Tobacco. Its history, varieties, culture, manufacture and commerce, with an account of its various modes of use, from its first discovery until now

Front matter

L I'

Book ^ "^^

TOBlitrCO:

Chapter I. The Tobacco Plant

PAGE

Botanical Description — Ancient Plant-Bed — Description of the Leaves — Color of Leaves — Blossoms — The Capsules and Seed — Selection for Seed — Suckers — Nicotine Qualities — Medicinal Properties — Improvement in Plants 17

Chapter II

TOBACCO. ITS DISCOVERI:.

Early Use — Origin of its Name — Early SnufF-Taking — Tobacco in Mexico — Comparative Qualities of Tobacco — Origin of the Plant — Early Mammoth Cigars— Sacredness of the Pipe — Early Cultivation — Proportions of the Tobacco Trade — Variety of Ivinds — Tobacco and Commerce — Original Culture 32

CHAPTER III. TOBACCO IN»'aMERICA

First General Planter — State of the Colony — Conditions of Raising Tobacco — Tobacco Fields, 1620 — Increase of Tobacco-Growing — Restriction of Tobacco-Growing — Tobacco used as Money — King James opposes Tobacco-Growing — Buying Wives with Tobacco — Foreign Tobacco Prohibited — King Charles on Tobacco — King Charles as a Tobacco Merchant — Tobacco Taxed — Planting in Maryland — Negro Labor — Competition — Growing Suckers — Virginia Lands — Picture of Early Planters— Large Plantations — Getting to Market — Virginia Plant-Bed — Maryland Plant-Bed — Tobacco Growing in New York and Louisiana — New England Tobacco — Commercial Value of Tobacco — Tobacco a Blessing 47

Chapter IV. Tobacco In Europe

Introduction — The Original Importer — "Wonderful Cures — How the Herb grew in Reputation — Difference of Opinion — A Smoker's Rhapsody

XIV CONTENTS.

—Old Smokers— The Queen Herb— Drinking Tobacco— Tobacco on the Stage — Shakespeare on Tobacco — Smoking Taught — Ben Jonson on the Weed— Curative Qualities — Modes of Use— Held up to Ridicule — Tirades against Tobacco — Tobacco Selling— Royal Haters of Tobacco — Old Customs — A Racy Poem — A Smoking Divine 80

CHAPTER V. TOBACCO IN EUKOPE. — Continued

Popular use of Tobacco — Tobacco Glorified — Weight of Smoke — Anecdotes — Triumph of Tobacco — A Government Monopoly — Tobacco a Blessing 1 1 1

Chapter VI. Tobacco Pipes, Smoking And Smokers

Indian Pipes — Material for Pipes — Legend of the Red Pipe — Chippewa Pipes — Making the Peace Pipes — South American Pipes — Cigarettes — Tobacco on the Amazon River — Brazilian Tobacco — Patagonians as Smokers — Form and Material — Pipe of the Bobeen Indians — The War Pipe— Pipe Sculpture— Smoking in Alaska— Smoking in Russia — Smoking in Peru — Smoking in Turkey — Moderate Smoking—Female Smoking — Early Manufacture of Pipes — French Pipes. 124

CHAPTER VII. PIPES AND SMOKERS. — Continued

Meerschaum Pipes — Coloring Meerschaums — The City of Smokers — Hudson as as moker — Persian Water Pipes — Turkish Pipes — Amber Mouth Pieces — Obtaining Amber — Its Value — Variety of Pipes — History of Pipes — Ancient Habit of Smoking — Buried Pipes — Jasmine Pipes — Smoking in Algiers — Smoking in Africa — Defence of Smoking — Tea and Tobacco — Chinese Pipes — Smoking in Japan — Tobacco Boxes — Tobacco Jars — Musings over a Pipe — Sad Fate of a Chewer — Triumph of the Anti's — The Smoker's Calendar — Doctor Parr as a Smoker — Smoking on the Battle-Field — Literary Smokers — Doctor Clarke on Tobacco — Noted Smokers — Pleasant Pipe — A Tobacco World — Cruelty of Smokers — Men like Pipes — Universal Use 150

