The Tobacco Plant 103 



among the leaves of the tender plant. Every morn- 

 ing and evening the plants are examined and all 

 intruders destroyed. 



The quality of the soil, the kind of manure, the 

 local conditions of climate, as well as the variety of 

 seed, all exert great influence on the kind and quality 

 of tobacco produced. Equally important is the 

 method of pruning. Escaping the terrors of frost, 

 the injuries of careless handling and the attacks of 

 insects, the plant grows rapidly ; but its growth must 

 be checked and directed to produce a profitable crop. 

 No plant can produce more than twelve healthy 

 leaves of good quality. 



To prevent the energies of the plant being devoted 

 solely to the attainment of great height, strong stem, 

 big flowers and capacious seed capsules, to the con- 

 sequent starvation of the leaves, the stem is nipped 

 off with the finger-nail ; this partially closes the 

 wound and is better than any instrument. The tip 

 of the stems and every flower-bud are ruthlessly 

 removed to confine the energies of the plant solely to 

 the growth of leaves. It is on the same principle 

 that gardeners prune trees and direct the energies of 

 a vine to the growth of a few first-class bunches of 

 grapes. In Turkey alone this course is not pursued, 

 as the leaves, buds and flowers are all used in Turkish 

 tobacco ; hence its mildness, the nutriment being 

 evenly distributed, and not, as in American plants, 

 directed to the leaves only. 



As a consequence of removing the flowers and 

 buds the plant throws out shoots, or suckers, and 

 these as soon as they appear are snipped off to keep 



