Tobacco: Growing, Curing, & Manufacturing - A Handbook for Planters in All Parts of the World

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Title: Tobacco: Growing, Curing, & Manufacturing - A Handbook for Planters in All Parts of the World
Author: Lock, Charles G. Warnford (Charles George Warnford)
Language: English
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Transcriber’s Note:

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TOBACCO:
GROWING, CURING, AND MANUFACTURING.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOBACCO:
GROWING, CURING, & MANUFACTURING.

A HANDBOOK FOR PLANTERS

IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD.

EDITED BY
C. G. WARNFORD LOCK, F.L.S.

[Illustration]

E. & F. N. SPON, 125, STRAND, LONDON.
NEW YORK: 35, MURRAY STREET.
1886.

PREFACE.

Tobacco growing is one of the most profitable branches of tropical and
sub-tropical agriculture; the$1“$2”$3has even been proposed as a
remunerative crop for the British farmer, and is very extensively grown
in continental Europe. The attention recently drawn to the subject has
resulted in many inquiries for information useful to the planter
desirous of starting a tobacco estate. But beyond scattered articles in
newspapers and the proceedings of agricultural societies, there has been
no practical literature available for the English reader. It is a little
remarkable that while our neighbours have been writing extensively about
tobacco growing, of late years, no English book devoted exclusively to
this subject has been published for nearly thirty years. A glance at the
bibliography given at the end of this volume will show that the French,
German, Swiss, Italian, Dutch, Sicilian, and even Scandinavian planter
has a reliable handbook to guide him in this important branch of
agriculture, while British settlers in our numerous tobacco-growing
colonies must glean their information as best they may from periodical
literature.

To supply the want thus indicated, the present volume has been prepared.
The invaluable assistance of tobacco-planters in both the Indies and in
many other tropical countries, has rendered the portion relating to
field operations eminently practical and complete, while the editor’s
acquaintance with agricultural chemistry and familiarity with the best
tobacco-growing regions of Asiatic Turkey, have enabled him to exercise
a general supervision over the statements of the various contributors.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE
THE PLANT 1

CHAPTER II.

CULTIVATION 7

CHAPTER III.

CURING 67

CHAPTER IV.

PRODUCTION AND COMMERCE 137

CHAPTER V.

PREPARATION AND USE 231

CHAPTER VI.

NATURE AND PROPERTIES 253

CHAPTER VII.

ADULTERATIONS AND SUBSTITUTES 267

CHAPTER VIII.

IMPORTS, DUTIES, VALUES, AND CONSUMPTION 271

CHAPTER IX.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 276

INDEX 281

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. PAGE
1. CUBAN TOBACCO PLANT 4
2. MARYLAND TOBACCO PLANT 5
3. AMERSFORT TOBACCO PLANT 6
4. STRAW MAT FOR COVERING SEED-BEDS 47
5. SHADE FRAMES USED IN CUBA 49
6. QUINCUNX PLANTING 52
7. TOBACCO WORM AND MOTH 56
8. SHED FOR SUN-CURING TOBACCO 83
9. HANGING BUNCHES OF LEAVES 95
10. TOBACCO BARN 95
11. INTERIOR OF TOBACCO BARN 96
12. HAND OF TOBACCO 108
13. PACKING HOGSHEAD 133
14 to 17. TOBACCO-CUTTING MACHINE 234
18. MACHINE FOR MAKING PLUG TOBACCO 237
19 to 21. MACHINE FOR MAKING TWIST OR ROLL TOBACCO 238
22, 23. DIAGRAMS OF SEGMENT ROLLERS OF TWIST MACHINE 240
24 to 26. ANDREW’S IMPROVEMENTS IN TWIST MACHINE 243–4
27. MACHINE FOR CUTTING AND SIFTING SCRAP TOBACCO 246
28. MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGARETTES 247
29. RESWEATING APPARATUS 249
30. MACHINE FOR WEIGHING OUT SMALL PARCELS OF TOBACCO 250
31. TOBACCO-CUTTING MACHINE 252

TOBACCO:
GROWING, CURING, AND MANUFACTURING.

CHAPTER I.
THE PLANT.

Next to the most common grains and pulses, probably no plant is so
widely and generally cultivated as tobacco. In what country or at what
date its use originated has little to do with us from a practical point
of view, though interesting enough as a subject for the student of
ethnography and natural history. Suffice it to say that it has been
grown and smoked since pre-historic times in many tropical and
sub-tropical countries, and has assumed an importance in modern daily
life only surpassed by a few prominent food plants and cotton.

This long-continued and widespread cultivation has helped to produce
local varieties or races of the plant which have sometimes been mistaken
for distinct species, and caused a multiplication of scientific names
almost bewildering. The following epitome comprehends the species and
varieties of _Nicotiana_ possessing interest for the cultivator:—

I. _N. Tabacum macrophylla_ [_latifolia_, _lattissima_,
_gigantea_]—Maryland tobacco. Of this, there are two sub-species—(1)
Stalkless Maryland, of the following varieties: (_a_) _N. macrophylla
ovata_—short-leaved Maryland, producing a good smoking-tobacco, (_b_)
_N. macrophylla longifolia_—long-leaved Maryland, yielding a good
smoking-tobacco, and excellent wrappers for cigars, (_c_) _N.
macrophylla pandurata_—broad-leaved, or Amersfort, much cultivated in
Germany and Holland, a heavy cropper, and especially adapted for the
manufacture of good snuff; (2) Stalked Maryland, of the following
varieties: (_a_) _N. macrophylla alata_, (_b_) _N. macrophylla
cordata_—heart-shaped Maryland, producing a very fine leaf, from which
probably the finest Turkish is obtained. Cuban and Manilla are now
attributed to this group.

