of those qualities for which the weed is
esteemed. The conditions of growth are less powerful in
winter, when the temperature is ten degrees lower, and the
fall of rain small. At the same time, there is more sunshine
to impart those aromatic qualities which are so much
relished by smokers of tobacco. In Virginia the torrid heat
and thunder showers during the summer months are by no means
favorable for developing the mild aroma of a good smoking
leaf. Such atmospheric conditions are better suited for
cotton and Indian corn than tobacco, which must have dry
weather and sunshine to produce it in perfection."

No country in Europe is more celebrated for its tobacco than Germany.
The tobacco plant has been cultivated in some parts of Prussia for
nearly two centuries. The tobacco of Germany is used for all purposes
for which the leaf is designed--for cutting, cigars, and snuff. There
are various kinds of German tobacco, the finest being grown in the
Grand Duchy of Baden. The native tobacco of Germany, however, is not
powerful in flavor, and may be smoked continuously to an extent which
would be dangerous and disagreeable if American tobacco were used.
Although it is cultivated in most of the States of Germany, and by a
large number of growers, still the tobacco fields as a rule are small.
The Germans are among the most thorough cultivators of the plant in
Europe, and every operation in the field is done at the proper time
and in the right manner. After it is cured they prepare it nicely in
rolls and carots, the latter for manufacturing into snuff. The tobacco
fields are faithfully tended, and the utmost pains taken to secure
large, well-formed leaves. The fields present a much more even
appearance than similar fields in France, where the tobacco grown is
small and uneven. The South German growers of tobacco are without
doubt the most successful tobacco-growers in Europe, not excepting the
Hollanders, who raise an excellent tobacco for snuff. The time of
gathering the leaves is the occasion of quite a merry-making among the
growers and villagers, and is considered an event of considerable
importance. Fairholt says:--

"The time of harvesting the leaves is an interesting period
for a stranger to visit the villages, which put on a new
aspect as every house and barn is hung all over with the
drying leaves."

[Illustration: German tobacco field.]

German