24 COLOR OF LEAVES. 
those kinds best adapted for cigar wrappers. The leaves 
from the base to the center of the plant are of about equal 
size but are smaller as they reach the summit, but after 
TOBACCO LEAVES. 
topping attain about the same size as the others. The color 
of the leaf after curing may be determined by the color of 
the leaf while growing—if dark green while maturing in the 
field, the color will be dark after curing and sweating and 
the reverse if of a lighter shade of green. 
If the soil be dark the color of the leaf will be darker than 
if grown upona light loam. Some varieties of the plant 
have leaves of ‘a’ smooth. glossy appearance while others are 
rough and the surface uneven—more like a cabbage leaf, a 
peculiar feature of the tobacco of Syria. The kind of fertil- 
izers applied to the soil also in a measure as well as the soil 
itself has much to do with the texture or body of the leaf 
and should be duly considered by all growers of the plant. 
A light moist loam should be chosen for the tobacco field if 
a leaf of light color and texture is desired while if a dark leaf 
is preferred the soil chosen should be a moist heavy loam. 
THE FLOWER. 
The flowers of the tobacco plant grow in a bunch or cluster 
on the summit of the plant and are of a pink, yellow, or 
purple white color according to the variety of the plant. On 
most varieties the color of the flowers is pink excepting 
Syrian or Latakia which bears yellow flowers while those of 