II. _N. Tabacum angustifolia_—Virginian tobacco. Of this, there are two
sub-species—(1) Stalkless Virginian of the following varieties: (_a_)
_N. angustifolia acuminata_, grown in Germany for snuff, seldom for
smoking, (_b_) _N. angustifolia lanceolata_, affords snuff, (_c_) _N.
angustifolia pendulifolia_, another snuff tobacco, (_d_) _N.
angustifolia latifolia_—broad-leaved Virginian, used chiefly for snuff,
(_e_) _N. angustifolia undulata_—wave-like Virginian, matures quickly,
(_f_) _N. angustifolia pandurata_, furnishes good leaves for smoking,
produces heavily, and is much grown in Germany, and said to be grown at
the Pruth as “tempyki,” and highly esteemed there; (2) Stalked
Virginian, of the following varieties: (_a_) _N. angustifolia alata_,
(_b_) _N. angustifolia lanceolata_ [_N. fructiosa_], growing to a height
of 8 ft., (_c_) _N. angustifolia oblonga_, (_d_) _N. angustifolia
cordata_—E. Indian, producing heavily in good soil, and well adapted for
snuff, but not for smoking. Latakia and Turkish are now accredited to
_N. Tabacum_.

III. _N. rustica._—Common, Hungarian, or Turkish tobacco. Of this, there
are two varieties: (_a_) _N. rustica cordata_—large-leaved Hungarian,
Brazilian, Turkish, Asiatic, furnishing leaves for smoking; (_b_) _N.
rustica ovata_—small-leaved Hungarian, affords fine aromatic leaves for
smoking, but the yield is small. Until quite recently, Latakia, Turkish,
and Manilla tobaccos were referred to this species; Latakia is now
proved to belong to _N. Tabacum_, and Manilla is said to be absolutely
identical with Cuban, which latter is now ascribed to _N. Tabacum
macrophylla_.

IV. _N. crispa._—This species is much grown in Syria, Calabria, and
Central Asia, and furnishes leaves for the celebrated cigars of the
Levant.

V. _N. persica._—Hitherto supposed to be a distinct species, affording
the Shiraz tobacco, but now proved to be only a form of _N. Tabacum_.

VI. _N. repanda._—A Mexican plant, with small foliage. Long thought to
be a distinct species peculiar to Cuba, but none such is now to be found
in Cuba, whether wild or cultivated, and all the Cuban tobacco is now
obtained from _N. Tabacum macrophyllum_.

Among the many other forms interesting only to the botanist or
horticulturist, the principal are _N. paniculata_, _N. glutinosa_, _N.
glauca_, attaining a height of 18 ft., and _N. clevelandii_, exceedingly
strong, quite recently discovered in California, and supposed to have
been used by the early natives of that country.

Thus the bulk of the best tobaccos of the world is afforded by the old
well-known species _Nicotiana Tabacum_.

A good idea of the foliage and inflorescence of commonly cultivated
tobaccos may be gained from a study of the accompanying illustrations.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.]

Fig. 1 is a Cuban tobacco, and much grown on the continent of Europe,
notably in Holland, Germany, and Switzerland, and there known as
_goundie_, from the name of an American consul who introduced the plant
into Germany in 1848. It has a broad yet somewhat pointed leaf, with the
ribs not arranged in pairs; it is fine, soft, thin, and esteemed for
smoking in pipes and for wrappers of cigars.

One variety of the Maryland plant is shown in Fig. 2. The leaves spring
from a tall stem at considerable intervals, and are broad and rounded at
the end. This kind is valued for cigar-wrappers, and assumes a fine
light brown colour when well cured.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.]

A broad-leaved Cuban or Maryland growth long naturalized in Germany, and
now familiar as Amersfort, is represented in Fig. 3. It is distinguished
by unusual length of leaf accompanied by a corresponding narrowness. A
stem and flower are shown at _a_, a leaf at _b_, a flower in section at
_c_, a capsule at _d_, a seed at _e_, and a cross-section of a leaflet
at _f_.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.]

These three examples represent the most successful kinds grown in Europe
and at the same time some of the most marked diversities of form of
leaf.

CHAPTER II.
CULTIVATION.

The following observations on the methods of cultivating tobacco have
reference more particularly to the processes as conducted in Cuba,
India, and the United States; this branch of agriculture has been
brought to great perfection in the last-named country, and the
supervision of the operations in India is mostly entrusted to skilled
Americans.

_Climate._—Of the many conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, the
most important is climate. The other conditions that must be fulfilled
in order to succeed in the cultivation of this crop may be modified, or
even sometimes created, to suit the purpose; but cultivators can do
little with reference to climate: the utmost they can do is to change
the cultivating season, and this only in places where tobacco can be
grown nearly throughout the year. The aromatic principles, on the
presence of which the value of a tobacco chiefly depends, can only be
properly developed in the plant by the agency of high temperature and
moisture. The fame that Cuban and Manilla tobaccos enjoy is mostly due
to the climate. The article produced in Cuba is most highly esteemed; up
to this time, no other country has been able to compete successfully
with it. However it cannot be doubted that there are many places whose
climate justifies the assumption that a tobacco could be grown there,
not inferior to that produced in the West Indies. The more closely the
climate of a place corresponds with that of Cuba, the greater chance is
there that a Havana a variety will preserve its peculiar aroma. In such
places, a fine and valuable tobacco may be grown with less expenditure
on labour, &c., than it is necessary to bestow in raising an inferior
article in less suitable climes. In countries where a low temperature
rules, the plants must be raised in hot-beds, and there is also a great
risk that the young plants may be destroyed by frost, or afterwards by
hailstones. When damp weather prevails during the tobacco harvest, it is
often injured; and to give the required flavour, &c., to make the
article marketable, macerating has often to be resorted to, thus
involving great risk and expenditure. But in spite of these drawbacks,
tobacco cultivation is often very remuneratively carried out in
countries possessing an unfavourable climate. The deficient climatic
conditions are here partly compensated for by making the other
conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, and which can be controlled
by the cultivator, the most favourable possible.

