong laud as the seed-leaf. He frankly admits that it is yet an experiment, and the question is whether 

 it will deteriorate and lose its flavor. Until 1880 it was raised only by three or four fanners beside Mr. Wilson, 

 and by them only for two years; but in 1880 it was largely raised, with growing favor, in Onondaga and adjoining 

 counties. 



Haynes' Hybrid is similar, but darker in color, with the leaves thicker and broader. This variety has been 

 raised for several years, although by a few growers only until recently. Within two years its cultivation has 

 been widely extended. Both this and the Wilson will raise from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds per acre, although larger 

 crops can be grown. Mr. Wilson raised 10 tons from 10 acres in 1878. More than three-fourths of the crop of 1881 

 will be of these two varieties. Both stand without injury the second sweat which the cigar manufacturers give 

 their tobacco. 



Much attention is now paid to cross-fertilization. Successful experiments with strawberries and other plants 

 stimulated the same line of experiment with tobacco, and Mr. Wilson's is about the first systematic attempt to 

 improve tobacco, although chance has developed some excellent varieties. 



GRADES OF TOBACCO. 



In 1879 the grades of the product were reported as follows: Seed-leaf wrappers, 65 per cent.; binders, 25 per 

 cent.; fillers, 10 per cent; in 18C9, wrappers, 50 per cent.; binders, 30 per cent.; fillers, 20 per cent. Havana 

 tobacco being newly introduced, no data can be given. 



The reasons for the increase of higher grades in the decade are better culture, handling, and assorting. Tho 

 quality of the leaf is reported improved in burning qualities, the ash being whiter. Great care is exercised now in 

 selecting soil adapted to produce a free-burning white-ash tobacco. Tobacco is grown much darker than ten years 

 ago, the dark color being as much a desideratum as a light color in North Carolina. 



t 



TOBACCO SOILS. 



A sandy or gravelly loam, with soil deep, dark, and rich, is preferred, for seed-leaf especially. The timber 

 growth of the lands most in use is beech, maple, pine, and chestnut. Where the growth is beech and maple the 

 soils produce a very fine, dark, rich tobacco, but the growth is not so fine as when the soil is a very fertile, sandy 

 loam, with a growth of chestnut and pine. No new land is used, and the product is not valuable. The soils cultivated 

 in tobacco are generally of limestone or drift derivation. Clay and peat or muck soils are not adapted to the 

 growth of tobacco of a good quality, and the light, friable, porous, sandy loams, well drained, dry, and warm, grow 

 the best leaf. On these a rapid growth and early maturity can be secured. The pine and chestnut soils are from 



