Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-03-22
r obaccO Culture-SOil and Climatic In
enceS.


Cincinnati Tobacco journal.
Soil, climate and fertilizers, cit her sepa-
rateIv or combined, have a wonderful in
tiucnce on the growth and development Of
the tobacco plant The soil has more to
do with the texture of the leaf than any
other one thing. True, fertilizers have
much to do with this important quality,
but not to that extent that the soil has. In
proof of this, compare New England seed
leaf with that grown i'll Wisconsin, yet
both use an abundance of manure. 1t Is
the soil, rather than the climate, that has
produced so many varieties OF the plant,
however great the climate may have to do
with the flavor of the leaf. The soil affects
more particularly the size, color or tex
ture of the leaf. The climate has only to
do with the flavor of the leaf. The tertll-
izers applied to the soil give either light
or dark colored leaf. according to kind
used and also in some measure affect the
texture of lea..
In the tropics we find the rarest and
finest favored tobacco, used chiefly for
cigars. and yet in some portions of tropl-
cal and sem-tropical regions the leaf has
10 remarkable flavor whatever. as Is the
case with St. Domingo tobacco. In Cuba
the plant grows throughout the winter
the finest of which comes from the Nuelta
Abaio district. The other three or four
districts produce some good tobacco. In
the other islands of the West Indies, Porto
Rico. Martinique and Jamaica quite a
quantity of tobacco is grown, but not SO
GOOD as Cuba leaf. with the single eXcep-
tion of tn It crown on the Island of Mar
tiniuuc. where an old variety Of tobacco
has been grown for many years, and IS
used by the French for snuff, the manu-
facturcd product taking the name Of Mac
aboy.
Mexico also produces some line tobacco,
similar in flavor to that grown III Cuba.
Honduras and Guatemala produce some
GOOD ci~ar tobacco, but little attention,
e however. is paid to its culture, and 1t Is but
little known in even foreign markets.
That grown in the latter state bears a
white flower. as does also Persian tobacco.
If we consider the tobacco Of the Last. that
crown in Persia and Turkey, we shall lind
that it has il fine aromatic or spice OdOr.
i.atakia tobacco, which comes from Syria,
has an aroma like the ashes OF roses,
while lava tobacco, when burning, has the
aroma of peppers.
Tins it viii be seen that the climate
~ives flavor rather than size, texture on
color ofleaf 1t may be said, however, that
Iara tobacco grown i'll Cuba, Is a very
larme sort of tobacco and SO it is If altl-
tude or height of tie plant be considered
rather than size of leaf. The writer tested
this sort of tobacco few years since, and
some of the plants before topping reached
the height of seven feet, and when topped
1t stood about five feet high but the leaves
are no longer than those OF HaVans
tobacco. but are very close together ON the
stalk. If we shall examine the tobacco O
France Italy and other tropical or semi
tropical countries we.shall lind that it il
the flavor of the leaf that is its distinguish
inc peculiarity, as it is with all troplca
sorts, When we come to the soil and 1t:
influence upon the plant we shall find
that only the color, size and texture are
affected.
In this country almost every tobacco
grower can show the visitor leaves IN th'
tobacco field ranging in length from q t
3 feet long and with breadth OF from l.
to 20 inches. SO it is with the texture
The finest leaf we ever saw, not excepting
even Periaue, was few samples OF Con
necticut seed leaf as fine as silk and Wit
veins like ordinary spool cotton.
If one wishes to know how soil Affect
the color of the leaf let him examine darl
Kentucky leaf OF Perique tobacco tn
latter sort owing its color in part no douo
to the curious mode or putting it up, afte
the manner adopted by Pcrique, an oil
Spanish navigator of St. James parish
La. who began to cultivate the plan
there in 1920 Holland tobacco also
dark. and if we examine the soil we lin
that it is dark. The soil of a good porto
of lancaster county, Pa, is dark, and
have a dark, cinnamon wrapper as the II
suit.
The fertilizers, as we have written, ais
affect the color of the leaf. When ligh,
colored tobacco was in demand the grow
ers of seed leaf tobacco in New Englan
used large quantities Of horse manure, an
thereby obtained light cclored leaf
very fine texture, Use the otfal of swir
and the planter need not expect other tina
dark leaf, particularly so if the plants al
grown on dark soil. This is the long al
Short of the tobacco controversy.