Chapter VIII. Snuff, Snuff-boxes And Snuff-takers

Its Introduction — Boxes and Graters — Mode of Preparation — Snuff- Boxes — A Celebrated Manufacturer — The Snuffing Period — The Monk and his Snuff-Box — A Pinch of Snuff — Pleasures of Smelling — Frederick the Great — Eminent Snuff-Takers — The Story in Verse — " Come to my Nose " — Snuff Manufacture — Preparation of Tobacco — Grinding the Leaves — Flavoring the Snuff — Profits Made — Love of Tobacco — Chewing and Dipping — Advantages of Dipping — The First Snuffers — Famous Snuff-Takers — Snuff as a Pacificator — A National Stimulant — Different Tastes — Rise and Progress of Snuff-Taking 218

CONTENTS. XV

Chapter IX

New York Cigars — Havana Cigars — Quality of Havana Cigars — Relative Value and Size — Cigar-Makers — Cuban Cigars — Cigar Manufactories — Preparation of the Tobacco — Sorting the Leaves — Sales, etc. — Large Factories — Universal Smoking — Cigar Etiquette — Reveries — Summer-Day Thoughts — American Smokers — At Home — Sentiment — Ode to a Cigar — Cigar-Lighters — Smoking an Art— Science of Lighting — Age of Fusees — "Home-Made Cigars" — Female Cigar-Makers — A Spicy Article — How to Smoke — Smoking Christians — Lamb's Poem — Tobacco Compliment — Cigarette Smoking — Thomas Hood's Cigar — Lord Byron's Opinion — Kinds of Cigars — Selecting Cigars — Yara Cigars — Manilla Cigars — Swiss Cigars — Paraguay Cigars — Brazilian Cigars — American Cigars — Connecticut Seed Leaf and Havana Cigars — The Exile's Comforf 259

Chapter X. Tobacco Planters And Plantations

The Connecticut Planter— Intelligence of Tobacco Growers— Best Connecticut Seed Leaf — Love for the Plant — Virginia Planters — A Virginia Plantation — The Plant-Patch — Planting, Topping and Priming — Suckering — Crop-Gathering— Curing and Sorting — Tobacco Markets — Ohio Tobacco — Mode of Cure — Kentucky Tobacco- Growing — The Kentucky Planter — FloridaTobacco — Florida Plantatation — Tobacco in Lousiana — California Tobacco Lands — Mexican Tobacco — Plants around Vera Cruz — Tobacco in St Domingo — Cuba Plantations — Mode of Working — Soil and Climate — Tobacco- Growing in Germany — Method of Culture — Extent of Culture — Tobacco-Raising in Prussia — Tobacco in Holland — Dutch Planters — A Plea for Tobacco — Tobacco Culture in Australia — Arabian Plantations — Tobacco in Africa — Syrian Tobacco — Latakia Tobacco — Growing Tobacco in India — Curing Tobacco in India — Turks Cultivating Tobacco — Japanese Tobacco — Persian Tobacco — Tobacco Culture, Philippine Islands — Climate of the Islands — Fragrant Manillas— Tropical Tobacco. .] 311

Chapter XI. Varieties

Kinds used for Cigars — Dwarf Tobacco — Havana Tobacco — Yara and Virginia Tobacco — James River Tobacco — Ohio Tobacco— South American Tobacco — Celebrated Brands of Tobacco — Russian Tobacco — Columbian Tobacco — Tobacco of Brazil — The Orinoco Tobacco — Persian Tobacco — French Tobacco — Spanish Tobacco — Japanese Tobacco — Manilla Tobacco 382

CHAPTER XIL I

TOBACCO HOUSES.

Tobacco Sheds — Stripping Houses — Virginia Tobacco Sheds — Ordinary Sheds — Superior Sheds — Ohio Sheds — Kentucky, and Tennessee Sheds — Foreign Tobacco Sheds 405

XVa CONTENTS.

Chapter XIII. Tobacco Culture

Hot Beds — Virginia Plant Patch — Tennessee Plant Bed— Cuban Plant Bed — Covering Plant Bed — Selection of Soil — The Soil Affecting Color — Preparing the Soil — Virginia Methods — Burning Brush — Implements— Transplanting Plants — Setting — Seasons in Mexico and Persia — The American Transplanter — Pests — Worming — Backward Plants — Topping — Suckers — Maturation — The Harvest — Cutting — Hanging — Cutting time in Cuba — Harvesting in Virginia — The Season in other Places — Curing — Curing by Smoke — Yellow- Tobacco — Stripping — Assorting — Shading— Stemming — Packing — Casing — Old Style— Kesistance- to Dampness— Prizing — Marking — Baling— Certificates— Firing— White Ru:^t— Seed Plants— Maturing of Seed— Second Growth 415

