27 



YIELDS. 



The yield of tobacco varies according to the variety, the season, 

 the time of planting, and the quality or grade of the type which 

 comprises the majority of the crop. Cuban filler tobaccos (PL II, 

 fig. 2) — that is, plants grown from the seeds brought directly over 

 from Cuba — yield from 600 to 1.200 pounds of leaf. Sumatra 

 tobaccos (PL III, figs. 2 and 3). brought directly over from Sumatra, 

 will yield from 900 to 1,200 pounds. Cuban tobacco which has 

 been grown two or three years, or more, in Hawaii yields from 900 

 to 1,400 pounds, while the second, third, and succeeding generations 

 of Sumatra type grown in Hawaii yield from 1.200 to 2.000 pounds. 

 All of these types show improvement in quality when grown under 

 Hawaiian conditions. The results of three year-' experimental work 

 with tobacco in Hamakua show a remarkable increase in the per- 

 centage of wrapper leaves the third year over that produced by 

 plants grown from seed imported direct from cither Cuba or Su- 

 matra. With full stands and favorable seasons, it is believed that 

 30 per cent of either the Cuban or Sumatra tobacco (PI. Ill) will 

 produce high grade wrapper-, and this percentage can be materially 

 increased. While there is a wide variation in prices for the dif- 

 ferent grades of tobacco, this crop differs from most others in that 

 not a single ounce is produced that Ls not salable, provided they 

 are carefully separated from the better grades. It i- believed that 

 for many reasons it will not be profitable to cure tobacco and sell 

 the crop in bulk without sorting or fermenting, as i> the custom in 

 most of the mainland districts. Hawaiian tobacco is a tropical 

 tobacco, and direct competition will come with countries in which 

 the last assortment is made on the plantation where the crop is 

 grown. By adopting this system only the best grades should be 

 shipped to the best markets, and the seconds manufactured at home. 



SOILS AND CLIMATE. 



The characteristics of the tobacco soil were discussed in a previ- 

 ous publication of this station. 0 It is only necessary to recapitulate 

 by saying that the tobacco soil should be light, porous, well drained, 

 with a large percentage of humus. This characterization fits almost 

 all Hawaiian soils, and it is our opinion that tobacco can be grown 

 practically all over the group. 



With tobacco, as with all other plants, sunshine tends to thicken 

 the leaf and contract its size, while shade or partial shade tends to 

 produce a larger leaf of great thinness. Tobacco-growing regions 

 where the sunshine is excessive produce only filler tobacco. The 



a Hawaiian Sta. Press. Bill. 12. 



