BREWER HYBRID VARIETY 



67 



in the case of the Havana seed variety grown in this valley, the tips of 

 the leaves produce the high-grade wrappers. It has long been recog- 

 nized that a most important problem was the production of a smaller 

 leaf with more uniform texture adapted for cigar-wrapper manu- 

 facture. 



The Brewer Hybrid possesses many important characters that are 

 distinct improvements over the Broadleaf variety. The average num- 

 ber of leaves is 21; length of 

 leaves, 27^ inches; width, 19£- 

 inches; shape, very round; 

 height of plants, 42 inches; 

 circumference of stem, 2J 

 inches ; length of internode, 2 

 inches; number of suckers, 2, 

 of medium size. The time of 

 maturity is eighty- five days. 

 The suckering habit of the 

 lrybrid is rather unsatisfac- 

 tory at the present time, for 

 it seems to inherit the sucker- 

 ing tenclenc}^ of the Cuban 

 tobacco; but as some of the 

 plants in this variety have 

 been found to be compara- 

 tively free from suckers there 

 is little doubt that nonsuck- 

 ering strains can be developed 

 by seed selection. 



An illustration of the 

 Brewer Hybrid is shown in 

 figure 13. The typical shape 

 and size of leaf of the hybrid 

 are shown in figure 14. 



In the case of both the 

 Cooley Hybrid and the Brewer Hybrid the tobacco can be sold by 

 the growers and utilized by the manufacturers as improved Havana 

 seed and Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco, respectively. In this way 

 their production will not disturb the established market standards, 

 but simply meet the demands of the market for improved wrapper 

 and binder tobaccos to the benefit of both the grower and the manu- 

 facturer. 



Fig. 14.— Typical leaf of the Brewer Hybrid tobacco. 

 Connecticut Broadleaf, female parent; Cuban, male 

 parent. The broad, very round leaf, fine venation, 

 and other desirable characters of the Cuban tobacco 

 are evident. These characters are combined in the 

 hybrid with the burn, body, and taste of the Con- 

 necticut Broadleaf, the mother parent. 



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