April 1908.] 



353 



Miscellaneous. 



crop, the inclination to variation induced 

 by this extensive system of cultivation 

 must be controlled by the most rigid 

 selection of seed from the type of plants 

 best adapted for the purpose for which 

 the tobacco is grown. 



In the production of improved varie- 

 ties of tobacco by breeding, variation 

 in type can be secured by crossing, and 

 by continued saving of self-fertilized seeds 

 from plants most nearly reaching the 

 growers' ideal of perfect plants uniform 

 types can be fixed. Growers will frequent- 

 find plants that are markedly better 

 than the rest of the plants in the field, 

 so that by selecting these desirable 

 variations a steady improvement in the 

 yield and quality of the crop can be 

 effected. Variation, therefore, is a basis 

 for selection in an experimental way, 

 but in practise every effort must be put 

 forth in order to secure uniformity of 

 the plants in the field and thus produce 

 the most profitable crops. 



The Introduction and Acclimatiza- 

 tion op Varieties. 



The introduction of the seed of 

 standard foreign-grown varieties of 

 tobacco has been the source of increased 

 wealth and prosperity in certain tobacco 

 districts of the United States. In other 

 regions such importations have resulted 

 in great financial loss to the growers, 

 which in most cases has been due to a 

 lack of knowledge of the effect of the 

 change of soil and climatic conditions 

 on the particular type of tobacco grown. 



The western Florida and southern 

 Georgia Sumatra tobacco industry is an 

 illustration of the successful introduc- 

 tion of a foreign grown variety of 

 tobacco. Tobacco growers in this region 

 secured small samples of the seed of the 

 Sumatra variety of tobacco from the 

 island of Sumatra. At first small experi- 

 mental crops were grown and seed saved 

 from the best plants in these crops. In 

 the course of this experimental cultiva- 

 tion it was noticed that the plants grown 

 under the partial shade of trees in 

 freshly-cleared fields produced finer and 

 more desirable leaves for cigar wrappers 

 than the plants grown in the open. 

 This fact led to the erection of an arti- 

 ficial shade over the fields, made of slats 

 laid on a suitable framework. This 

 method of growing tobacco was intro- 

 duced about 1896 by Mr. D. A. Shaw, of 

 Quiucy, Fla. Later, other growers 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 

 45 



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 intro- 

 duced into Florida, the variety broke up 

 into a number of different types, some 

 of which were desirable, 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 pro- 

 duced the most desirable 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, re- 

 sulting in the increased acreages, seed was 

 at hand which was throughly acclima- 

 tized for planting the larger area devoted 

 to this crop. From time to time the 

 tobacco planters in this region have 

 obtained small quantities 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 revolu- 

 tion it became apparent that the supply 

 of Cuban-grown tobacco for the use of 

 cigar manufacturers in the United 

 States might become limited by reason 

 of the unfavourable conditions for 

 tobacco giowing then prevailing in 

 Cuba. Under these circumstances it was 

 thought to be propitious time to intro- 

 duce 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 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 