Chapter XIV. The Peoduction, Commerce And Manufactuke Of Tobacco

Early History of Tobacco— Cultivation by Spaniards at St. Domingo^- Annual Product of Cuba — Amount of Land under Cultivation in U. S.— Cultivation in the South — Annual Product of Europe, Asia and Africa— Government Monopoly— Source of Revenue- Manufacture of Cigarettes — Increase of Tobacco Culture 478

Chapter I. The Tobacco Plant

OBACCO is a hardy flowering annual* plant, growing freely in a moist fertile soil and requiring the most thorough culture in order to secure the finest form and quality of leaf. It is a native of the tropics and under the intense rays of a vertical sun develops its finest and most remarkable flavor which far surpasses the varieties grown in a temperate region. It however readily adapts itself to soil and climate growing through a wide range of temperature from the Equator to Moscow in Russia in latitude 56'^, and through all the intervening range of climate f.

The plant varies in height according to species and locality ; the largest varieties reaching an altitude of ten or twelve feet, in others not growing more than two or three feet from the ground. Botanists have enumerated between forty and fifty varieties of the tobacco plant who class them all among the narcotic poisons. When properly cultivated the plant ripens in a few weeks growing with a rapidity hardly equaled by any product eitlier temperate or tropical. Of the large number of varieties cultivated scarcely more than one-half are grown to any great extent while many of them are hardly known outside of the limit of cultivation. Tobacco is a strong growing plant resisting heat and drought to a far

* The greater number of the species are annual plants ; hut two at least are perennial ; the Mcotiana fruticosa, which is a shrub, a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and of China; and JV. urens, a native of South America.

tXatham says that the tobacco plant is peculiarly adapted for an agricultural comparison of climates.

18 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION.

greater extent than most plants. It is a native of America, the discovery of the continent and the plant occurring almost simultaneously^ It succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude. After having been introduced and cultivated in nearly all parts of the world, America enjoys the reputation of growing the finest varieties known to commerce. European tobacco is lacking in flavor and is less powerful than the tobacco of America.

The botanical account of tobacco is as follows : —

"Nicotiana, the tobacco plant is a genus of plants of the order of Monogynia, belonging to the pentandria class, order 1, of class y. It bears a tubular 5-cleft calyx ; a funnelformed corolla, with a plaited 5-cleft border ; the stamina inclined ; the stigma capitate; the capsule 2-celled, and 2 to 4 valved."

A more general description of the plant is given by an American w^riter: —

" The tobacco plant is an annual growing from eighteen inches (dwarf tobacco) to seven or eight feet in height*. It bears numerous leaves of a pale green color sessile, ovate lanceolate and pointed in form, which come out alternately from two to three inches apart. The flowers grow in loose panicles at the extremity of the stalks, and the calyx is bellsliaped, and divided at its summit into five pointed segments. The tube of the corolla expands at the top into an oblong cup terminating in a 5-lobed plaited rose-colored border. The pistil consists of an oval germ, a slender style longer tlian the stamen, and a cleft stigma. The flowers are succeeded by capsules of 2 cells opening at the summit and containing numerous kidney-shajDed seeds."

Two of the finest varieties of Nicotiana Tobacum that are cultivated are the Oronoco and the Sweet Scented ; they differ only in the form of the leaves, those of the latter variety being shorter and broader than the other. They are annual herbaceous plants, rising with strong erect stems to the height of from six to nine feet, with fine handsome foliage. The stalk near the root is often an inch or more in diameter, and

• An old English writer in describing tobacco says :— *' When at its just height, It is as tall as an ordinary sized man."

ANCIENT DESCRIPTION. 19

surrounded by a liairj clammy substance, of a greenish yellow color. The leaves are of a light green ; they grow alternately, at intervals of two or three inches on the stalk ; they are oblong and spear-shaped ; those lowest on the stalk are about twenty inches in length, and they decrease as they ascend.

The young leaves when about six inches, are of a deep green color and rather smooth, and as they approach maturity they become yellowish and rougher on the surface. The flowers grow in clusters from the extremities of the stalk ; they are yellow externally and of a delicate red within. They are succeeded hy kidney shaped ca2:>sules of a brown color.

