- COOK AND COLLINS—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF PORTO RICO. 2038 
Weptunia plena. DESMANTO AMARILLO. 
Family Mimosaceae; a slender herb, in sandy inundated places. (Stahl, 3: 141 
as Desmanthus plenus.) 
Nerium oleander. OLEANDER. ADELFA. 
Family Apocynaceae. The common oleander is extensively planted in Porto 
Rico, as in other tropical countries, sometimes in the form of hedges. In some 
localities it has escaped from cultivation and grows apparently wild. 
Nespera aquatica. See Nepsera aquatica. 
Neurolaena lobata. SEpI. 
An annual herbaceous composite growing as a weed in waste places. (Stahl, 
5: 128, as Newrolema lobata. ) 
Neurolema lobata. See Newrolaena lobata. 
This is probably a typographical error on the part of Stahl. 
Niaragato. See Fagara spinifex and Zanthoxylum tragodes. 
Nicotiana tabacum. TosBacco. 
Although only a small area is devoted to the culture of tobacco in Porto Rico, 
this crop ranks third among the exports of the island. The plant m:y be grown, 
indeed, in nearly all parts of the island, but there is only a limited ci .. cf the soil 
supposed to be adapted to the production of a marketable quality of leaf. The 
best tobacco, by general consent, is raised in the La Plata Valley above Cayey. 
Like nearly all the interior of the island the configuration of the country is 
extremely hilly, although, owing to the more friable nature of the soil, the slopes 
are not as steep as in many of the coffee-growing districts, and plowing can often 
be practiced. The underlying rock crumbles readily into small angular pieces, 
which, mingled with the finer superficial material, makes a loose, easily work- 
able, deep-brownish soil. This is left in shallow furrows and ridges running along 
the slope. The rows are spaced at from 18 to 24 inches (45 to 60 centimeters), and 
the plants are set very close, only from 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) apart, 
there being no evidence of any serious attempt at regularity of distance. 
' The town of Cayey is the recognized center of the tobacco industry of the 
island, although the largest cigarette factories are located at Ponce and San Juan 
and many cigars are made in those and other cities and towns. In fact, cigar 
making is one of the largest of the domestic industries. All the men and boys 
smoke, of course, and many of the women are said to do so, although only those 
of the lower classes are seen indulging themselves in public. The home consump- 
tion of cigarettes must be enormous, since the Porto Rican, whether at work or 
at leisure, is seldom long without one, even though the cigar may be only an occa- 
sional indulgence. The Porto Rican cigarette is not, however, the medicated 
nuisance prevalent in the United States, but the general use of tobacco by the 
growing boys probably has its effect in increasing the debility of the population. 
A peculiar type of black plug tobacco is also offered for sale in the market, in 
the form of large rolls variously and ingeniously coiled. Although fruits and 
vegetables are sold by weight in Porto Rico, this tobacco is retailed by linear 
measure. - 
No such careful methods of cultivation or selection have been practiced in 
Porto Rico as in Cuba, and the possibilities of the island will not be adequately 
known until careful experiments have been made under test conditions. It 
has been demonstrated by the experiments of Dr. Loew that the processes of 
curing are all important in the determination of the quality of tobacco. It has 
been stated, with what warrant is not known, that the Porto Rican growers 
are not acquainted with the Cuban methods and do not practice a uniform system 
of curing. If this be the case, it is not impossible that the introduction of the 
popular processes may render the Porto Rican crop of the very first quality. 
