WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 73 
and, owing to a much greater area of suitable land, the production of 
White Burley in Kentucky soon far exceeded in amount that pro- 
duced in the Ohio portion of the Burley district. 
To-day, practically all of the Burley seed used is of this improved 
type. The name Red Burley is frequently used to-day, but refers 
more particularly to differences in the cured leaf from the same seed. 
Some leaves are redder, or more colory, than others, depending upon 
the soil, season, or other local conditions, often as they occur in the 
same field. This leads us to the consideration of the soil as a factor 
of importance, as it influences the color and other desirable features 
of Burley tobacco. 
SPECIAL SOIL INFLUENCES ON PRODUCTION. 
White Burley tobacco originated and has had its principal develop- 
ment on the phosphatic limestone soils of central and northern Ken- 
tucky and southern Ohio. They are as a whole among the richest in 
- mineral plant food materials and among the most fertile soils to be 
found anywhere. 
It is well known that the soil itself exerts a most important influ- 
ence on the character of tobacco, but it-is difficult, if not impossible, 
to single out any one soil factor as the all-important or controlling one 
which can be observed in actual field results. It is known that phos- 
phates in considerable available supply tend to hghten the color of 
vegetation, but this is not sufficient to account fully for the pecular 
chlorosis of Burley, because some of the brightest Burley tobacco pro- 
duced is grown on soils where the supply of phosphorus is only nor- 
mal. The same may be said concerning lime also.° In fact the finest 
and brightest Burley best suited to high-grade cutting purposes is 
most likely to be produced on freestone soils rather than on hmestone 
soils. For plug fillers, however, which form the largest single item 
in the consumption of Burley tobacco, the heavier-bodied types pro- 
duced on the rich limestone soils, though somewhat darker in color, 
are generally preferred. : 
It is true, therefore, that the soil exerts a dominating influence in 
producing a Burley tobacco of good quality, but this seems to be due 
to a combination of factors rather than to any particular ones that 
can be specified with precision. It is of course quite likely that the 
special soil conditions had something to do with the original mutation 
of the White Burley characteristics. Any other type of seed planted 
on typical Burley soil will produce a brighter, more porous tobacco 
than if planted, for example, on a typical heavy, dark, export-tobacco 
soil, but it will be far from equaling the product obtained from 
Burley seed in this respect. Conversely, the hereditary influence of 
Burley seed is also most remarkable. ven when planted on a most 
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