B 



the farm of Captain Fred Kautz near the village of 

 Higginsport, Brown County, Ohio. Being short of seeds, 

 Fore crossed the Ohio River to the farm of George Bark- 

 ley in Bracken County, Kentucky. There he acquired 

 seeds of Little Burley. 



The seedlings that consequently developed were 

 sturdy and of fine texture. But the leaf color was a "dirty 

 yellow," and the tenant farmers, believing the plants 

 unhealthy or dwarfed, destroyed them. Jn the following 

 season, on George Webb's farm, some of the seeds ob- 

 tained from Barkley were again sowed. When they dis- 

 played the same characteristics as the original lot, Webb 

 was imaginative enough to transplant about a thousand 

 of tliem. In their maturity the plants, described as 

 "healthy and thrifty," had a stalk of unclassifiable color 

 — "cream" is usually used as a vague description — and 

 pale-green leaves. (Another farmer, Samuel Ellis of 

 Brown County, Ohio, is believed to have grown the new 

 "bright" Burley in the same season that Webb first ex- 

 perimented with his.) 



rown Gold 



The "freak tobacco" caused a neighborhood sensation. 

 When cured, the leaf was a bright yellow or cream color 

 but the experts said that it smoked "bitter." Webb was 

 advised not to risk any large acreage on the new sort. 

 But he had acquired a good quantity of seeds, and fol- 

 lowing his own thrifty judgment planted enough of the 

 type, by then called "White Burley," to cure 20,000 

 pounds. In its final form, its color was a delicate brown. 

 (Today, it is light tan.) 



At the Cincinnati market, to which Webb had con- 

 signed two hogsheads, the tobacco brought an excellent 

 price. Then, at the St. Louis Fair in 1867, Webb's new 



44 



