DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 



Plate I. (Frontispiece.) Fig. 1. — Connecticut Cuban tobacco, first year from Cuba. 

 Plants in foreground are freaks and undesirable. They have reached maturity 

 prematurely, and have very few salable leaves. The suckers and flower branches 

 are numerous and large. Fig. 2. — The same field shown in figure 1, after sav- 

 ing seed under bag and the selection of the best plants for two years. These 

 plants have a large number of well developed, desirable leaves, with very few 

 suckers or seed branches, as the result of careful seed selection. 



Plate II. Fig. 1. — Tobacco seed bed in Florida. This illustration shows plants just 

 before transplanting. Note the uniformity of those grown from heavy seed. 

 The bed, covering 2 acres, furnished enough plants for more than 100 acres of 

 tobacco. Fig. 2. — Tobacco seed beds in Connecticut — tent, hotbed, and cold 

 frame. The three best methods used for protecting tobacco seedlings in the 

 North are shown. The beds in the center of the picture are covered with hot- 

 bed sash; the one on the right with cheese cloth raised about 12 inches above 

 the surface of the bed; the one on the left is also covered with cheese cloth, 

 arranged in the shape of a roof or tent and elevated sufficiently to allow work- 

 men to walk about the bed without removing the cover. " The glass covering 

 seems to give the best results in most cases, and is conducive to the most rapid 

 growth. 



Plate III. Fig. 1. — Transplanting tobacco seedlings with machine. The most satis- 

 factory and practical transplanter is shown. By using this form of machine the 

 seedlings may be set in the field whenever they are of the proper size, and easily 

 watered. Fig. 2. — Sterilizing soil for tobacco seed beds. This method is cheap 

 and effective, and serves to kill all weed seeds, fungi, and insects that may be in 

 the soil. 



Plate IV. Fig. 1. — Tobacco seed separator. This form of separator is an improve- 

 ment over the one originally devised in the Laboratory of Plant Breeding of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, and described in the Yearbook of the Department of 

 Agriculture for 1904. Fig. 2. — Seedlings from heavy, medium, and light tobacco 

 seed. The seed from which the seedlings shown were grown .was taken from the 

 same lot and planted at exactly the same time. Note the increased growth and 

 vigor in plants grown from heavy seed. 



Plate V.'Fig. 1. — Method of "spearing" tobacco plants during harvest. This shows 

 the most practical and economical means of spearing plants with the least possi- 

 ble injury to the leaves. The plants are allowed to wilt very slightly before 

 spearing. Fig. 2. — Wagon rack for transporting plants to curing shed. The 

 group of seed plants in the background shows lack of selection under the old 

 practice. 



Plate VI. Fig. 1. — Capped plants saved for seed. The ordinary manila paper bag 

 of the 12-pound size was used in capping these plants. The bag should be made 

 • of a thin grade of paper. Fig. 2. — Curing shed in the Connecticut Valley. The 

 superior value of this form of curing shed is largely due to the large number of 

 ventilators which may be opened to admit air when needed in properly curing 

 tobacco. 



Plate VII. Fig. 1. — Seed plant ready for bag. In preparing the seed plant for 

 bagging, as shown, the small leaves and suckers just below the seed head have 

 been removed to make room for the bag. Fig. 2. — Proper arrangement of bag 

 on seed plant. When the bag is placed on the flower head of the seed plant, as 

 shown, it should be tied rather loosely around the stalk, to allow for its proper 

 development. 



Plate VIII. Fig. 1. — Arrangement and structure of tobacco flowers. The structure 

 of the flowers, as shown, gives evidence of the fact that tobacco flowers are 

 naturally self-fertile. Fig. 2. — Two strains of Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco, the 

 row on the left from an early parent and the row on the right from a late parent. 

 The plant on the right of the center of the picture, from a late parent, is repre- 

 sentative of the entire plat. 



Plate IX. Fig. 1. — Uniformity in time of maturity and other characters of two 

 types of Connecticut Sumatra tobacco raised from seed saved under bag. This 

 striking uniformity is due to three years of careful seed selection and protecting 

 the flowers from cross-pollination. Each row represents a different strain of the 

 tobacco. Fig. 2. — Lack of uniformity in time of maturity and other characters 

 in ordinary Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco, where seed was not saved under bag. 



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