in Wisconsin and Illinois is in particular demand. It is a small, delicate leaf resembling the Havana tobacco.

The Havana leaf is largely used in the cigar manufacture in the United States, for wrappers or exterior covers. A considerable quantity of tobacco is also grown in the United States from the seed of the Havana tobacco, and the product bears a strong resemblance to the Cuban leaf. The Department of Agriculture has annually distributed these seeds for cultivation, particularly in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida.

The bright tobacco grown in the southern part of Virginia, and more particularly in North Carolina, is in high repute, and enters largely into the cigarette manufacture. The famous bright leaf, varying in hue from lemon to mahogany, is there produced in perfection, and is in great demand for plug and smoking tobacco, and cigarettes.

Cigarettes. The increase in the cigarette manufacture has been phenomenal. Between 1870 and 1880 it doubled in amount. The average annual increase during that decade was, approximately, 100,000,000. Since 1880 the increase has been even greater, the introduction of improved machinery for their manufacture having greatly stimulated the product.

Order of States in Tobacco Manufacture.-Virginia holds the first rank in the manufacture, taking all branches of the industry together, but she by no means maintains the same conspicuous precedence held by her for the first two centuries of the tobacco culture. Five-eights of her crop is manufactured within her own borders, a larger proportion than is exhibited by any other State. The following is the order of precedence of States in the separate and also in the combined departments of tobacco manufacture, according to the last census:

Perhaps the most notable fact in the above table is the position of New Jersey as the third State in the combined manufactures. The rapid development of this State has been principally in the plug-chewing manufacture. Missouri comes next to New Jersey, being the fourth State in the combined industry. The steady advance of Ohio in tobacco has also been conspicuous. That State is now fifth in the order of precedence in the combined industries, being third in cigar making, and sixth in plug and fine cut.

Cities that Manufacture.—The manufacture of tobacco is confined, of course, almost exclusively to cities and towns. The order in which the leading cities in this industry, in the United States, take precedence, according to the last census (in the combined branches of the manufacture), is as follows:

Snuff.-The tobacco best suited to the manufacture of snuff is the thick, fleshy leaf, of dark color. The finest American qualities are grown in Virginia, according to the authority of the Encyclopedia Britannica. According to the same authority none so good is grown anywhere except in Holland. The principal seat of the snuff manufacture is Wilmington, Delaware. A third of the American manufacture is confined to that city.

Where the Exports Go.-Tobacco is shipped from the United States to almost every country with which we have any traffic, though almost all of it goes to Europe. Since 1880 the tendency of exports has been to increase with France, Italy, and Spain, and to a relative falling off with Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. The average annual amount of exports to these countries for the five years ending in 1886, was, in round numbers, as follows:

Following is a brief description of the principal types, and their uses, of the leaf as shown and classified in the exhibit of the United States Agricultural Department.

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Fancy Bright Leaf.-Designated "lemon and canary wrappers." This leaf is used exclusively for the outside covering, or wrapper" for fine chewing tobacco manufactured into plug and fancy shapes. Its value varies according to color and texture, and from year to year according to supply in crops, generally ruling $60, $80, $100 for 100 pounds. It is largely consumed by Richmond, Virginia, manufacturers; but is used to some extent by Western manufacturers. It is produced to a limited extent in Virginia and West Virginia; but its principal production is in North Carolina, where it reaches its greatest perfection in point of delicate flavor. It is produced to a limited extent only as compared with other grades, and when properly grown and cured is a very remunerative crop to the planter. This is the tobacco referred to in this report as the "bright tobacco" grown in southern Virginia and in North Carolina.

Bright Leaf.-Designated "Bright Mahogany Wrapper." This leaf is used for the outside covering, or wrapper, for plug chewing tobacco. Much of it is used with the Burley filler, and other shapes, such as thin plug, twist, etc. It is consumed largely by Western manufacturers, and also by Virginia manufacturers to a large extent. Its value generally rules, according to color and quality, at $40 and $60 for the hundred pounds. It is raised in Virginia, West Virginia, and largely in North Carolina.

