The plants selected for seed are usually left growing until late in the season, and at night should be protected from the cold and frost by a light covering of some kind—this may not be absolutely necessary, as most growers of tobacco have often noticed young plants growing around the base or roots of the seed stalk—the seeds of which germinated although remaining in the ground during the winter. Strong, healthy plants generally produce large, well filled capsules the only ones to be selected by the grower if large, fine plants are desired. Many growers of tobacco have doubtless examined the capsules of some species of the plant and frequently observed that the capsules or fruit buds are often scarcely more than half-filled while others contain but a few seeds. The largest and finest capsules on the plant mature first, while the smaller ones grow much slower and are frequently several weeks changing from green to brown. Many of the capsules do not contain any seed at all.
THE SUCKER.
The offshoots or suckers as they are termed, make their appearance at the junction of the leaves and stalk, about the roots of the plant, the result of that vigorous growth caused by topping. The suckers can hardly be seen until after the plant has been topped, when they come forward rapidly and in a short time develop into strong, vigorous shoots. Tatham describing the sucker says:
"The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or stalk, near to the junction of the leaves with the stems, and about the root of the plant, and if allowed to grow, injuring the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division of its nutriment during the act of maturation. The planter is therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb nail, as in the act of topping. This superfluity of vegetation, like that of the top, has been often the subject of legislative care; and the policy of supporting the good name of the Virginia produce has dictated the wisdom of penal laws to maintain her good faith against imposition upon strangers who trade with her."
The ripening of the suckers not only proves injurious to the quality of the leaf but retards their size and maturity and if allowed to continue, prevents them from attaining their largest possible growth.
Suckers.
On large, strong, growing plants the growth of suckers is very rank after attaining a length of from six to ten inches, and when fully grown bearing flowers like the parent stalk. After growing for a length of time they become tough and attached so firmly to the stem of the leaf and stalk that they are broken off with difficulty, frequently detaching the leaf with them. The growth of the suckers, however, determines the quality as well as the maturity of the plants.
Weak, spindling plants rarely produce large, vigorous shoots, the leaves of such suckers are generally small and of a yellowish color. When the plants are fully ripe and ready to harvest the suckers will be found to be growing vigorously around the root of the plant. This is doubtless the best evidence of its maturity, more reliable by far than any other as it denotes the ripening of the entire plant. Suckering the plants hastens the ripening of the leaves, and gives a lighter shade of color, no matter on what soil the plants are grown. Having treated at some length of the various parts of the tobacco plant—stalk, leaves, flowers, capsules and suckers we come now to its nicotine properties. The tobacco plant, as is well known, produces a virulent poison known as Nicotine. This property, however, as well as others as violent is found in many articles of food, including the potato together with its stalk and leaves; the effects of which may be experienced by chewing a small quantity of the latter. The New Edinburgh Encyclopedia says: