The sun., 1908-01-26
,}FFERENH KINDS OF TOBACCO
,,CE ! lRIEVY GROWS ONLY IN
N, OHN KIND or SOIL.

IN. Region Produces wrappers, Another
1inIcrs. Another FIlerS-HOw rcsIque
"a Cured sweating and Pvtu0MG-
Fcrcisn Nations want Different - pei.
ooo a, lhs narvels Of development in this
,,,n,rv hr- been the progress Of tobacco
,,,cring IN the Connecticut River valley.
,rA W. - at one time went begging foI
,nvers is no ), a gold mine. paying its owners
% much hat they can afford 10 spend on
,,,cyv s,.a Of it 500 or more year merely in
,,rijizcr This 500 for fertilizing is often
',i,e rs rluch rs the actual price OF the land
nseli.
Tob,cco growing is full Of interest even
q, the man. or woman. who is concerned
,rlv herau., he, or she, smokes. 1t is a
rcolly cy .r1ordnary crop. 1t can be grown
,lr,os. all over the world. Yet twill be An
,sssntia.ly different plant in each country.
risas sensitive to it's environment as il II
we're a vegetable chameleon. Everything
,oort II. lUs texture, its color. its flavor, do
rrpds On Inc soil it grows in.
Two totally different varieties of tobacco
,,p be- produced within a few feet OF each
,teer. IL a streak OF light sandy soil runs
,Io.c {, heavier clay soil a leaf suitable for
v-a,ucr. cores from the first, while the
seclrI produces the filler.
Faaa.r steps in occasionally and makes
,r mar, the fortunes OF TN entire region.
Tne f.s,'1n of to-day is TO smoke a cigar
,ith "a !tt wrapper and comparatively
Mid nllcr.
Tina, is why the Connecticut land close to
tlsrivcr has become 80 profitable. 1t pro-
,luces ID very thin, silky, light colored leaf
"a ,na,,.lf,,s,
.a present notions.
Some years ago, when heavier cigars were
,rore In demand the Connecticut River
lotions were lying idle as waste land.
There i, no indication row Of a falling of in
the demand for the tobacco from that ro-
lion ,7ucci1hy since the growers have
n.rra To- raise Sumatra tobacco. This is
considered - be the finest type of cigar
wrapper With the exception Of the Cuban
yrappnr. Which Is also grown there to a GER
,3ia ct,eur
TIE beat quality o. S;umatra leaf has not
,rou Produced IN lE.5 country except in four
,r R.a 4, 'ayys OF rrtel extent. The most
.upouar. IL The CoEuecticut Valley,
r., tn. experiment there was made as
-,certv as lrc, when the Department Of
agriculture started with a sixth OF an acre.
!he n,.r year thirty-six acres were grown
md the blowing year the amount jumped
iu 7UG .yi,s.
Z, tnul, some nerve 70 undertake the new
variety. for tho cost Of the first crops, includ-
rrs the STARTING Of the plants, erection of
sEaGr. cultivation. picking, curing and
lermcnting, sizing. asserting and baling,
lyeragcl about SdJ7 an acre. over IS cents
e. pound TO the finished product. As it is
worth from 81 to SO a pound, and over a
tholsend pounds can be raised 20 the acre,
he venture showed enough profit to become
"sry popular.
According 10 theory a single tobacco
plant is supposed 10 proouce the material
Tor complete cigars. The wrappers would
come from the finest leaves on the plant,
he binders from those Of second grade and
he fillers from what would be left.
As a matter Of fact this isn't the method
except in tho Southern States. Speaking
generally. Connecticut and Massachusetts
produce a wrapper. with their second
quality leaf for binder. Pennsylvania pro-
duces chiefly a filler leaf though on some
river lands wrappers are grown.
New York's crop is mainly wrapper and
binder grade. Ohio tobacco, owing to the
large percentage of clay in the soil. is a
dler. Wisconsin lands produce both wrap
Ders and binders, though it is known as a
hinder State. The binder. by the way, is
really low grade wrapper.
The filler is worth much less than the
'ther grades. and according to the pleasing
american habit Of neglectinR the small
things is ftenso badly cured that it has
about as much real tobacco flavor as if il
we're any other kind of dried leaves. Az
long a. the filler forms the greater part
II the cigar it would seem to be worth the