Bud and Flowers.
When in full blossom a tobacco field forms a pleasant feature of a landscape which is greatly heightened if the plants are large and of equal size. The pink flowers are the largest while those of a yellow color are the smallest. The plant comes into blossom a few weeks before fully ripe when with a portion of the stalk they are broken off to hasten the ripening and maturing of the leaves. After the buds appear they blossom in a few days and remain in full bloom two or three weeks, when they perish like the blossoms of other plants and flowers. The flowers of Havana tobacco are of a lighter pink than those of Connecticut tobacco but are not as large—a trifle larger however than those of Latakia tobacco. Those varieties of the tobacco plant bearing pink flowers are the finest flavored and are used chiefly for the manufacture of cigars while those bearing yellow flowers are better adapted for cutting purposes and the pipe.
The American varieties of tobacco bear a larger number of flowers than European tobaccos or those of Africa or Asia. The color of the flowers remain the same whether cultivated in one country or another while the leaves may grow larger or smaller according to the system of cultivation adopted. Those varieties of the plant with heart-shaped leaves have paniculated flowers with unequal cups. The flower stems on the American varieties are much longer than those of European tobaccos and also larger. The season has much to do with the size of the flowers; as if very dry they are usually smaller and not as numerous as if grown under more favorable circumstances.
THE CAPSULE.
As soon as the flowers drop from the fruit bud the capsules grow very rapidly until they have attained full size—which occurs only in those plants which have been left for seed and remain untopped. When topped they are not usually full grown—as some growers top the plants when just coming into blossom, while others prefer to top the plants when in full bloom and others still when the blossoms begin to fall. The fruit is described by Wheeler
"as a capsule of a nearly oval figure. There is a line on each side of it, and it contains two cells, and opens at the top. The receptacles one of a half-oval figure, punctuated and affixed to the separating body. The seeds are numerous, kidney-shaped, and rugose."
Most growers of the plant would describe the fruit bud as follows: In form resembling an acorn though more pointed at the top; in some species, of a dark brown in others of a light brown color, containing two cells filled with seeds similar in shape to the fruit bud, but not rugose as described by some botanists. Some writers state that each cell contains about one thousand seeds. The fruit buds of Connecticut, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio Tobacco as well as of most of the varieties grown within the limits of the United States are much larger than those of Havana, Yara, Syrian, and numerous other species of the plant, while the color of these last named varieties is a lighter shade of brown. The color of the seed also varies according to the varieties of the plant. The seeds of some species are of a dark brown while others are of a lighter shade. The seeds, however, are so small that the variety to which they belong cannot be determined except by planting or sowing them.
Capsules. (Fruit Bud.)