for the young trees, stimulating their growth without producing a dryness in the soil, or attracting vermin, as stable manure often does. After the decay of the stalks, the ground is left mellow and moist. Tobacco stems are an excellent top-dressing for young grass. They conserve moisture and add fertility to the soil. Applied to wheat fields in autumn, in any form, leaves, stalks or stems,-tobacco exerts the most beneficent influence, both on the character of the growth and the quality of the berry. In a pulverized condition, it makes one of the best applications for seed beds. Put in the hills where the tobacco plant is to be set, it greatly aids the growth and improves the quality of the cured product. APPENDIX. CHEMICAL ANALYSES. STATISTICS OF YIELD AND MANUFACTURE. PRICES IN HOME AND FOREIGN MARKETS. TAXATION AND CONSUMPTION. BOOKS ON TOBACCO. INDEX. APPENDIX. CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF THE TOBACCO PLANT. R. J. Davidson, at the Virginia experiment station, is doing (1890-'97) a great amount of original analytical work of practical value, from which we condense the following: Table IX.-COMPOSITION OF VIRGINIA LEAF (AVERAGE OF MATURE Analyses of seed of ten varieties of Virginia tobacco show that the air-dried seed contains 5 to 6 per cent of water, of nitrogen 3.44 to 3.78 per cent, and of ash 3 to 4 per cent. Of the ash, about one-third is phosphoric acid, one-third potash and one-fifth magnesia. The ash of the seed contains over ten times as much phosphoric acid, about four times as much magnesia and nearly one-fourth more potash than the ash of tobacco leaf. Analyses of the whole plant,-root, stem and leaf,-at three stages of growth, calculated from the average results for three leading varieties (White Burley, Medley Pryor and Yellow Orinoco) show that their composition at these three stages is alike only in nitrogen, soda and magnesia. As would be expected, the plant from the plant bed has the highest percentage of moisture. It also shows the highest ash, phosphoric acid and potash. These last two ingredients gradually diminish as the age of the plant increases, thus showing that the young plant requires a large amount of potash and phosphoric acid. The percentages of lime and chlorine are just the reverse of the phosphoric acid and potash, as they increase with the age of the plant. The percentage of the insoluble matter is comparatively small in the plant from the plant bed, and is only about one-fourth as much as at the time of topping and cutting. It appears that the plant taken from the plant bed contains, in the air-dried state, nearly three per cent of nitrogen, nearly 1 per cent of phosphoric acid, over 8 per cent of pot ash and about 24 per cent of lime. Taken at the time of topping, it contains about 3 per cent of nitrogen, one-third of 1 per cent of phosphoric acid, about 4 per cent of potash and over 2 per cent of lime. Taken at time of cutting, it contains nearly three per cent of nitrogen, one-third of 1 per cent of phosphoric acid, nearly 3 per cent of potash and over 3 per cent of lime. F. G. Carpenter has also done much analytical work at the North Carolina experiment station, so have Johnson and Jenkins at the Connecticut station, Goessman at Amherst, Frear at the Pennsylvania station, and others at the experiment stations of Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama and Wisconsin. All this work is bringing out much valuable data in addition to the chemical inquiries into tobacco, conducted by Dr. Gideon E. Moore for the tenth census, from which the following table is compiled: Table X.-AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF CIGAR LEAF (POLE CURED). Av. 12 Conn. crops.. 0.14 1.55 1.09 0.59 5.71 1.36 5.79 Hartford, Ct.. 0.20 0.33 0.62 Pa., Lancaster Co.. Ohio 0.19 0.27 0.47 New York.. Wis. and Ill.. 0.33 16.55 4.24 0.48 6.10 1.71 5.20 trace 15.10 4.97 0.61 | 5.33 1.40 7.66 0.05 18.56 4.10 1.03 5.13 1.47 8.92 0.06 17.98 2.70 0.61 4.93 2.46 4.75 0.75 0.95 0.59 0.56 6.09 1.33 5.13 0.72 0.15 0.60 0.48 5.17 1.94 5.97 0.04 14.22 | 4.42 0.06 15.50 4.59 0.17 15.52 5.23 Average.. 0.35 0.66 0.64 | 0.62 | 5,50 | 1.67 | 6.20 0.10 16.194.12 Omitting from the above the percentage of nitrogen in Pennsylvania seedleaf, which is exceptionally low, the average of the other samples gives 4.44 per cent of nitrogen in pole-cured tobacco leaves. Table XI.-THE AMERICAN TOBACCO CROP. The United States crop of 1849 was returned by the census at 199,753,000 pounds, and of 1859 at 434,209,000. The census for 1869 was incomplete in the South, and, especially in North Carolina, has been imperfect since. That State was credited with only 36,000,000 pounds in 1889 by the 11th census. W. W. Wood's elaborate inquiries |