Thompson in his " Notices relative to Tobacco " describes the tobacco plant as follows: — •

"The species of Nicotiana which M'as first known, and which still furnishes the greatest supply of Tobacco, is the N. tobacum, an annual plant, a native of South America, but naturaliz;ed to our climate. It is a tall, not inelegant plant, rising to the height of about six feet, with a strong, round, villous, slightly viscid stem, furnished with alternate leaves, which are sessile, or clasp the stems: and are decurrent, lanceolate, entire ; of a full green on the upper surface, and pale on the under.

" In a vigorous plant, the lower leaves are about twenty inches in length, and from three to five in breadth, decreasing as they ascend. The inflorescence, or flowering part of the stem, is terminal, loosely branching in that form which botanists term a panicle, with long, linear floral leaves or bractes at the oi'igin of each division.

" The flowers, which bloom in July and August, are of a pale pink or rose color : the calyx, or flower-cup, is bell-shaped, obscurely pentangular, villous, slightly viscid, and presenting at the margin five acute, erect segments. The corolla is twice tlie length of the calyx, viscid', tubular below, swelling above into 'an oblong cup, and expanding at the lip into five somewhat plaited, pointed segments; the seed vessel is an oblpng or ovate capsule, containing numerous reniform seeds, which are ripe in September and October ; and if not collected, are shed by 'the capsule opening at the apex."

In Stevens and Liebault's Maison Rustique, or the Country Farm, (London, 1606), is found the following curious account of the tobacco plant : —

20 ANCIENT PLANT-BED.

"This herbe resembleth in figure fashion, and qualities, the great comfrey in such sort as that a man woulde deeme it to be a kinde of great comfrey, rather than a yellow henbane, as some have thought.

" It hath an upright stalke, not bending any way, thicke, bearded or hairy, and slimy : the leaves are broad and long, greene, drawing somewhat towards a yellow, bearded or hoarrie, but smooth and slimie, having as it were talons, but not either notched or cut in. the edges, a great deale bigger downward toward the root than above : while it is young it is leaved, as it were lying upon the ground, but rising to a stalke and growing further, it ceaseth to have such a number of leaves below, and putteth forth branches from half foot to half, and storeth itselfe, by that meanes M'ith leaves, and* still riseth higher from the height of four or five foote, unto three or four or five cubits according as is sown in a hot and fat ground, and carefully tilled. The boughs and branches tliereof put out at joints, and divide the stalk by distance of halfe a foote : the highest of which branches are bigger than an arm 8,

"At the tops and ends of his branches and boughs, it putteth foorth flowers almost like those of Nigella, of a whitish and incarnate color, having the fashion of a little bell comming out of a swad or husk, being of the fashion of a small goblet, which husk becometh round, having the fashion of a little apple, or sword's pummell : as soon as the flower is gone and vanished away, it is filled with very small seedes like unto those of yellow henbane, and tliey are black when they be ripe, or greene, while they are not yet ripe.

" In a hot countree it beareth leaves, flowers, and seeds at the same time, in the ninth or tenth month of the year it putteth foorth young cions at the roote, and reneweth itself by this store and number of cions, and great quantity of sprouts, and yet notwithstanding the roots are little, small, fine thready strings, or if otherwise they grow a little thick, yet remaine they still very short, in respect of the height of the plant. The roots and leaves do yield a glewish and rosinith kind of juice, somewhat yellow, of a rosinlike smell, not unpleasant, and of a sharpe, eager and biting taste, which sheweth that it is by nature hot, wliereupon M-e must gather that it is no kind of yellow henbane as some have thought. Nicotiana craveth a fat ground well stird, and well manured also in this cold countrie (England) that is to say an earth, ■wherein the manure is so well mingled and incorporated, as

THE PLANT. 21

that it becometh earthie, that is to say, all turned into earth, and not making any shew any more of dung : which is likewise moist and shadowie, wide and roomy, for in a narrow and straight place it would not grow high, straight, great and well-branched.

" It desireth the South sun before it, and a wall behind it, which may stand in stead of a broad pair of shoulders to keep away the northern wind and to beate backe againe the heat of the sun. It groweth the better if it be oft watered, and maketh itself sport and jolly good cheer with water when the time becometh a little dry. It hateth cold, and therefore to keepe it from dying in winter, it must be either kept in cellars where it may have free benefit of air, or else in some cave made on purpose within the same garden, or else to cover it as with a cloak very well with a double mat, making a penthouse of wicker work from the wall to cover the head thereof with straw laid thereupon : and when the southern sun shineth, to open the door of the covert made for the said herb right upon the said South sun."

