No. 98.] 153 
5, 25-26 ozs. The weights cured were as follows: No. 1, 5-19 ozs., 
No. 2, 4-91 ozs., No. 3, 4-46 ozs., No. 4, 3-82 ozs., No. 5, 2-11 ozs. 
Caculating the yields of the different rows per acre, row No. 1 rep- 
resents 2940 plants or 942 lbs. of cured tobacco; No. 2, 3872 plants 
or 1188 lbs.; No. 3, 5445 plants or 1518 lbs.; No. 4, 8249 plants or 
1981 lbs., and No. 5, 14,520 plants or 1915 lbs. 
The quality of the tobacco from all of these rows was good, and 
little difference was noticed in the texture of the leaf except in row 
No. 5, in which it was perceptibly finer than in the other rows. 
To ascertain the effect of “ priming” tobacco (breaking off two or 
three of the lower leaves at or before the time of topping), two rows 
were selected and every alternate plant in each primed. The plants 
that were primed averaged in weight (green) 28-17 0zs., and those not 
primed averaged 33-1 ozs. The cured leaves from the primed plants 
averaged 2-74 ozs. per plant, or 9-72 per cent of the weight of the 
green plants, and from the plants not primed 2-53 ozs. or 7-64 per 
cent of the weight of the green plants. The cured leaf in both these 
lots was rather dry when weighed. 
To ascertain the effect of different fertilizers on the burning quali- 
ties of tobacco, a few plants were fertilized with an excessive quantity 
_of four different minerals and manures, viz.: sulphate of iron, sul- 
phate of potash, land plaster and lime. 
- The burning quality of the leaf from plants treated with all these 
substances was good with the exception of that grown where the sul- 
phate of potash was applied, in which it was decidedly poor ; that is, 
the leaf yielded a dark colored ash. This effect was probably due to 
the excessive quantity applied, as potash in moderate quantity has been 
ascertained to be the essential element for producing good burning 
quality, and where all of these minerals were applied the soil probably 
contained sufficient potash for all the requirements of the tobacco 
plant. 
It has been claimed that the method of hanging tobacco in the 
curing house by splitting the stalk with the spear and inserting through 
it a lath, has the effect to diminish the weight of the cured leaf. In 
order to test the correctness of this claim 100 plants were weighed 
while green in two lots of fifty each. One lot was hung on the laths, 
splitting the stalk as with the spear, and the other was hung with twine. 
The cured leaf from the plants hung on the lath weighed 9-28 per 
cent of the green plants, and that from those hung with twine weighed 
10-34 per cent of the green plants, indicating in this experiment a loss 
in the plants hung on the lath of 1-06 per cent. 
The following experiment was made to ascertain the effect of early 
or late topping on the growth of leaf in the tobacco plant. 
On the fifth of August two plants were selected of the Brand variety, 
growing side by side, and which had made, as far as could be seen, 
equal development. In both plants the flower-stalk had just appeared 
above the leaves. 
Plant No. 1 was topped at a point that would be considered ordinary 
height. A string was tied around the stem of plant No. 2, at a point 
exactly corresponding to that at which No. 1 was topped. The length 
_ of the five upper leaves on plant No. 1 was then measured and that of 
the corresponding five leaves on plant No.2, Other measurements were 
[Assem. Doc. No. 98.] 20 