_Soil._—The soil affects to a great extent the quality of a tobacco. The
plant thrives best in a soil rich in vegetable mould; this, however, is
not so much required to supply the necessary plant food, as to keep the
soil in a good physical condition. No other plant requires the soil in
such a friable state. A light soil, sand or sandy loam, containing an
average amount of organic matter, and well drained, is considered best
adapted for raising smoking-tobacco; such a soil produces the finest
leaves. The more organic matter a soil contains, the heavier is the
outturn; but the leaves grow thicker, and the aroma becomes less. As, in
tropical climates, the physical properties of the soil play a prominent
part in its productive capabilities generally, and the presence of
organic matter in the soil tends to improve these properties, it will
rarely occur that in such places a soil will contain too much humus. The
more clay in a soil, the less is it adapted to the production of fine
smoking-tobacco, on account of its physical properties being less
favourable to the development of the aromatic principles; the leaf
becomes also generally thick and coarse, but the outturn on such soils
is commonly heavier than on a more sandy one. A clay soil possessing a
great amount of humus may, if properly tilled, produce an ordinary
smoking-tobacco, and may even, if great attention be paid to the
selection of the variety, &c., produce leaves for cigar-wrappers.

Of less importance than the physical properties of the soil is its
chemical composition. By proper tillage and heavy manuring, tobacco is
sometimes grown on comparatively poor soils. From analysis of the plant,
it is clear that it contains a large amount of ash constituents, which
it extracts from the soil; the most important of these are potash and
lime. A soil destitute of these constituents would require a great
quantity of manure to supply the wants of tobacco.

An experienced Ohio planter, Judson Popenoe, speaking of soil, says “A
rich, sandy, second bottom, I believe to be the best for raising
tobacco, although our chocolate-coloured uplands, when very rich and
highly manured, will grow an excellent quality of tobacco, but will not
yield as much to the acre. Black river-bottoms will yield more to the
acre than any other kind of land, but the tobacco is not of so fine a
quality; it grows larger, has coarser stems, and heavier body, and
consequently, in my opinion, is not so good for wrappers or fine cut as
the second bottom or upland tobacco.”

On the same subject, an Illinois grower observes, “for us in the West,
and for all the localities that have not an over-amount of heat,
experience has proved, that a dry, warm soil (loam or sandy loam), rich,
deep, and containing lime, is most suitable for tobacco. The more sandy,
to a certain degree, the soil is, the better will be the quality of the
tobacco; the nearer the soil is to clay, the poorer will be the crop
under similar circumstances, although the yield may yet be satisfactory.
Clayey soil will hardly produce tobacco suitable for cigars. Wet and
tough clay soils are under no circumstances suitable to tobacco.”

_Situation._—Land intended for tobacco-culture should have good
drainage, and be sheltered from high winds. In Holland, where
tobacco-cultivation is carried out to great perfection, each field is
surrounded by a hedge about 7 ft. high; the fields are divided into
small plots, which are again bordered by rows of plants that are able to
break the force of the wind, which would injure the leaves, and render
them of comparatively little value. To this circumstance must chiefly be
attributed the fact that Dutch growers succeed in getting as much as 50
per cent. of leaves of the first quality, whereas in most other
countries 25 per cent. is considered to be a very good outturn.

In the United States, several rows of pole beans, i. e. scarlet runners,
a few steps apart, are sometimes planted as a wind-screen.

_Manure._—In its natural state, the soil will rarely possess the
elements of plant food in such a form as is most conducive to the
production of a fine tobacco-leaf. Any deficiency must be supplied in
the shape of suitable manure. Schlösing found that a bad burning tobacco
was produced on a soil containing little potash, on unmanured soil, on
soil manured with flesh, humus, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride,
and potassium chloride. A good burning tobacco was produced on a soil
manured with potassium carbonate, saltpetre, and potassium sulphate.
More recent experiments carried out by other investigators tend to
corroborate these conclusions. It is generally assumed that a soil rich
in nitrogenous organic matter produces a strong tobacco that burns
badly.

