[15]

14

is older show increased yield. The most experienced planters have learned to combine body and weight with quality, and the production of different grades in the crop, in comparison between 1869 and ten years later shows the rapid change in the character of the product. In 1869 the shipping leaf averaged thirty percent; in 1879 fifteen percent; while the proportion for fine tobacco, fillers, and smokers, was enormously increased in all the counties. In many localities fine tobacco has been grown only since 1869.

The chief reason given for the great change in the character of the tobacco grown is the decline in price for shipping leaf, coinciding with the demand for fancy leaf at high prices. The deterioration of quality in certain localities is attributed to the following causes: high prices have led