g to pack their tobacco
until it has passed through the sweat, when larger prices are
obtained. Many growers not only pack their own crop, but buy up that
of others, thus acting as both producer and buyer. During the growing
of the crop, and particularly after it has been cured and stripped,
the growers congregate together, and talk over the condition of the
crop and the prices likely to be realized. Sometimes they form an
association or club, agreeing to "hold" the tobacco for satisfactory
prices, and frequently employing an agent to sell the crop. Many of
the tobacco fields or farms in the Connecticut valley are very
valuable, especially those near large cities and means of
transportation; such lands often selling for one thousand dollars per
acre.

The finest tobacco lands in the Connecticut valley are located in
the vicinity of Hartford about fifty miles from Long Island Sound.
These lands are near enough to the sound to get the salts in the
atmosphere from the south winds that blow up the valley in the precise
amount which the plant needs. Not much farther north does the
atmosphere possess this peculiar quality, while lower down the river
the salt air is too strong for the plant, and the leaves in
consequence are thick and harsh. Fine tobacco leaves can be
manufactured as well as fine broadcloth or costly silks. These results
depend in a great manner upon the proper soil and the fertilizers,
applied together with the most thorough cultivation of the plants. The
soil of our best Connecticut tobacco fields is alluvial, varying in
composition from a heavy sandy loam to a light one containing very
little clay.

For the past few years light soil has been preferred for the tobacco
field, on account of the demand for light colored leaf. The soil can
hardly be too light when leaf of a light cinnamon color is desired; as
the color of all kinds of tobacco depends upon the soil and the
fertilizers used.

A quarter of a century since Havana tobacco commanded very high
prices, both in this country and in Europe. It burnt freely and
purely. The Cuban planters, although getting rich on the ordinary
crops, were not satisfied with their gains, and attempted to increase
their crops by the use of guano and artificial fertilizers. They
secured heavier crops, but the quality became poorer. The prices fell
off and the planters did not realize as much for their crops as
formerly, although the growth was larger. About this time Conne