44 TOBACCO BREEDING. 



breed up good burning types of tobacco in which the burn will be 

 uniform thruout. This uniformity in type can only be secured by 

 saving the seed of the plants producing the good-burning type of 

 tobacco, these having been protected from cross-pollination accord- 

 ing to the method described in. this bulletin. 



THE SELECTION OF SEED PLANTS. 



The successful improvement of tobacco varieties by selection de- 

 pends on the characters of the plants saved for seed production. Too 

 much emphasis can not be given to the necessity for great care in the 

 selection of seed plants. The history of the production of the valu- 

 able varieties of tobacco by seed selection is sufficient evidence of the 

 importance of this subject. The running out or deterioration of the 

 established varieties where careful seed selection has not been fol- 

 lowed and the consequent deplorable financial condition of the 

 growers of these inferior tobaccos is additional argument for the 

 adoption of the most improved methods of saving seed b}^ all growers. 

 Inasmuch as any improvement in the yield or quality of tobacco 

 means that much additional profit to the growers and manufacturers, 

 attention to seed selection is a matter of direct financial importance 

 as well as scientific interest. 



The development of highly specialized means for manufacture and 

 the increasing demand b}^ the consumers for a variety of manu- 

 factured tobacco products are important reasons for the most careful 

 study of seed selection as a means for producing tobacco adapted for 

 the manufacture of special grades. . In fact, a survey of the con- 

 ditions of the tobacco growers in different sections shows that in 

 those regions where a systematic attempt is made to produce a type 

 of tobacco adapted to the specialized market requirements the pros- 

 perity of the tobacco growers is much greater than where no such 

 attention is given to the improvement of the crop. It can be safely 

 stated that the tobacco grower of the present day and of the future 

 must either keep pace with the demands of the market or be forced 

 out of business. Owing to the increased general prosperity and 

 wealth of the United States, tobacco consumers are constantly de- 

 manding a higher grade of tobacco, a demand which, if taken advan- 

 tage of by the producer, means greater profit and better prices for the 

 specialized crops. 



The common practise in selecting tobacco seed plants in many 

 tobacco-growing regions is to save a group of a dozen plants, more 

 or less, depending on the acreage of tobacco grown, in some con- 

 venient corner or section of the field where they will interfere least 

 with the harvesting of the crop. A visit to any tobacco-growing re- 

 gion in the United States shortly after the crop is harvested will 

 show these clumps of plants which have been left for seed. It is 



96 



