114 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [FEBRUARY 
Recently similar phenomena have been described by Coox' 
and his collaborators as occurring in cotton when transplanted from 
one locality to another. It is evident from these citations that it is 
a common belief that plants, when transported from one environ- 
ment to another entirely different one, tend to break up into a 
number of new types. This view is held by many writers, especially 
regarding tobacco. 
During the years 1907 to 1909, while connected with the Cuban 
Experiment Station at Santiago de las Vegas, I was able to gather 
a number of facts and to Carry out some experiments which lead 
to a different interpretation of the phenomena observed when 
Cuban tobacco seed is imported and grown in the United States. 
The results of these observations and experiments are given in this 
paper. For a complete understanding of the phenomena in 
question, three phases of the subject are considered: (1) the com- 
position of so-called Cuban tobacco; (2) the special methods of 
agriculture which tend to influence or maintain the present compo- 
sition of Cuban tobacco; and (3) cultural experiments with types 
of Cuban tobacco. 
The composition of Cuban tobacco 
Even a casual survey of the tobacco fields of western Cuba 
shows that the crop in any field lacks entirely that uniformity 
which is characteristic of any field of plants of one variety in regions 
of more advanced agriculture. The plants show a great variety of 
forms, which at first seems bewildering. Upon closer study, 
however, it is seen that some types predominate. Most of the 
plants may be divided into groups, the members of which resemble 
each other more or less. It is impossible, however, to delimit such 
groups definitely, or to class all the plants into groups by a taxo- 
nomic study. Certain types are well marked, but the number of 
minor forms, differing in width and length of leaves, habit, branch- 
ing, etc., is so great that the whole appears to be a mixture of innu- 
merable “Si texorartae forms. While, as has been stated, some of 
, O. F., Local seen of cotton varieties. U.S. Dept. Agr., Bur. 
Plant i Bull. oe Pp. 75. 19 
Cook, O. F., McLacu3an, me onl Meape, R. M., A study of see in Egyp- 
tian cotton. US. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Ind. Bull. 156. pp. 60. pls. 6. 1909. 