The results of Nessler’s experiments clearly show that it is not
sufficient to apply the element most needed by the plant—potash—in any
form, but that, to produce a good tobacco, it is necessary to apply it
in a particular combination. It was found that potash carbonate applied
as manure produced the best tobacco: it burned for the longest time, and
its ash contained most potash carbonate; whereas potash chloride
produced a much inferior tobacco. The assertion of other experimenters
that chlorides produce a bad tobacco is thus confirmed. Potash sulphate
and lime sulphate produced a good tobacco. It may be noticed here that
tobacco which was manured with gypsum contained a great amount of potash
carbonate in the ash, probably due to the fact that gypsum is a solvent
for the inert potash salts. From the foregoing, it may be concluded that
in tobacco cultivation, the elements potassium and calcium should be
restored to the soil in the form of carbonate, sulphate, or nitrate, but
not as chlorides. Poudrette, or prepared night-soil, generally contains
a considerable amount of chlorides, and is not well suited as manure for
fine tobacco. It has been found that fields manured with chlorides
produced heavily; a small proportion of chlorides may therefore be
applied in this form, whenever quality is of less importance than
quantity. Farmyard manure may suffice when tobacco is cultivated in
proper rotation, but here also, unless the soil be very rich in
potassium and calcium, the application of some special manure will
greatly enhance the value of the outturn. Wood-ashes are a valuable
supplement to stable dung. Gypsum is an excellent dressing for soils in
a good manurial condition: it supplies the lime needed by the tobacco,
and acts as a solvent on the inert potash salts. Gypsum applied on poor
land, however, hastens the exhaustion of the soil. It is said that crops
manured with gypsum suffer less from the effects of drought, and require
less irrigation, than when manured otherwise: the leaves of plants that
had been manured with gypsum exhaling less water than when manured with
other substances. If this assertion be correct, gypsum would be
invaluable to the Indian cultivator.

With regard to the amount of manure to be employed, it may be observed
that, with farmyard manure properly rotted, there is no theoretical
limit, especially when the tobacco is intended for snuff, and is grown
in a hot climate, where the physical properties of the soil are of the
utmost importance. It is said that some Rhenish-Bavarian soils contain
as much as 15 per cent. of organic matter, yet the cultivator considers
it necessary to heavily manure each tobacco crop. Dutch growers apply to
the rich alluvial soil as much as 25 tons an acre of well-rotted
cattle-manure. In America, it is reported that the heaviest crops are
obtained on soil newly taken up, and very rich in vegetable mould. It is
considered nearly everywhere that tobacco will pay best when heavily
manured. The first care of even the poorest peasant in the tobacco
districts of Germany, Holland, &c., as soon as he sells his tobacco, is
to purchase the manure which he considers essential to his success.

The amount of any special manure which can be applied without injury to
the plants depends very much on the solubility of the stuff, and the
manner of applying it. Highly soluble salts, such as soda or potash
nitrate, should be applied in smaller quantities than salts which
dissolve slowly. With regard to the manner of applying concentrated
manures, it is evident that, when a salt is applied in close proximity
to the plant, less will be required than when strewn over the whole
field. When applied in solution, not more than 300 lb. of nitrate per
acre should be used at one time. The amount to be applied varies also
with the soil; a sandy soil, which has little absorptive power, should
receive less than a clay. Salts easily disintegrating should not be
applied before tobacco has been planted, especially not before heavy
rains which would carry off the salt. To supply the potash required by
the tobacco plant, 200 lb. of good saltpetre per acre would be
sufficient in most cases. Lime, although removed from the soil in large
quantities, is rarely applied to tobacco as a special manure. Where
wood-ashes can be had at a moderate price, lime may be applied in this
form. Some ashes are very rich in lime. It has been found that ashes
obtained from beech-wood contain 52 per cent. of lime, and those from
oak-wood as much as 75.

Whilst most growers are agreed that tobacco is a crop demanding a rich
soil, there is a want of uniformity of opinion as to the best method of
manuring. On this point, C. Schneider, a successful Illinois planter,
says “manuring cannot be done too early, or too heavily. The manures are
very different, and equally useful for the different kinds of tobacco.
We may classify them as follows:—

“To be applied shortly before planting, and in equal quantities, for all
kinds of tobacco: 1. Guano, 200 to 300 pounds on the acre; 2.
Poultry-droppings, 400 to 500 pounds; 3. Green manure in any quantity;
4. Sheep-dung, 6 two-horse loads; 5. Cattle manure, 10 two-horse loads.

“For chewing-tobacco and snuff: 1. Sheep-dung, 10 to 12 loads per acre;
2. Cattle manure, 20 to 30 loads; 3. Horse-dung, 15 to 25 loads; 4. Hog
manure, 20 to 30 loads. The last two are useless for smoking-tobacco, or
for that to be used for cigars.

“The first three manures (guano, poultry-droppings, and green manure)
must be followed after the tobacco-crop, by a plentiful supply of
stable-manure. The tobacco-stalks themselves, rotted or burned to ashes,
sown over the field before the transplanting, or in the
planting-furrows, will act as a good manure, but are not sufficient. In
highly-worked farms, that is, where the soil is valuable, and cannot
remain idle, it will pay every way, to sow rye for fodder on the
tobacco-land in the fall; this may be made into hay, or turned under as
manure at the beginning of July, just as may seem most profitable. Deep
ploughing for the rye, and afterward for the tobacco, must not be
forgotten.”

R. E. Burton, in the _Sugar Cane_, translating from Mitjen’s essay on
tobacco growing in the most renowned district of Cuba, has the following
sensible remarks on the all-important subject of manuring:—

“Each veguero or farmer should make a hole or rotting-bin in which he
should deposit as much muck and leaves as he may be able to accumulate,
and, before giving the last ploughing to prepare his field for planting
the tobacco, he should spread over it all the prepared rotten manure he
can procure. Manure that is not thoroughly rotten injures the plants
more than benefits them. A piece of land, well manured and thoroughly
worked up, will produce four times more tobacco than one badly prepared
would. Consequently no expense or labour is so remunerative as that
which is applied to the soil. This is a very important point which
should fix the attention of every agriculturist who desires to prosper.

