Evening star., 1901-11-04
TOBACCO EXPERTS MEET
EXAMINE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS
IN CONNESrTIC,UT
Prof. Whitney of Bureau of Soils
Grntified at Results Tests
Prove Satisfactory.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

ASA%A@s SOliii-, oSeoDSA W. NeO''
AS the center of the experiment by the
bureau of soils of the Department of Agri-
culture of the growing of Sumatra tobacco
under cheese cloth shade Tarifville Is be-
coming the Mecca for the leading tobacco
dealers and manufacturers. Today the vii
lage was visited by Prof. Milton Whitney.
chief of the bureau of soils, who came to
inspect the work which Mr.. NJ. L. Floyd, as
tobacco expert Of the department, has been
conducting In the Connecticut valley. A
number of prominent tobacco men were
also in the village who are greatly inter-
ested in this enterprise
The men spent the day In the Mitchell
son warehouse, where the tobacco is being
1ermented, sized and assorted. they 1ounQ
these processes very interesting, and to add
to this bulk of about 5000 pounds was
being turned in the sweat room. In this
way the visitors were enabled to view the
routine Of the tobacco work from bulk to
finish.
Delighted at the Product.
Prof. Whitney and men of the tobacco
trade We're pleased and surprised at the
product in the warehouse. The elasticity
Of the tobacco, the evenness Of the colors,
and the good burning quality of the leaf
were highly praised. 1t was even declared
that the production of the present crop In
the Connecticut valley exceeded in quality
tiC iihpoi leu ouHldtId. Ills NSiuiSI SotAA
ing from men who have spent the greater
part of their lives in the tobacco business
shows the success of this experiment
Meeting of Tobacco Growers.
In the afternoon there was meeting of
the growers who have assisted the Depart
ment Of Agriculture in determining the
practicability of growing Sumatra tobacco
in this section under shade. 1t is on this
point that the true usefulness of the ex-
pertinent hinges. If the production Of to-
bacco after this method is not profitable
to the farmer, the bureau of soils is not
assisting the agricultural interests of this
section. 1t was this point and the sale CT
the present crop that occupied the atten-
ton of the growers this afternoon. This
meeting was made particularly important
by the presence of Prof Whitney, who
was ready to answer all questions and who
saw from the statements made by the
growers how kindly the people of this Sec
ton feel toward the department for the
assistance it has given this year to the
farmers.
All the visitors were almost extravagant
in their praise of the tobacco and congratu-
lated Prof. Whitney and Mr.. Floyd on the
success of the experiment, and said they
considered that the department had fully
demonstrated to the public the great ad-
vantage Of growing Sumatra tobacco in
Connecticut under cheese Cloth shade.
Plans for Future Work.
fTOI. whitney naQ long conference
with Mr.. Floyd concerning the work il
Connecticut and the plans for future ifves-
tigation Calls for, assistance are coming
from all Of the tobacco-growing sections
and it was the purpose of this conference
to determine which localities claimed the
attention first. A rough outline of tre work
of the coming year was was discussed,
but no definite plan was decided upon. 1t
is the desire Of the bureau of soils to i'm
prove the tobacco culture, harvesting and
fermentation in all sections of the United
States; but in order that. these improve
ments may be lasting ana the necessities of
the different LOCALITIES studied this work
will Of necessity be slow. Prof. Whitney
spoke highly OF the work here and said
that it had exceeded his expectations.
Several news additions have recently been
made to the tobacco investigation branch
Of the bureau of soils. Mr.. Perley Spauld-
ing of Burlington, Vt: Mr.. Harry WeIn-
berg of Pennsylvania, and Mr.. A H. Prince
of North Carolina are now included in this
force. All these young men are graduated
Of agricultural colleges,
Some physiological studies are also being
conducted here with the tobacco by Dr. r.
II. True, who has been detailed from the
bureau of plant industry to the bureau CT
soils to take the place occupied by Dr. Os-
car Loew and DR.. Joseph Chamberlain,
chemist of the bureau Of plant industry.
These scientists will conduct experiments
here for few weeks, then go to Lancas-
ter, Pa, where further Investigations VIII