46 



and desirable flavor that is characteristic of the better grades of Cuban 

 tobacco. This work also will involve radical departures from the pres- 

 ent methods of cultivation and of fermentation, but even with the best 

 that can be done in this line it is probable that much will yet remain to 

 be done by the plant physiologist in the improvement, by selection and 

 breeding, of the aroma. 



So far as present experience goes, it would appear that the investi- 

 gations in Connecticut should be with the idea of producing desirable 

 wrapper leaf; in Pennsylvania and Ohio the conditions seem to be 

 peculiarly adapted to the production of a desirable filler; in Florida, 

 wrapper leaf alone should be considered, while so far the tobacco dis- 

 tricts of Texas have given evidence that the conditions are best adapted 

 to the production of a rich filler leaf. 



The problems connected with the cigar tobacco industry are very 

 marked and sharply defined in the preceding paragraphs. The cigar 

 tobaccos of this country do not come up to the present requirements of 

 the cigar trade. We have very satisfactory standards in the Sumatra 

 tobacco for the cigar wrappers and in the Cuban tobacco for cigar 

 fillers. 



In the matter of the manufacturing and export types, the lines of 

 investigation are not so clear nor so well defined. The cigarette 

 tobacco of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and East Tennessee 

 are admirably adapted to their purpose. They are themselves the 

 standard for this particular class of leaf. They are not only adapted 

 to domestic use for cigarettes and plug wrappers, but they are exported 

 in increasing quantities to many foreign countries. The average price 

 of the bright yellow and the mahogany leaves are lower than they were 

 a few years ago. The fine, bright wrapper leaf sells for from 25 to 40 

 cents per pound and the mahogany wrappers for 25 cents per pound. 

 Fancy leaves still sell for from 60 cents to $1 per pound. A specimen 

 of 10 pounds of fancy, bright tobacco was recentty purchased by a 

 gentleman in the warehouse at Raleigh, for which he paid $1 per 

 pound, the tobacco to be used for the tobacco exhibit of the Paris 

 Exposition. This tobacco was really a very fine specimen, and the 

 price paid was unquestionably the true commercial value of the leaf. 

 The low price of the inferior grades is due to the fact that there is so 

 much really inferior bright and mahogany tobacco placed upon the 

 market. The effort on the part of the experiment stations should be 

 to investigate the cause of this and to raise the standard of quality of 

 the average crop. The very marked improvement in the manipulation 

 and production of this cigarette tobacco in recent j^ears leaves no 

 reason to doubt but that results can be obtained in generally improved 

 methods for the improvement of the average crop of bright and 

 mahogany tobaccos grown in this country. 