“Agriculturists acknowledge the advantage of manuring. In tobacco
cultivation it produces the most brilliant results, but in Vuelta-Abajo
it is very difficult to procure sufficient country manure. Yagues (i.e.
strips of palm bark used as screens, and for baling) and all the refuse
from palm trees are excellent; grass from the savannahs and all kinds of
vegetables in a thoroughly putrid state are very good, but it requires a
great quantity, and the immense labour to collect and prepare these,
frightens the greater number of vegueros, and few have sufficient
constancy to enable them to collect enough properly prepared manure for
their fields.

“The most which some manage to do is to spread refuse over some portions
of land, where it rots and fertilizes the soil; but this system is
inefficacious, because the vegetable substances being very light, the
heavy rains wash away the greater portion of the decomposed matter, and
fully nine-tenths are lost. If the system was adopted of depositing this
manure in holes or trenches, from which it can be removed when
thoroughly rotted and fit for the fields, it would produce much more
with much less labour; for although at first sight the labour appears to
be doubled, by having to carry it twice, it must be remembered that one
load of well-prepared manure is better than ten or twenty of grass or
bush that is not rotten.

“But in every way there is great difficulty in collecting vegetable
manure in sufficient quantities; recently, guano has been tried with the
most brilliant success.

“Peruvian guano is the most compact fertilizer known, and a very small
quantity suffices to manure a tobacco field; its cost is not excessive,
and is very frequently less than the carriage of other manures to the
spot where they are to be used. Its most active results are shown on
light and sandy soil; it quickens vegetation, and experience has shown
that it increases prodigiously the quantity and value of crops; we
therefore recommend the use of guano as a fertilizer of the first order
for tobacco cultivation, and as light and sandy soils possess in
themselves the substances most suitable for the development of the
tobacco plant, on such soils guano acts as a stimulant to the plant.

“Before using Peruvian guano, it should be sifted; all the stones and
lumps remaining should be broken up, and again sifted, so that nothing
may be lost. After this, three or four times its weight of dry sandy
soil should be thoroughly mixed with it, and it should remain thus 6–8
days before being used. This preparation should be made under cover, to
avoid the possibility of rain falling on the mixture, and the heap
should be covered with the empty guano bags, or anything else, to
prevent the evaporation of the volatile alkali which it contains.

“It is better to prepare this mixture in detail, each heap containing
one bag of guano, whose weight is 150–160 lb., so as to facilitate the
calculation of the quantity that should be applied, and prevent
mistakes. We will start, therefore, on this calculation.

“On lands of good quality, but which, nevertheless, require manure, from
having been overworked, one pound of guano should be applied to each
15–20 superficial yards, or, say one heap of compost for each 2500–3000
yards, or, otherwise said, one heap of manure will suffice for a surface
that contains 5000–6000 plants.

“In sandy unproductive soil, and on sterile savannah lands, 1 lb. of
guano to 9–12 yards; or a heap of compost guano to 1500–2000 yards; or
one heap for 3000–4000 plants.

“These are the proportions to be used for the first year; for the
second, and forward, two-thirds of that employed the first year will be
sufficient.

“When crops of tobacco and corn are grown on the same lands, half the
guano should be applied to the corn and the other half to the tobacco;
but then a somewhat larger quantity will be required. The manure should
be applied shortly before transplanting, and after the ground has been
well cross-ploughed and prepared, and the ground should be plotted out
into squares or beds of 50 yards square. The manure should then be
spread and ploughed in, and the land should at once be furrowed and
planted.

“Under this system of applying Peruvian guano as manure for tobacco the
best results have been obtained, and, of all the various trials made,
this is the most simple and the easiest to execute.”

The remarks of the last-quoted essayist are good so long as guano is to
be had. But there is a limit to the supply, and in many places it would
be unprocurable.

The necessity for more definite knowledge concerning the actual wants of
the tobacco plant in the matter of food, led to an investigation of the
subject some years ago by Prof. S. W. Johnson on behalf of the
Connecticut State Board of Agriculture, and more recently by Schiffmayer
for the Agricultural Department of the Madras Presidency.

Prof. Johnson aptly observes it to be “a well-established fact that
plants may receive from the soil and retain a larger portion of
ash-ingredients than is needful for nutrition. This is especially marked
in case of the lime, potash, and soda salts. The excess of these
substances thus taken up may either be deposited in the solid state in
the cells of the plant, or may remain dissolved in the juices. In
tobacco, a part of the nitrogen usually exists as a nitrate, in
combination with potash. That is to say, portions of the nitrogenous
food of the plant—the nitrates of the soil—are not completely worked
over into albuminoids, and into nicotine, the nitrogenous constituents
of tobacco, but accumulate and remain in considerable quantity in the
sap. When a dry tobacco-leaf is set on fire, it often burns like ‘touch
paper’ (paper soaked in a solution of saltpetre and dried) with bright
sparkles of fire, indicating the points where the nitre has gathered in
minute crystals as the juice of the leaf evaporated. The quantity of
superfluous salts in the plant depends upon its succulence, and upon the
supply of them in the soil. Doubtless certain definite amounts of
potash, lime, magnesia, iron, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid are
absolutely necessary to produce a given weight of tobacco. In case
several or all these substances are superabundant in the soil, the plant
has no power to exclude any unnecessary surplus of one or all of them
from its interior altogether, although there are good reasons known to
prevent their entrance beyond a certain limit. In one soil potash may be
relatively most abundant, and may for that reason be found in the crop
in greater quantity than was necessary for the growth of that crop. In
another soil lime may be in surplus, and there the crop may have the
minimum of potash, and a considerable excess of lime.

