B. P. I.— 212. 



I\-METHODS OF TESTING THE BURNING 

 QUALITY OF CIGAR TOBACCO." 



By WiGHTMAN W. Garner, Scientific Assistant, Plant Breeding Investigations. 



INTRODUCTION. 



As has been pointed out in previous publications of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, a systematic effort is being made to improve the qual- 

 ity and yield of the tobacco crop by employing- the latest and most 

 approved methods of selection in the old varieties and by creating 

 and establishing new strains possessing to a marked degree those 

 characteristics most to be desired in the various classes of tobacco 

 which the market demands. This work necessitates the careful test- 

 ing of a large number of types, as well as many individual selections 

 from each of these tvpes, and for this reason it is ver}^ desirable to 

 have at our command methods capable of showing* with, certainty even 

 slight differences in the essential qualities of the various samples to be 

 examined. It is our purpose to make a careful studv of the subject 

 of testing tobacco from a practical standpoint, as well as the*relation 

 of the chemical composition of the leaf to its good and bad qualities. 



In judging the merits of a cigar tobacco, due regard must be had 

 for the particular use for which it is intended, since the linished cigar 

 consists of three distinct components — the filler, the binder, and the 

 wrapper — each of which must possess certain characteristics. The 



ff In the tobacco breeding experiments conducted by the Plant Breeding Investiga- 

 tions of the Bureau of Plant Industry, particular attention is being given to the 

 improvement of cigar tobaccos, including specially high-grade wrapper and filler 

 types. In connection with these experiments, which are being conducted by Messrs. 

 A. D. Shamel and W. AV. Cobey, of this office, it has been found necessary to com- 

 pare the characters of a large number of selected individual plants to determine 

 which ones are superior in their important characters. The means and methods 

 heretofore used in making such comparative tests were very imperfect, and one 

 important preliminary part of the work is to devise special pieces of apparatus which 

 will enable accurate tests to be made. The devices described by Dr. Crarner in the 

 present paper it is believed will greatly facilitate such testing and add to the accuracy 

 of the results. The preliminary notes given by Dr. Crarner on the influence of 

 wrapper, binder, and filler on the "burn" of cigars open up an important field of 

 investigation in connection with the testing and breeding of different types of 

 tobacco.— Herbert J. Webber, Phi/siologist in Charge of Plant Breeding Invt't^Hgations. 



100— ly ' 3j 