The most ludicrous part of " The discourse on Nicotian " will be found in that portion which relates to the making of the plant-bed and transplanting : —

" For to sow it, you must make a hole in the earth with your finger and that as deep as your finger is long, then you must cast into the same hole ten or twelve seeds of the said Nicotiana together, and fill up the hole again : for it is so small, as that if you should put in but four or five seeds the earth would choake it : and if the time be dry, you must water the place easily some five days after : And when the herb is grown out of the earth, inasmuch as every seed will have put up his sprout and stalk, and tliat the small thready roots are intangled the one within the other, you must with a great knife make a composs within the earth in the places about this plot where they grow and take up the earth and all together, and cast them into a bucket full of water, to the end that the earth may be seperated, and the small and tender impes swim about the water ; and so you shall sunder them one after another without breaking of them." * *

THE STALK.

The Tobacco stalk varies with the varieties of the plant. All of the species cultivated in the United States have stalks of a large size — much larger than many varieties grown in

TOBACCO PLANT.

TOBACCO STALKS.

the tropics. Those of some species of tobacco are little and

easily broken, which to a certain extent is the ease with most

varieties of the plant when maturing very fast. The stalks

of some plants are rough and uneven,

while those of others are smooth.

Nearly all, including most of those

grown in Europe and America, have

erect, round, hair}^, viscid stalks, and

large, fibrous roots ; while that of

Spanish as well as dwarf tobacco is

harder and much smaller. The stalk

is composed of a wood-like substance

containing a glutinous pith, and is

of about the same shade of color as

the leaves. As the plant develops

in size the stalk hardens, and when

fully grown is not easily broken.

The size of the stalk corresponds with that of the leaves, and with such varieties of the plant as Connecticut seed leaf, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, St. Domingo, and some others ; both will be found to be larger than Spanish, Latakia, and Syrian tobacco, which have a much smaller but harder stalk. It will readily be seen that the stalk must be strong and firm in order to support the large palm-like leaves which on some varieties grow to a length of nearly four feet with a corresponding breadth. The stalk does not "cure down" as fast as the leaves, which is thought now to be necessary in order to prevent sweating, as well as to hasten the curing. Most of the varieties of the plant have an erect, straight stalk, excepting Syrian tobacco, which near the top describes more of a semi-circle, but not to that extent of giving an idea of an entirely crooked plant. The stalk gradually tapers from the base to the summit, and wlien deprived of its leaves presents a smooth appearance not unlike that of a small tree or shrub deprived of its twigs and leaves.

THE LEAVES.

The Plant bears from eight to twenty leaves according to

DESCRIPTION OF THE LEAVES. 23

the species of the plant. They have various forms, ovate, lanceolate, and jDointed. Leaves of a lanceolate form are the largest, and the shape of those found on most varieties of the American plant. The color of the leaves when growing, as well as after curing and sweating, varies, and is frequently caused by the condition of the soil. The color while growing may be either a light or dark green, which changes to a yellowish cast as the plant matures and ripens. The ground leaves are of a lighter color and ripen earlier than the rest — sometimes turning yellow, and during damp weather rotting and dropping from the stalk. Some varieties of the plant, like Latakia, bear small but thick leaves, which after cutting are very thin and fine in texture ; while others, like Connecticut seed leaf and Havana, bear leaves of a medium thickness, which are also fine and silky after curing. But while the color of ^the plant when growing is either a light or dark green, it rapidly changes during curing, and especially after passing through the sweat, changing to a light or dark cinnamon like Connecticut seed leaf, black like Holland and Perique tobacco, bright yellow of the finest shade of Virginia and Carolina leaf, brown like Sumatra, or dark red like that known by the name of " Boshibaghli," grown in Asia Minor. The leaves are covered with glandular hairs containing a glutinous substance of an unpleasant odor, which characterizes all varieties as well as nearly all parts of the plant.

The leaves of all varieties of tobacco grow the entire length of the stem and clasp the stalk, excepting those of Syrian, which are attached by a long stem. The size of the leaves, as well as the entire plant, is now much larger than when first discovered. One of the early voyagers describes the plant as short and bearing leaves of about the size and shape of the walnut. In many varieties the leaves grow in a semi-circular form while in others they grow almost straight and still others growing erect presenting a singular appearance. The stem or mid-rib running through the leaf is large and fibrous and its numerous smaller veins proportionally larger which on curing become smaller and particularly in

24 COLOR OF LEAVES.

those kinds best adapted for cigar wrappers. The leaves from the base to the center of the plant are of about equal size but are smaller as thej reach the summit, but after

TOBACCO LEAVES.

topping attain about the same size as the others. The color of the leaf after curing may be determined by the color of the leaf while growing — if dark green while maturing in the field, the color will be dark after curing and sweating and the reverse if of a lighter shade of green.

