he leaf was pronounced by some dealers to be bitter, but most of them
considered it valuable. The planter selects the high lands or
hummocks, the soil of which is light and rich for the tobacco field.
The plants are carefully drawn from the bed, and transplanted
afterwards. The mode of culture is to plow between the rows and hoe
the plants carefully.

A Florida tobacco field in appearance is not unlike a _vega_, or Cuba
tobacco field; the same luxuriant growth of the forest may be seen on
every hand, and the "queen of herbs" grows underneath or near the
fragrant Orange and the stately Magnolia. The soil of Gadsden County
is in some respects unlike that of the rest of the State in that there
is an entire absence of limestone, which is found elsewhere all
through Florida. The climate of the State is well adapted for the
growth of tobacco, and is less changeable on the Gulf side than along
the Atlantic coast.

Formerly larger crops were raised than now. Under the old _regime_
when on every plantation were a score or more of idle negro urchins, a
large portion of the labor could be performed by them, such as
worming, dropping the plants, and picking up the primings, while now
the labor has to be paid for in money or its equivalent. At this time,
the "wrapper leaf" was considered to be among the best for cigars, and
brought high prices. In the days of slavery, tobacco was considered to
be as profitable as the cotton crop, and good tobacco plantations were
considered to be the most valuable in the State.

[Illustration: Florida tobacco plantation.]

This peculiar tobacco region is without doubt capable, with proper
management, of producing a superior article for cigars, both wrappers
and fillers, and when grown on "new ground" the staple is exceedingly
fine. The leaf cures as rapidly, and is of as good color as in Cuba,
and in a favorable season and when harvested fully ripe, is destitute
of that bitter taste formerly ascribed to it. The plants grow large,
and have that smooth, shiny appearance peculiar to Havana tobacco, the
leaves growing erect, and frequently covered with "specks" or "white
rust," one of the best evidences of a fine flavored and a good-burning
tobacco. A Florida tobacco-grower gives the following account of the
plant:

"The Gadsden 'wrapper-leaf' was always in high repute, and
extensively used in the manufacture of cigars, being in
size, firmness, and texture fully equal to the best Cu