“The crop is a result of the working together of a number of causes or
conditions; these are the heat and light of the sun, carbonic acid and
oxygen of the atmosphere, water, nitrates and ammonia, and the
ash-elements enumerated in our table of analyses. The crop is limited in
quantity by that condition of growth, which is presented to it most
sparingly. The richest and best prepared soil without solar warmth, or
without due supplies of rain, cannot give a crop, and if weather be most
favourable, then in one field it may be too little potash, in another
too little phosphoric acid, in another too little nitrogen, which lowers
the yield, or reduces the quality of the product.

“It is usual in tobacco culture to manure very heavily, and in many
cases it is probable that all the various forms of plant food are
present in available abundance. But soils differ in the nature of the
supplies which they are able to yield to crops, and fertilizers even,
when the same in name, may be very unlike in fact. The chief reliance of
the tobacco farmer is stable manure. This, however, is by no means
uniform in origin, appearance, evident quality, or chemical composition.
The manure from bullocks, wintered on hay and roots, is very different
from that of horses maintained chiefly on oats or corn. The yard manure
that contains much strawy litter or much wasted hay, differs again from
that of the city stables, from which the straw is carefully raked out to
be used over and over again for bedding. The farm-made manure is likely
to be much richer in potash and lime, and the city manure is richer in
phosphates and nitrogen. Yet in the reports of the farmer, these two
essentially different fertilizers are designated as stable manure
simply.

“Every one understands that a fertilizer acts upon the plant to supply
it with food, and to favour its growth; everybody is also convinced that
some fertilizers act upon the soil, improving its texture and
composition and increasing its fertility. It is an equally well
ascertained fact that the soil acts upon fertilizers to modify their
effect. A very wet or very dry soil is known to nullify the benefit
which might be expected of a fertilizer in a simply moist soil; but more
than this, more than by the accident of external circumstances, it is a
fact that each kind of soil has a special action of its own on
fertilizers, so that if it were asserted of two soils, which, unmanured,
were of equal fertility, that a given fertilizer applied to both,
greatly improved the crop on one, and had little effect on the other,
such a statement might not only be accepted as a fact, but an
explanation might be given in general terms for such a fact.

“Now experiments have shown that different soils when mixed with like
quantities of various fertilizing elements and then treated with water,
in imitation of rain, manifest very different behaviour toward the
admixed substances. One soil will lay hold of the potash in a
fertilizer, and fix it in a kind of chemical combination so firmly that
water can dissolve it but with extreme slowness; another soil puts its
grasp on the lime of a fertilizer, and at the same time allows potash
which belongs to itself to be dissolved out freely. There is, in fact,
always a complicated series of changes set in operation whenever any
fertilizer is incorporated with the soil, be it animal, vegetable, or
mineral; be it alkali, acid, or saline; be it made on the farm or
imported from abroad; be it natural or artificial. The fertilizer acts
on the soil, and the soil reacts on the fertilizer; but the point we
wish to make prominent is this, that different soils are differently
affected by one and the same application, or in other words, a given
manure fertilizes a given crop unequally in degree, and unlike in kind,
on different soils, by virtue of the different assimilating or fixing
power, which the soil exerts upon its ingredients.

“We know of the existence of these peculiarities of soils, and something
of their causes and of the laws by which they act; but the real
necessities of the tobacco crop, or of any other crop, as respects
soil-ingredients, cannot be arrived at by chemical analysis of a single
sample, nor of a dozen samples.” Thus analyses of a dozen New England
tobaccos showed the following highest and lowest percentages of each
ash-ingredient, and of nitrogen:—

Silica 0·05 to 0·30│Magnesia 0·94 ” 2·21
Chlorine 0·08 ” 2·55│Potash 3·90 ” 7·45
Sulphuric acid 0·52 ” 1·69│Soda 0·08 ” 1·81
Phosphoric acid 0·47 ” 0·80│Nitrogen 3·20 ” 5·11
Lime 3·17 ” 8·22│

“It appears that the percentages of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash
are nearly twice as great in some samples as in others; that the
proportions of magnesia and lime are about 2½ times greater in some
samples than in others, and that sulphuric acid is 3 times more in one
case than in another. The variation of silica is still greater, and the
disparity rises to its extreme in case of soda and chlorine, whose
maxima are respectively 20 and 30 times greater than their minima.”

The three ingredients chlorine, silica, and soda cannot be considered in
the light of essentials to tobacco culture; but the other substances are
absolutely indispensable to plant growth, and the absence of any one of
these would render a soil incapable of sustaining agricultural
vegetation of any kind. “The variation in the percentage of these
ingredients depends somewhat upon the fact that the leaves of different
crops are unequally developed, and therefore their nutritive needs are
unlike; but it is, no doubt, chiefly connected with the fact that the
plant takes up from a highly fertilized soil more of each or every
element than is essential for growth. The nearly certain conclusion is
that every one of the crops analysed contains more of some elements than
belongs to its nutrition. It is quite certain that the average of the
analyses of the New England tobaccos is fully up to the mark as regards
the necessities of the crop. It is, indeed, not improbable that the
lowest percentages of each ingredient are quantities sufficient for a
perfect crop. Still, it is not proved that lime may not partially take
the place of potash, or the reverse. The probability of such a
substitution is great upon the face of most of the analyses. As a rule,
those which show most potash show least lime and _vice versâ_; but in
one sample both ingredients are considerably below the average. The
practical issue of these considerations is to give great probability to
the view that the tobacco crop is fed unnecessarily (and wastefully?)
high.” (Prof. Johnson.)

