TOBACCO 



TOBACCO 



641 



ing, smoking and snuff products, |103,754,362 ; 

 stem-used and rehandled tobacco, $19,099,032. In 

 the manufacture of these products, 142,277 persons 

 were employed, who earned a total wage of $49,- 

 852,484. In addition to the tobacco grown in 

 the United States, there was imported into the 

 United States during the year ended June 30, 

 1906, $4,143,192 worth of tobacco in a manufac- 

 tured condition, and $22,447,514 worth of unmanu- 

 factured products, making a total value of imported 

 tobacco of $26,590,706. In 1891, the tobacco in- 

 dustry furnished almost $50,000,000 revenue to 

 federal government, and this revenue now amounts 

 to one-eighth of the total net receipts. Tobacco 

 has now become one of the great staple crops of 

 the United States, and is being looked on as a nec- 

 essity rather than a luxury by the people. Its 

 culture is rapidly extending -to all quarters of the 

 globe, and its use for smoking, chewing, snuff and 

 medicinal purposes is increasing at a tremendous 

 rate. 



Varieties. 



The character of the tobacco plant is profoundly 

 affected by the conditions of soil and climate. The 

 flavor, aroma, "burn" and texture of the leaf are 

 particularly affected by these conditions, so that 

 certain sections come to be recognized as specially 

 adapted for growing a special type of tobacco. It 

 has been asserted that the aroma of the leaf is 

 specially influenced by climatic conditions, while 

 texture is affected most seriously by soil condi- 

 tions. For example, the light, thin, elastic, cigar- 

 wrapper leaf varieties of New England when grown 

 in the heavy clay soil of Tennessee assume the 

 heavy non-elastic character of the Tennessee to- 

 baccos. The fact that a change of seed from one 

 section to others induces variability has been taken 

 advantage of in the production of new varieties. 

 An illustration is found in the origin of the White 

 Burley variety. George Webb, of Brown county, 

 Ohio, found a few striking light-colored plants in a 

 field of tobacco grown from Red Burley seed. The 

 Bed Burley seed came from Kentucky, and when 

 grown under different conditions in Ohio threw 

 these sports. Mr. Webb saved the seed of these 

 plants and set out a small field from them the 

 following season. This tobacco proved so desirable 

 that the culture gradually extended until White 

 Burley has become the most extensively cultivated 

 variety in the United States. Another typical illus- 

 tration is the Uncle Sam Sumatra variety, produced 

 by the writer. In 1903, in the Connecticut valley 

 considerable areas were cultivated to a variety the 

 seed of which was secured from Florida. The 

 marked change of conditions induced tremendous 

 variability. One of the types found in these fields 

 was ideal from the cigar-wrapper standpoint. The 

 leaves were beautifully rounded, of fine venation 

 and color. It was distinct from every other type 

 produced. Seed was saved under bag from these 

 plants, and was found to produce uniform strains 

 of tobacco. The best of these strains has been 

 developed into an established variety which is now 

 grown extensively, producing a better grade of 



S41 



tobacco for wrapper purposes than any heretofore 

 grown. 



The tobacco flower is naturally self-fertile, and 

 plants grown from self-fertilized seed are always 

 stronger and more vigorous than those from cross- 

 pollinated seed when the crossing is within the 

 variety. The vitality of tobacco seed is retained 

 with little loss for several years, providing the 

 seed is kept in a warm, dry place and in a glass or 

 other safe receptacle. The writer has often secured 

 plants from seed known to be more than twenty 

 years old. However, it is not safe to depend on 

 such seed for planting on an extensive scale. The 

 loss of vitality in old seed is shown by slow ger- 

 mination and other weak characters of the plants. 



Fig. 866. Tobacco plants left for seed. Near Hartford, Conn. 



The transmitting power of the tobacco plant is 

 very marked. From seed saved under bag, plants 

 are produced resembling very closely and uniformly 

 the character of the parent plants. For this reason 

 it is possible to improve the varieties of tobacco by 

 careful selection of seed plants of the type desired. 

 If the crop does not vary enough as regards the 

 individual plants to enable the grower or breeder 

 to make the selection desired, this variation can be 

 induced through a change of seed, hybridization or, 

 to a slight extent, by the method of fertilization of 

 the soil. In saving seed from the selected plants, 

 the flower-heads should be enclosed by a strong but 

 light paper bag to prevent cross-pollination. The 

 bag should be applied just before the flowers open, 

 and can remain until the seed-heads are out off and 

 hung up to dry. 



Cross-fertilization is easily effected among the 

 different varieties. By careful selection and propa- 

 gation of the desirable forms that result, and con- 

 tinued seed selection from these, new varieties are 

 established. Indiscriminate crossing has been of 

 very little use except in rare cases. The writer is 



