The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-31
T0BBAC0 FOR A CROP.
1t Can Be Made to Pay in Almost
Any Climate.

Amy Climate.
WASHINGTON, JAN 3O.-Secretarv
OF Agriculture Wilson has authorized
the issue in pamphlet form of the pre-
hlnlnary report upon the soils of the
principal tobacco districts in the United
states, prepared by Milton Whitney
cDlef OF the division of soils. A studv
OF these soils was begun when the To-
pacco exhibit was being prepared for
the columbian exposition at Chicae go
ana since that time quite a number Of
l9pical tobacco soils have been ex-
am1ned in the laboratory connected
with the agricultural department. The
present publication, which is copiouslv
Illustrated, in preliminary report of
the work that has been going on. The
man points of inquiry which now
reach the department are In regard to
the kind of tobacco which should be
grown IN certain specified localities and
the method of curing the product. Re
plying 10 these questions the report saws
climate and soil conditions should de-
ter1n1ne the kind of tobacco raised.
Inc tobacco plant readily adapts it
sell TO a great range of climatic con-
dl!ions, VIII grow on nearly all kinds of
SOIL, and has comparatively short sea-
son of growth. 1t can, therefore. as a
matter of fact, be grown in nearly all
parts OF the country, even where wheat
anu corn cannot be economically pro
duced But, while tobacco can be so
universally grown, the flavor and quail
lty OF the leaf are greatly Influenced by
the conditions of climate and soil A
n"Ecescrlpt tobacco is not worth grow
ing and should not be grown, as it low
ers the price of really good types Of
tobacco, to the detriment alike of the
grower and the consumer. 1t is impor-
tant, therefore, to understand what
Kinds OF tobacco are in demand and
what the climatic and soil conditions
are which will most easily produce the
qualities desired
A glance at table giving changes in
the production of tobacco from 1879 to
1889 shows that in this period of ten
years the acreage and yield of cigar
TOBACCO nave been very considerably in
creased. The manufacturing and ex~o t
districts cannot be sharply separated.
as both kinds Of tobacco are frequently
grown in the same district and the
same kind is frequently used for both
purposes On the whole there has been
considerable decrease in the acreage
and yield. With the bright yellow and
burly tobacco there has been a large
increase in both acreage and yield
Since 1889 there has been considerable
change In many of these districts. while
other new districts, notably Texas and
California, are coming into considerable
prominence, both as to the area under
cultivation and the excellent quality of
lne proQucl raised. The acreage in
Florida has also been very greatly in
creased since 1889, but there are no re-
liable statistics to show the extent of
the changes in the counties making I'D
the tobacco districts
Some attention is devoted to the oues-
ton OF meteorological conditions as af-
fecting the industry in the great tobacco
regions in this country, CuHa and Suma-
ira. THE plant" the report continues.
lis far more sensitive to these meteoro-
logical conditions than are our instru-
ments. Even in such a famous tobacco
region as Cuba, tobacco of good quality
cannot be grown in the immediate
vicinity of the ocean or in certain parts
Of the island, even on what would other
wise be considered good tobacco lands"
This has been the experience also in
Sumatra and in our own country but
the Influences are too subtle to be de-
tected by our meteorological instru-
ments.
The remainder Of the report is devoted
mainly to description of the different
classes of tobacco lands found in the
United states, together with data as to
the yield per acre, whether used as
wrapper or filler, the value Of the to-
bacco produced and valuable sugges-
lions for obtaining the best results