The Washington herald., 1909-04-15

partment carries on cooperative work
with the State agricultural colleges and
experimental stations in Connecticut. New.
York. Ohio. Florida, Alabama. Texas.
Maryland, Virginia. Kentucky, North
Carolina, and South Carolina.
This work is most varied IN character.
Government experts have made soil sur
veys OF the several tobacco districts and
determined what kinds of soil will pro-
duce certain varieties of tobacco. Good
tobacco land must be rich in lime and
potash. Cigar wrapper tobacco requires
light alluvial soil. such as is found along
the banks OF the Connecticut and Sus-
quehanna rivers, in Pennsylvania. and In
the Florida peninsula. Cigar binder and
filler tobacco grows best I'm silty and
loamy soils in the Miami Valley. Ohio,
and in certain parts OF Wisconsin and
Western Florida. Sandy soil Is ideal
for the famous bright leaf. such as
thrives in Virginia and the Carolinas. and
which is used in cigarettes and 10 wrap
plug tobacco.
The limestone soil OF the Blue Grass
region is best for Kentucky white hurley,
used In the manufacture OF smoking and
chewing mixtures. while the heavy, dark
varieties Of tobacco. for export purposes.
thrive only in the silty soils OF Western
Kentuck and Tennessee. Perique. a par
ticular strong tobacco, is said &C grow
only in Louisiana. Maryland tobacco is
mostly made into snuff
The government experts say the Amer
lean tobacco crop can be increased won
derfully in acreage. yield per acre, quail
ity and value. BY the judicious use OF
-, -
Crop rotation helps greatly In this con-
nection. Seed selection offers wide
field for improvement. Under the Depart
ments advice the best tobacco plants
in field have paper bags tied over their
flowers. The self-fertilized seed thus OBJ
tained is put through a machine invented
by a government expert. which fans out
the lighter seed. leaving only the heaviest
which is best for planting.
Cuban seed has been acclaimed in Texas
and is yielding 500 pounds 10 the acre.
good Havana wrapper and filler. The
government is encouraging the growing
Of tobacco from Cuban seed in Alabama,
and is meeting with success. It Is be-
lieved the yield OF fire-cured Virginia
tobacco can be doubled by extensive cul-
tivation In Ohio the Agricultural De-
partment has been carrying on tobacco
Investigations for a number OF years.
and good filters and wrappers from Ha-
vana seed are being grown. Recently
the Department has been testing batch
Of 100 cigars made from It's Ohio-grown
tobacco. One cigar Is made from each
plant and carefully marked. A corps
OF young men. who are willing to take
the risk. Ike DR.. Wiley's celebrated pol
son squad are given all the smokes"
they want 10 pass judgment upon the
flavor and aroma. The burning qualities
are tested In a smoking machine The
cigars averaging the best are traced back
TO the plants that bore them. the seed
Of which are TO be planted next year
Thus the strain is improved.
Some Of the worst enemies the tobacco
grower has 20 combat are destructive
insects. These include the fiea-beetle,
which attacks the lower leaf-es Of the
plant; the horn worm or "hJrnblower,"
with which the farmers childsen become
familiar In the ''worming'' process; the
bud worm, the name OF whicA describes
It; the suck fly. which draws the Juice
from the leaves; the split worm. which
burrows inside the leaf; the cut worm,
which attacks the roots; tobacco thrips.
tree crickets. plant lice, slugs. and others.
The department has invented a system
Of regulating moisture in tobacco estab-
lishments. BY means Of certain solutions
the atmospheric condition IS controlled
automatically
il is a far cry from the frst cigars
peddled by Mrs. Prout, Of Windsor. Conn.
more than a century ago. to the enor-
nous tobacco manufacturing industry Of
to-day. which embraces 5000 cigar fac
tories. Pennsylvania leads IN the pro-
duction of cigars The United States
consumes almost half a billion pounds
OF tobacco. in all forms. annually, or
more than Germany. France, and Great
Britain combined. Tax is paid on 700
00o.0o0 cigars here every year. compared
TO which the 10000. 900 cigars il is pro-
posed to admit 10 the United States from
the Philippines without paying a duty.
seems scarcely a drop In the bucket II
is not known whether the proposed i'm
portations viii include some OF the ia
nous brand known as 'tabaeo grande."
three feet in length. which are the favor
ties OF the dusky Filipino maidens.
Paper is being made Of tobacco stems.
The French government has succeeded
in producing a so-called nicotineless to-
bacco. The poisonous element OF the
weed Is partly washed out with water
The ideal tobacco plant, it is said. would
be one that would combine the excellent
qualities Of Sumatra and Hnvana leaf
Fashions in tobacco change and the
grower and manufacturer must keep up
with the style.
Copyright. 1919. BY Frederic J. Haskin.l
To-mOrrow-USefuI Weeds.