Dark Mahogany Leaf.—This is used in the manufacture of plug chewing, generally on 16-ounce plugs of Burley fillers, and is consumed very largely by manufacturers of the West, and also by Virginia and North Carolina manufacturers. Its value ranges generally from 35 to 40 cents per pound.

Dark Dapple Leaf.-This is used principally for dark plug work. principally in Virginia. Its market value is 25 and 35 cents per pound.

It is grown

Fancy thin Bright Leaf.—This is similar to the "Fancy bright leaf” above, but lacks the gum and body, and is adapted to the cigarette manufacture, and it is used exclusively for that purpose, being consumed by manufacturers of North Carolina, Virginia, and New York. Its value is 30 to 45 cents per pound for the fine grades. It consists principally of the thin and more delicate leaves from the plant described above as "fancy bright leaf."

Black Leaf. This is used as cover, or wrapper, for "Black Plug" work by the Virginia, North Carolina, and Western manufacturers. It is raised in Virginia and North Carolina. Value, 15 and 25 cents per pound.

Dark Mahogany Filler.—This is used generally by the Virginia and North Carolina manufacturers for plug work. It is raised in these States and its value from 10 to 20 cents per pound.

Dark Rich Leaf.—This is taken principally by the Austrian regie or administration. It is grown in several counties of middle Virginia and is marketed mainly in the cities of Lynchburg, Farmville, and Petersburg, in that State. It is rehandled in the loose state (as it comes from the planters) and shipped to the agent in Richmond. Its value ranges from 12 to 15 cents per pound, and for extra fine from 16 to 17 cents.

Bright Mahogany Filler.-This is consumed in plug work as far as it is used by Virginia and North Carolina manufacturers. It is used in the Dominion of Canada by the two principal manufacturers there and put up in plugs designed for house-smoking. It is grown in Virginia and North Carolina and is valued at 10 to 12 cents per pound, and for finer grades 14, 18, and 20 cents.

Burley. This is produced in Kentucky and marketed mainly in Louisville. It has grown rapidly in favor for manufacturing purposes because of its mild quality and great capacity for absorbing sweetening and water.

Seed Leaf.-This is used as wrappers, or covering, in cigar-making. It is produced in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and to some extent in some other States. It has been fully described in this report under the caption "Varieties and Distribution."

CHAPTER XXVII.

FORAGE PLANTS AND GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES.

By GEORGE VASEY.

The forage plants of the United States consist, first, of native vegetation, mainly the grasses of certain treeless regions; second, of a few species, mostly foreign, of grasses and other plants which, since the settlement of the country, have become spontaneous over extended areas; and, third, of the forage plants of cultivation.

The native-grass districts of the country are comprised mainly in the tide-water marshes of the coast, the treeless fresh-water marshes of the wooded regions, the prairies proper and the plains.

Salt Marshes of the Seacoast.-The salt or tide-water marshes of most importance are those of the Atlantic coast. The area of these true salt marshes along the coast of New England is estimated by Prof. N. S. Shaler, of the United States Geological Survey, to exceed 200,000 acres. Less is known of their extent on other parts of the coast. They are found, however, throughout the coast regions. Along the Gulf of Mexico they include much wet land covered with a dense growth of tall reeds and known as cane breaks." These, though not harvested, furnish valuable winter forage for cattle. Along the upper Pacific coast are marshes similar to those of New England, which are cut to some extent for hay. The New England salt marshes owe their importance largely to their proximity to the great cities, which furnish a market for their product.

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Salt hay is used not only as an inferior fodder for cattle and for bedding, but also for many other purposes, and is becoming more and more an article of trade. It is an excellent nonconductor of heat, and is used for protection from frost in winter.

