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Harrow Velvet Tobacco

Harrow Velvet Tobacco

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Harrow Velvet
Nicotiana tabacum L
[ Approximately 100 seeds per packet ]
Introduced in about 1935, 'Harrow Velvet' is a multipurpose, "Burley-type" tobacco that was historically used for plug tobacco, cigarette and pipe blending, as well as for blending material for cigar filler. It produces large (up to twenty-four inch) leaves that ripen to a nice, golden-yellow color and was developed to resist Black Root-rot and is in fact, one of the most resistant.[1]

In 1929, seven strains of White Burley tobacco types were obtained by the Dominion Experimental Station at Harrow, Ontario, Canada from Dr. Valleau of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. Dr. Valleau had created the crosses and was interested in learning how they performed in Canada. The strains were all grown in a healthy field and one infected with black root-rot. Eventually, one plant out of a stain designated as 'Valleau Selection No. 22' emerged as resistant. It was further refined over succeeding years, "... until the selection was considered worthy of the name 'Harrow Velvet'."[2]

Our stock originated from the USDA Nicotiana Collection as accession number PI 552650 and was grown by heirloom tobacco variety preservationist, David Pendergrass in Tennessee.
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Tobacco plants are very interesting, ornamental, and have uses apart from consumption. This section of the website is intended for the historical and informational purposes of thinking adults. Anyone who has been raised since the turn of the 20th century already knows that tobacco can be addictive and can contribute to various medical ailments. If you do not smoke, it would seem illogical to start. We in no way encourage people to use any form of tobacco product.
Informational References:
  1. "A History of the Research Station, Harrow, Ontario: 1909-1974," by Gordon M. Ward, Research Branch, Canada Department of Agriculture, 1978.
  2. "Varietal Studies of Flue-Cured, Burley and Dark Tobaccos," by N. A. Macrae and R. J. Haslam, Tobacco Division, Dominion Experimental Farms, Bulletin No. 178, 1935.