IMPROVEMENT OBTAINED BY SEED SELECTION. 25 
From the foregoing data collected from the growing of commercial 
crops of shade-grown tobacco, the writer does not hesitate to state 
that any farmer who has suitable tobacco land in the Connecticut 
Valley can produce this tobacco at a profit, provided he will give it 
careful attention and handle it so that the leaves will be sound and 
of good quality. 
EFFECT ON TOBACCO OF SIZE OF MESH IN CLOTH USED FOR 
SHADE. 
For the purpose of determining the effect of the size of the mesh in 
the cloth used for shade on the yield and quality of the tobacco, two 
selections were planted in 1906 and the rows part way across the 
field were covered with a cloth having 12 threads to the inch, 
while the other part of the rows was covered with a cloth having only 
8 threads to the inch. The tobacco from each section was _ har- 
vested, cured, and graded separately. The result is given in 
Table LI: 
Taste III.—Comparison of the effect of the size of the mesh in cloth used for shade on 
tobacco in the Connecticut Valley. 
Number 
Selection. threads Light Medium Dark Total. 
| toinch. wrap- wrap- wrap- Seconds. 
pers. pers. pers. 
Pounds. Pounds. , Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 
09 
AD ae el a ee | 128 320 453 1, 455 
oF SS net: RR ee ieee ! 8 464 203 351 328 1, 346 
(22° Se ee | 12 333 240 | 397 184 1144 
“<2 Gy Sart a ie es 8 212 182 | 399 | 142 935 
From these records the only conclusion to be made is that cloth con- 
taining 12 threads to the inch produces a higher yield and a better 
quality of tobacco than that which contains only 8 threads to the inch. 
THE IMPROVEMENT OF TOBACCO OBTAINED BY SEED SELECTION. 
The methods used in selecting tobacco seed to improve the com- 
mercial crop have been thoroughly explained in Bulletin No. 91 of 
the Bureau of Plant Industry*. It is the writer’s intention here 
simply to emphasize the fact that tobacco can be greatly improved by 
seed selection, both as to yield and quality, by giving some data which 
have been collected in connection with the other experiments. From 
the data referred to, the records of Type 13 selections are presented in 
Table IV. 
@Shamel, A. D.,andCobey, W.W. Varieties of Tobacco Seed Distributed in 1905-6, 
with Cultural Directions. 1906. 
138 
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