Tobacco is usually characterized as a very exhausting crop. This is not
true as regards the amount of nutriment taken from the soil, for in this
respect tobacco is less exacting than hay, potatoes, or rye. It demands
chiefly potash and lime, with phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Prof.
Johnson recommends for the manuring of one acre, besides ploughing in
the stalks of the plants, 500 lb. rock guano or 800 lb. fish guano, 500
lb. kainit (potash salts), and 50 lb. quicklime. But surely it cannot be
advisable to mix quicklime with an ammoniacal manure like guano; it
seems to the writer that gypsum, or spent calcium oxide from gasworks,
would be a far preferable medium for conveying lime to the soil.

As observed by Johnson, the “demand made on the soil or on fertilizers
by the tobacco crop, is for certain reasons greater than that made by
other crops which receive more of nearly every kind of plant food. Hay
is more exhausting than tobacco as measured by total export from the
soil, but grass grows the whole year throughout, save when the ground is
frozen or covered with snow, or for more than 8 months. The period of
active growth which is required to mature a hay crop, begins indeed in
April, and is finished by July, a period of 3 months, but during the
year previous, for at least 5 months, in case of the first crop, the
grass plants have been getting a hold upon the soil, filling it with
their roots, and storing up food in their root-stocks or bulbs, for the
more rapid aftergrowth. Tobacco on the other hand cannot be set out in
the field before about the 10th of June, and should be in the shed in
about 3 months. Its growth then must be a very rapid one, and the
supplies of food in the soil must be very abundant so that the
quick-extending roots may be met at every point with their necessary
pabulum. A crop of 1260 lb. dry leaves requires about 1100 lb. of dry
stalks to support the leaves, making a total of 2360 lb. of dry
vegetable matter. As new hay contains not less than one-sixth of
moisture, we increase the above dry weight of the tobacco crop by
one-sixth, to make a fair comparison, and obtain as the yield of an
average tobacco field 2750 lb. of air-dry vegetable matter, or more than
1⅓ tons. The matter stands then thus: An acre of first-rate grass land
yields as the result of 8 months’ growth, 2¾ tons of crop, while the
tobacco land must yield 1⅓ tons in 3 months.

“If the above data are correct, the _average_ rate of growth of tobacco
is greater than that of a corresponding hay crop, in the ratio of 9:7.
The real disparity is, however, much greater. The principal growth of
tobacco is accomplished in the hottest summer weather, and in a period
of some 40–50 days. Very heavy manurings are therefore essential to
provide for its nourishment, and the more so because the best tobacco
lands are light in texture, and may suffer great loss by drainage,
evaporation, and decomposition.”

From these premises, Prof. Johnson advances to the question of what
should or should not be presented to the plant in the form of manure. He
commences with a caution that, in general, growers must “avoid employing
fertilizers which contain salt or other chlorine compound in raising
wrapping or smoking tobacco. It is evident, also, that there is no
occasion to use any fertilizer for the special object of supplying
phosphoric acid, since the heaviest export of this substance does not
exceed 10 lb. per acre, annually. It may be well to mention here that
phosphates which may be put upon a tobacco field, in guano, &c., cannot
suffer waste by washing out, and will come to use when grain or grass
shall follow in the rotation.”

He observes of gypsum (lime sulphate) that it is “a valuable application
to tobacco, not because it is very largely taken up by the crop, for the
greatest export of sulphuric acid, viz. 20 lb. per acre, is restored by
50 lb. of plaster, and the greatest export of lime, 120 lb., is made
good by 400 lb. of the sulphate, but because lime sulphate dissolves in
400 times its weight of water, and may rapidly wash out of the porous
tobacco lands, and especially because the solution of lime sulphate in
the soil is a very effective agent in rendering soluble and accessible
to crops the potash and magnesia, which too often exist in close-locked
combinations. The average annual rainfall (snow included) in our
latitudes, is no less than 10,000,000 lb. per acre. This enormous
quantity of water would be enough to dissolve and wash out of the soil
25,000 lb. of gypsum per acre if it had time to saturate itself, and
then flowed off. In fact, but a small proportion of the rainfall runs
through and out of the soil, not more than 10 to 20 per cent., according
to its porosity and situation; but it is plain that there is nothing to
hinder the waste of a hundred pounds or more of gypsum per acre yearly,
Since all investigations go to show that the soil has no retaining power
for lime sulphate as it has for potash and for phosphoric acid. In
Nessler’s experiments, gypsum had an excellent effect on the burning
quality of the tobacco raised under its application, an effect
attributable, he believes, to the fact that this fertilizer often
liberates potash in the soil, as Liebig and Deherain have demonstrated,
and is therefore equivalent to an application of potash, provided the
latter actually exists in the soil.

“Potash is exported in the tobacco crop to the amount of 70–80 lb. per
acre yearly, and is required for the stalks to the extent of some 50
lb., making a total of 120–130 lb. As already intimated, potash does not
commonly waste from the soil by washing. It is seldom found in
appreciable quantity in well or drain water, and most soils absorb it
and fix it so firmly that water can remove it but very slowly. It does,
however, appear in the drain water from very heavily dunged fields,
though in small proportion. Stable or yard manure on the average
contains one-half per cent. of potash, or 10 lb. per ton. Twelve or
thirteen tons of stable manure would therefore contain the potash
needful to produce a crop. The dressing of 20 tons of 10 cords of stable
manure, per acre, which is often employed on tobacco, is doubtless
enough to fully supply the crop, and the application of additional
potash is apparently quite unnecessary. The employment of potash salts
upon tobacco lands would therefore seem to be uncalled for unless the
amount of stable manure is greatly diminished, or its quality is very
inferior. In case potash salts are to be applied, the best form to make
use of is potash sulphate, of which 250 lb. contains 135 of potash. Next
to this is probably potash carbonate, i. e. the ordinary potash of
commerce, which contains some 70 per cent. of potash; 200 lb. of this
would be sufficient for an acre. To apply it I would suggest breaking it
up into small pieces and soaking it in two or three times its weight of
water until the lumps crush easily, and mixing these with so much ground
gypsum as will make a mass dry enough to handle.

