10 VARIETIES OF TOBACCO SEED DISTRIBUTED IX 1905-6. 



result in failure, from the fact that the tobacco produced is unfit for 

 the same grade as the parent plants and will not meet the requirements 

 of an established class of tobacco, but must sell as a nondescript. In 

 some cases, however, new types of tobacco have been established in 

 this way which have proved of sufficient importance to create a market 

 on their own merit, and wherever it seems possible that such results 

 may be secured the seed of highly bred new varieties will be sent to 

 the particular section adapted to the growth of these types. 



The tobacco plant readily adapts itself to a great variety of condi- 

 tions, but is easily affected by the chemical and mechanical conditions 

 of the soil. In fact, it has been found that the relation of the physical 

 conditions of the soil to the texture and quality of the leaf has become 

 so well established that it is possible to determine in a general way by 

 a study of the soil and climate the adaptability o'f the different sections 

 to a particular type and class of tobacco. The climatic conditions 

 largely influence the quality and aroma in the same way that the soil 

 influences the texture of the tobacco leaf. In a warm climate the tend- 

 ency is to produce a leaf with a large amount of gum and an aromatic 

 tobacco: in northern sections the leaf becomes larger and finer, but is 

 lacking in aroma. However, these tendencies may be modified in dif- 

 ferent sections by excessive rainfall, which usually causes a thin leaf 

 and lack of aroma. 



As a rule, tobacco which is grown near the sea has poor combusti- 

 bility, which is supposed to be due to the action of the chlorin in the 

 salt of the sea air. As a general rule, tropical climates produce the best 

 tobaccos for cigar fillers, and temperate climates produce tobaccos 

 which are best adapted for cigar wrappers. In the warmer sections 

 of temperate climates the best smoking and chewing tobaccos are 

 produced. 



It has been definitely determined by experiments conducted by the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry that the different types of tobacco can be 

 greatly improved by seed selection and breeding. Inasmuch as the 

 tobacco plant produces a large quantity of seed, it is possible by sav- 

 ing comparative^ few plants to furnish enough highly bred seed for 

 the planting of a large area. It is important that where new strains 

 or varieties of tobacco are tested by the growers a small number of 

 plants be grown the first year, in order to test the adaptability of 

 these tobaccos to the local conditions. If the variety proves to be 

 of value the grower can select the best of the individual plants in this 

 small field for the seed of his entire crop the succeeding year. 



The importance of growing a small crop from imported or newly 

 introduced seed is illustrated in Plate I. In figure 1 is shown a field 

 in the Connecticut Valley in the season of 1903, grown from freshly 

 imported Cuban seed. It can be seen that in this field there are a 

 large number of "freak," branching, narrow-leaved, and other unde- 



