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Tobacco Seed Varieties Available - London - 1886

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deluxestogie

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1886 was the first year in over 300, that growing tobacco in England was legal. The following ad appeared in ENGLISH TOBACCO CULTURE, by EJ Beale, published in 1887 (118 pages of text, and available at www.archive.org). The list of available varieties looks fairly familiar.

TobaccoSeedAd_Carters_London_1886.jpg


In the list, Glasner is almost certainly Glessnor. A surprise is "Turkish Latakieh," which I believe has never existed as a distinct variety. Many of the American-sourced seeds are identified only by the state from which it came. Could "Hyco" be Higo?

The book also contained "accurate" sketches of the mature plants of various varieties from the "first crop." Most appear to have been grown in a fog bank--spindly, runted. I guess for newbies with no mentors, they did okay.

OneSucker_Sketch_Beale_1887.jpg


Bob

Edit: The reference to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, at the bottom of the ad, is non other than Prince Edward, who outraged his mother, Queen Victoria, by being the first Royal to smoke tobacco in public. He was apparently instrumental in loosening the laws regarding domestic cultivation of tobacco, and funded at least one of the earliest trials which are discussed in Beale's book.
 
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FmGrowit

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Bob,

As I'm sure you know, the spelling of words is often confused over time. Kind of like Philip Morris's son's name Burleigh (it might be Walter Raleigh's son I'm thinking of...can't put my finger on it right now)

Didn't I send you some Lattaque? It's a short Oriental variety with a 7" x 10" leaf. Quite a thick leaf with a dark brown top and a greenish under side after curing. If I didn't, send me a PM with your info and I'd like to see what kind of magic you can work with it. It's a couple years old, but it's been bagged for a few months now.
 
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