[16]

15

many to undertake the culture of fine tobacco without experience and on unsuitable lands; others have been induced to plant more than could be perfectly cultivated; and hasty and careless handling and curing have been the faults of still others; all these resulting in the production of much light, drabby tobacco. This deterioration is reported from one to five percent in Granville County, which is the best fine tobacco county. The general product of this county is, in the main, of improved character, better cultivated handled with increasing acre and skill, but the average of quality has been somewhat lowered by the number of inexperienced men who have entered into the cultivation of the plant.

While the cultivation of tobacco is not as general or intensive as that of the principal food products,