Large quantities are used for covering ice. It is employed in packing mineral waters, bottled beer, and similar articles which it is desired to keep cool. Within a few years it has come into use among growers of small fruits as a mulch, especially for strawberries, serving both to keep the ground moist and to protect the berries from sand and mud. Salt hay is also largely used as packing material. One kind, called "Black grass" (Juncus gerardi Loisl.), is in special request for packing glass and other fragile wares. Salt hay contains a great variety of grasses and other plants, among the leading kinds being the Juncus gerardi, above mentioned, and Spartina juncea.

Fresh-water Marshes.-The term marsh is here applied to wet lands covered with grass, in distinction from swamp, which is applied to those bearing more or less timber. Marshes occur throughout the United States, but are most abundant in the region of the Great Lakes. Their formation is there favored, not only by an

abundant rainfall, but by a cool temperature, which is favorable to the growth of grasses and grass-like vegetation in extended areas. Here also glacial action has left numerous barriers which serve to retain the waters and permit the formation of swamps and marshes. Many of the marshes occupy the sites of ancient lakes, which in process of time have become filled with vegetable matter. Others are due to the work of beavers, which have dammed the streams at successive intervals, flooding large areas and killing the original timber. Others of less extent are due

to local causes, including springs and the filling of lagoons along rivers. All these marshes formed a valuable source of hay supply for the early settlers of the country, and in some localities they are still used for that purpose. When drained and brought under cultivation the marsh and swamp lands form the best of soil for the growth of timothy and other tame grasses, but are unsuitable for the growth of clover.

In the Southern States the wet lands are more generally covered with a wooded growth than at the North, and contain a smaller deposit of peat or muck. In some of the" savannas," however, there are open spaces covered with broomsedge, cane, and other coarse grasses which serve for pastures and are occasionally cut for hay. The "flatwood" country of Florida, which is covered with water in the rainy season, furnishes during the dry season a growth of grass which serves as pasturage for cattle.

The Prairies.-The term prairie is applied to all dry lands which are naturally destitute of timber and covered with grass. The largest body of such land in the United States is situated between the wooded region of the East and the plains proper, which extend eastward from the base of the Rocky Mountains. It reaches in a broad, irregular belt from the western bend of the Gulf of Mexico northward across the entire country into the British Possessions.

The prairies comprise in all about 350,000 square miles, including the central half of Texas, the eastern portions of Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, and the southwestern portion of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the northern half of Illinois, and the greater part of Iowa.

Smaller areas of similar character also exist in neighboring States. Through the prairie region more or less timber is usually found along the streams, especially where the banks are hilly. In the northern half of the belt the prairies are less interrupted by timber than in the southern half. The heaviest growth of grass is found, as a rule, in the central portion, being shorter to the northward and less dense or continuous at the south.

The line of demarkation between the prairies and the plains is an arbitrary one, the grass becoming thinner and shorter and the timber along the streams more scanty as one goes westward. The prairies differ from other sections of the country mainly in the character of the vegetation, the surface being generally as uneven and the soil as varied as elsewhere. Continued deposits of vegetation have, however, produced over much of the surface a characteristic “prairie soil" of dark color, often several feet in depth.

The vegetation of the native prairies consists almost wholly of true grasses, a few shrubby plants, including Ceanothus americanus and Amorpha canescens being found mainly on the elevated lands.

The vegetation of the wettest swamps often consists wholly of species of Carex, or Juncus, but sometimes wholly of Reed grass (Phragmites communis). In the borders of ponds, or covering marshes which are not excessively wet, are dense growths of Cord grass (Spartina cynosuroides), or Wild Red Top (Deyeuxía canadensis). On the richer bottom lands Panicum virgatum abounds, and Blue-joint (Andropogon provincialis), the most highly valued of all prairie grasses. At higher levels grow Bushy Blue-stem (Chrysopogon nutans) and Bluff grass or small Bluejoint (Andropogon scoparius), while Bunch grass (Sporobolus heterolepis) often becomes the prevailing species