If the soil be dark the color of the leaf will be darker than if grown upon a light loam. Some varieties of the j^lant have leaves of a smooth glossy appearance while others are rough and the surface uneven — more like a cabbage leaf, a peculiar feature of the tobacco of Syria. The kind of fertilizers applied to the soil also in a measure as well as the soil itself has much to do with the texture or body of the leaf and should be duly considered by all growers of the plant. A light moist loam should be chosen for the tobacco field if a leaf of light color and texture is desired while if a dark leaf is preferred th^ soil chosen should be a moist heavy loam.

THE FLOWER.

The flowers of the tobacco plant grow in a bunch or cluster on the summit of the plant and are of a pink, yellow, or purple white color according to the variety of the plant. On most varieties the color of the flowers is pink excepting Syrian or Latakia which bears yellow flowers while those of

BLOSSOMS.

Shiraz or Persian and Guatemala are white while those of the Japan tobacco, are purple. The segments of the corolla are pointed but on some varieties unequal, particularly that of Shiraz tobacco. The flowers impart a pleasant odor doubtless to all lovers of the weed but to all others a compound of villainous smells among which and above all the rest may be recognized an odor suggestive of the leaves of the plant. When in full blossom a tobacco field forms a pleasant

AAA

BUD AND FLOWERS.

feature of a landscape which is greatly heightened if the plants are large and of equal size. The pink flowers are the largest while those of a yellow color are the smallest. The plant comes into blossom a few weeks before fully ripe when with a portion of the stalk they are broken off to hasten the ripening and maturing of the leaves. After the buds appear they blossom in a few days and remain in full bloom two or three weeks, when they perish like the blossoms of other plants and flowers. The flowers of Havana tobacco are of a lighter pink than those of Connecticut tobacco but are rot as large — a trifle larger however than those of Latakia tobacco. Those varieties of the tobacco plant bearing pink flowers are the finest flavored and are used chiefly for the manufacture of cigars while those bearing yellow flowers are better adapted for cutting purposes and the pipe.

The American varieties of tobacco bear a larger number of

26 THE CAPSULE AND SEED.

flowers than European tobaccos or those of Africa or Asia. The color of the flowers remain the same whether cultivated in one country or another while the leaves may grow larger or smaller according to the system of cultivation adopted. Those varieties of the plant w^itli heart-shaped leaves have paniculated flowers with nnequal cups. The flower stems on the American varieties are much longer than those of European tobaccos and also larger. The season has much to do with the size of the flowers ; as if very dry they are usually smaller and not as numerous as if grown under more favorable circumstances.

THE CAPSULE.

As soon as the flowers drop from the fruit bud the capsules grow very rapidly until they have attained full size — which occurs only in those plants which have been left for seed and remain untopped. When topped they are not usually full grown — as some growers top the plants when just coming into blossom, while others prefer to top the plants when in full bloom and others still when the blossoms begin to fall. The fruit is described by "Wheeler " as a capsule of a nearly oval flgure. There is a line on each side of it, and it contains two cells, and opens at the top. The receptacles one of a half-oval figure, punctuated and affixed to the separating body. The seeds are numerous, kidney-shaped, and rugose."

Most growers of the plant would describe the fruit bud as follows : In form resembling an acorn though more pointed at the top ; in some species, of a dark brown in others of a light brown color, containing two cells filled with seeds similar in shape to the fruit bud, but not rugose as described by some botanists. Some writers state that each cell contains about one thousand seeds. The fruit buds of Connecticut, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio Tobacco as well as of most of the varieties grown within the limits of the United States are much larger than those of Havana, Yara, Syrian, and numerous other species of the plant, while the color of these last named varieties is a lio;hter shade of brown. The color

SELECTION FOR SEED. » 27

of the seed also varies according to the varieties of the plant. The seeds of some species are of a dark brown while others are of a lighter shade. The seeds, however, are so small that the variety to which they belong cannot be determined except by planting or sowing them.

The plants selected for seed are usually left growing until late in the season, and at night should be protected from the cold and frost by a light covering of some kind — this may not be absolutely necessary, as most growers of tobacco have often noticed young plants growing around the base or roots of the seed stalk — the seeds of which germinated although