33 



two subsoils as made by the Bureau of Soils, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture: 



Mechanical analyses of subsoils from tioo Cuban tobacco districts. 



The influence of dew and rainfall upon the taste and aroma of 

 tobacco is very noticeable. The veiy fine cigarette tobacco produced 

 in Yenidje Karasou (Turkey), which sometimes brings $4 to $5 a 

 pound, is grown on a ratlier poor soil with stony subsoil. Of rainfall 

 and dew tliere is but little, and tlie plants being set out at a distance 

 of only 6 inches, or even less, and no irrigation being applied, the 

 leaves remain small and soft, but possess a superior flavor and aroma. 

 In other jjarts where the soil is loose and contains more moisture, the 

 roots spread and the plants grow very high. An ample rainfall pro- 

 duces large leaves, but the flavor and aroma are impaired by this rapid 

 growth, and the tobacco produced is light and nearly tasteless. The 

 same can be said of Sumatra tobacco, which, under the influence of 

 the tropical rainfall and very abundant moisture of the air, gyows 

 speedily, and being planted very closely and topped high, a cigar 

 made from Sumatra tobacco alone would possess neither aroma nor 

 taste. The value of Sumatra tobacco lies onl,v in its unsurpassed 

 value as wrapper material. 



One of the first considerations should be to use care in choo.sing 

 lauds for tobacco growing, and, as has been seen, one class of land 

 should be chosen for growing wrapper tobacco, while another is better 

 suited foi- growing the filler, keeping alwaj's in mind that the treat- 

 ment given to wrapper and filler must also be quite different from the 

 beginning to the end. 



SEED AND SEED BEDS. 



The tobacco seed should be secured with reference to the kind of 

 tobacco the land is best suited to grow. The seed should have good 

 vitality, a condition which can be easily tested by placing 100 seeds 

 between two moist blotters and keeping them between two plates a 

 sufficient length of time to allow the seeds to germinate. 



The time of preparing the seed beds will depend on when the plants 

 are to be set in the fields. The seed should be sown forty-five to 



