DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 11 



sirable types of tobacco for cigar-wrapper purposes. The number of 

 freak plants in this field amounted to one-third the total number of 

 plants and caused the grower a great loss. Specially good plants, free 

 from suckering, were selected for seed in this field, and the seed saved 

 under bag. The crop the following season raised from this seed was 

 comparatively free from freaks and undesirable plants. In 1905 the 

 crop shown in figure 2 from seed saved from the preceding year's 

 selected seed plants of this same variety on the same field was remark- 

 ably uniform in type, every plant being like every other plant in the 

 field. A casual inspection of the two figures will show that two years' 

 systematic seed selection, saving the seed under bag, has served to 

 weed out all of the freak and undesirable types and has enabled the 

 grower to produce a uniform field of a highly desirable type of tobacco. 



There is no general farm crop which responds so readily to seed 

 selection and breeding as tobacco. The transmitting power of the 

 individual parent plants is exceedingly strong, and the progeny of the 

 individual seed plants show great uniformity when seed is saved under 

 bag according to the plan outlined in the following pages. 



It is exceedingly important that strains of tobacco be secured in 

 different sections resistant to the "root knot," "root wilt," and other 

 fungous diseases which attack the tobacco crop. In the experiments 

 conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry it has been found that by 

 saving the seed of resistant plants under bag it is possible to produce 

 uniform strains which are immune to the attack of most root diseases. 

 Wherever possible the Department will undertake to make selections of 

 resistant types and furnish small quantities of this seed for distribution. 



It is advisable for tobacco growers to secure and test new varieties 

 in different sections, and especially to secure hybrids of the native 

 with the imported varieties. In order to safely introduce these hybrids 

 it is essential to grow a few plants of the desired imported variety in 

 order to procure pollen for crossing. In no instance should a large 

 area of plants be grown from the first year's cross or from the imported 

 seed. One hundred plants of each type or variety will give a fair 

 indication of the nature and value of the cross or importation, and will 

 furnish sufficient plants for seed selection for the next year's crop. 

 After the grower secures a uniform crop of the desired kind sufficient 

 seed may be saved for future crops in accordance w T ith the directions 

 given in this bulletin. 



DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 



It is impossible to recommend the best variety of tobacco for grow- 

 ing in a new region, that being a matter which can only be determined 

 by careful experiments. If the soil and climatic conditions are known . 

 a study of the description of the varieties sent out in this distribution 

 will enable the grower to select a variety which will be adapted most 



