380 Tobacco Growing for Insecticidal Purposes, [aug., 



and that with a suitable variety and a good soil a satisfactory 

 crop could be obtained. When the leaves are dried it is 

 possible to extract about 95 per cent, of the nicotine simply 

 by soaking the powdered leaves in water. Investigations are, 

 moreover, being carried out in the Chemical Laboratory of 

 the College by Mr. Edwardes-Ker with a view of discovering 

 a simple and inexpensive method by which the grower can 

 extract the whole of the nicotine. No statement can at present 

 be made on this point, but in the meantime an account of the 

 method of cultivation, based on the experiments at Wye last 

 year, may be of interest. 



Varieties Grown. — There are two species of tobacco 

 commonly grown for smoking purposes, Nicotiana Tabacum 

 and Nicotiana rustica, both belonging to the same natural 

 order as the potato and the tomato — the natural order 

 Solanacece. Nicotiana Tabacum is the commonest, and is 

 easily distinguished by its red tubular flowers and long and 

 moderately narrow leaves. It is the species that provides all 

 the best types of smoking tobaccos. The other species, 

 Nicotiana rustica, has a yellow flower of quite a different 

 shape from that of N. Tabacum. It is a much shorter plant, 

 and bears large wide leathery leaves rather resembling 

 cabbage leaves. It is a much coarser plant altogether than 

 N. Tabacum, and as coarseness as a rule means high nicotine 

 content it is probable that this species will be more likely to 

 suit the purpose of the nicotine grower than the one ordinarily 

 grown for smoking tobacco. Moreover, it has other advan- 

 tages in that it is hardier and matures earlier than N. 

 Tabacum, and consequently it is more suited to our short 

 English summer. 



Of these two species twenty varieties were tested, the seed 

 being obtained from the United States, the Transvaal, India. 

 Italy, and Ireland. 



Sowing the Seed. — Owing to the short summer tobacco 

 cannot be grown entirely out of doors in this country, and 

 the seed has to be started under glass. An ordinary garden 

 frame consisting of three " lights," each measuring 6 feet by 

 4 feet, and resting on a hot-bed, was found a suitable form of 

 seed-bed. The hot-bed should consist of fresh horse manure 

 containing a fair amount of straw, and the manure should not 



