12 



and the stalks 21 and 20 per cent. The average for all four varieties 

 was 55 per cent of leaf, 21.9 per cent of stalk, and 23.1 per cent of root. 



In planning future work on the varieties of tobacco it is very impor- 

 tant to keep in mind the purpose for which the tobacco is intended. 

 The kind of tobacco grown in any district depends in part upon the 

 climatic conditions and in part upon the character of the soil. The 

 industry has become so highly specialized that a nondescript tobacco 

 has very little market value at the present time. In testing varieties, 

 therefore, consideration should be given in the first place to the t}^pe 

 of tobacco adapted to the locality and to the soil and the grade which 

 the climatic conditions and soil may reasonably be expected to pro- 

 duce. For example, in the Connecticut Valley the most important 

 question is, What is the best variety for producing a thin wrapper 

 leaf of from 11 to 18 inches in length, having certain characteristics 

 which are possessed by the Sumatra wrapper, the present standard of 

 excellence for cigar wrappers in this country ? On the heavier lime- 

 stone soils of Pennsylvania and in the Ohio district, where a filler type 

 is grown, the question is, What variety will give the small, highly- 

 flavored leaf, approaching the Cuban tobacco in qualuy, in flavor, and 

 in aroma \ — the Cuban-leaf being the present standard for filler tobacco 

 for cigars in this country. 



One difficulty the experiment stations have found in the tobacco 

 investigations is the fact that the finest qualities of the leaf are devel- 

 oped only after certain fermentation or other changes have taken 

 place in the cured leaf. Most of the stations have not been prepared 

 to manipulate the tobaccos so that a reliable estimate of their commer- 

 cial value could be given. 



INFLUENCE OF DISTANCE IN PLANTING ON THE YIELD AND THICKNESS 



OF THE LEAF. 



At the Wisconsin Station a study of the relation of distance of plant- 

 ing to yield and thickness of leaf was made in 1891 and 1895. x In 1891 

 plants were set 20 inches apart in rows 31 and 36 inches apart and 21 

 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. Close planting increased the 

 yield, and the plants nearest together in the row produced a thinner 

 leaf than plants set farther apart, but lessening the distance between 

 the rows did not have this effect. A distance of 31 inches between 

 the rows was sufficient for the full development of the plants. The 

 surface area of the cured leaves per pound from the closest planting 

 was 42.01 square feet, and from the widest planting 10.86 square feet. 



In 1895 experiments were made with a view to ascertain to what 

 extent close planting may be advantageously practiced. The plants 

 were grown in rows 1, li, and 2^ feet apart with the distance between 



1 Wisconsin Station Epts. 1894 and 1895. 



