INTRODUCTION AND ACCLIMATIZATION OF VARIETIES. 13 



used a coarse cheese cloth as a substitute for the slats. The shade 

 method of growing tobacco in this region has developed rapidly, 

 and at the present time several thousands of acres of tobacco are 

 grown under either slat or cloth shade, and the industry has become 

 established on a profitable and successful basis. During this time 

 considerable attention has been paid to the production of a uniform 

 type of tobacco adapted to the climatic and soil conditions of this 

 section by the saving of seed from carefully selected plants of the 

 Sumatra variety. 



"When Sumatra seed was first introduced into Florida the variety 

 broke up into a number of different types, some of which were de- 

 sirable, while others were undesirable. By reason of the small crops 

 grown from such seed, the loss to the growers from the production 

 of undesirable types of plants was not very great. The growers 

 naturally saved for seed those plants which produced the most de- 

 sirable types of tobacco, and as a result of continued selection of 

 this kind a fairly uniform type of tobacco which was adapted to 

 the local conditions in this section was secured. As the demand for 

 this Florida -grown Sumatra tobacco developed, resulting in in- 

 creased acreages, seed was at hand which was thoroly acclimatized 

 for planting the larger area devoted to this crop. From time to 

 time the tobacco planters in this region have obtained small quanti- 

 ties of seed from Sumatra, but in such cases this seed has been 

 grown in a very limited way in very small fields until it has been 

 acclimatized and uniform types have been secured by seed selection. 



About the time of the Cuban revolution it became apparent that 

 the supply of Cuban-grown tobacco for the use of cigar manufac- 

 turers in the United States might become limited by reason of the 

 unfavorable conditions for tobacco growing then prevailing in Cuba. 

 Under these circumstances it was thought to be a propitious time 

 to introduce the growing of Cuban tobacco into southern Florida, 

 where the conditions of climate and soil were believed to be similar 

 to those of Cuba. Considerable public interest was aroused in this 

 project, and as a result large quantities of Cuban-grown seed were 

 secured and planted in certain sections of Florida. • The crops raised 

 from this seed proved to be a disappointment to the growers. The 

 change of soil and climatic conditions resulted in the breaking up 

 of the type of the Cuban variety into a large number of sorts, some 

 of which were desirable, while others were undesirable. Many of 

 the plants developed a branching habit of growth, bearing very 

 small, undesirable leaves of poor quality, resulting in a very low 

 yield of an inferior tobacco. One of the main causes of failure 

 was the lack of understanding on the part of the growers of the 

 effect of the change of conditions on the type of tobacco and their 



06 