“Kainit, which contains some 15 to 20 per cent. of potash, but also 10
per cent. or more of chlorine, is not so good for leaf tobacco, and
least of all to be recommended is potassium chloride (muriate of potash)
which is nearly half chlorine.

“Magnesia is an element which is abundantly provided for in stable
manure, every ton of which, according to analyses on record, contains
some 3 lb. of this substance.

“Lime is supplied in relative abundance in stable manure, the average
ton of which contains some 15 lb. We have seen that 600 lb. of gypsum
contain as much lime as the average tobacco crop: guano, dry fish, and
superphosphate, each contains some 5–10 per cent. of lime. There is,
furthermore, little likelihood that any soil intended for tobacco would
not of itself contain enough lime to support the crop. Lime in the
caustic state has, however, a value independent of its direct nutritive
power, which is well worth the attention of the tobacco raiser. Of this
I shall write briefly in a subsequent paragraph.

“Nitrogen in absolutely dry New England tobacco leaf ranges from 3·2 to
5·1 per cent., or 4·24 as the average. This is a larger proportion than
exists in any of our ordinary field crops, except the seeds of legumes.
The grain of wheat and red clover hay contain when dry scarcely 2½ per
cent., and they exceed all other usually raised vegetable products,
except the leguminous seeds. The pea and bean contain, when dry, 4·5 to
4·7 per cent. of nitrogen. The acreage export of nitrogen is
nevertheless not large according to the data of our tables. It should be
remembered, however, that the average is derived from 5 samples only....
There are reasons to suppose that this result is too low. Furthermore it
is not improbable that tobacco loses nitrogen during the curing
process.”

The advantages of artificial manuring have been made manifest in all
branches of agriculture, and there is no doubt that the nitrogenous
qualities of farmyard dung may be replaced by soda nitrate, ammonia
sulphate, &c., only it must be remembered that these have not nearly the
lasting effect of dung, the latter liberating its ammonia but slowly.
Indeed “when a soil has been heavily dunged for a term of years, it
accumulates a large quantity of nitrogen, which is comparatively inert
and therefore nearly useless to crops. Quicklime assists to convert this
nitrogen into the active forms of ammonia or nitrates,” hence Prof.
Johnson’s suggestion that an “application of lime may sometimes be
advantageously substituted for one of stable manure. In fact, it is not
improbable that moderate doses of lime might be turned under with stable
manure or green crops, with the effect of exalting the action of these
fertilizers, and obtaining from them a larger return of nitrogenous
plant food. Lime, however, gives effect to the nitrogen of the soil by
causing the destruction of the organic matters—_humus_—in which this
nitrogen lies in an inactive state. These organic matters have
themselves a value independent of their nitrogen, which must be taken
account of, and therefore the use of lime must be undertaken cautiously,
and with an intelligent comprehension of the various effects which it
may produce.”

_Rotation._—A proper rotation of crops is particularly advantageous for
the cultivation of tobacco, since it requires a great amount of readily
accessible inorganic matter in the soil, especially potash and lime.
Although the importance of cultivating tobacco in rotation is admitted,
there may be circumstances that justify the growth of this crop
consecutively for several years in the same field. In America, tobacco
is grown successively for several years on new land, where the elements
of plant food exist in such abundance that the crop may be thus
cultivated without for a time showing any notable decrease in yield; it
is even said that the outturn of the second year is heavier than that of
the first. In Hungary and Holland, the best tobacco is grown for many
years in succession on the same land. There the plan is adopted partly
out of necessity and partly for convenience. The small landholder is
often obliged to grow tobacco on the same field, because he has only one
properly fitted for it; for convenience, he grows it every year on the
same place near his homestead, to allow of the closest attention to the
crop, but he manures heavily. Nessler, in Carlsruhe, cultivated tobacco
during six consecutive years in the same field, without noticing any
perceptible decrease in yield or quality. To admit of such a system, the
soil must either be very rich in the essential elements, or be heavily
manured, as is the practice in Holland. It is generally assumed that,
when tobacco is grown on the same field in succession, the leaves do not
become so large after the first year, but grow thicker and more gummy,
and contain less water.

From the foregoing, it would appear that, although tobacco may be grown
successfully on the same land uninterruptedly under special
circumstances, the cultivator will find it advantageous to adopt some
plan of rotation. Cereals and pulses are very well adapted for this
purpose, the reason being that tobacco removes but little phosphoric
acid from the soil, and thus leaves it rich in the element most
necessary for the growth of cereals. It has also been found that hemp
thrives particularly well after tobacco.

Judson Popenoe suggests that there “should be a good coat of clover to
plough under; if the ground is naturally rich, this alone will make a
good crop, but hog and stable manure, well rotted, is what the tobacco,
as well as any other crop, delights in, and the more manure the better
the tobacco. The plan that I am now experimenting on is, as soon as I
cut my tobacco in the fall I give the ground a good harrowing, and then
drill in wheat; the ground being well cultivated all the fall, is clear
of weeds and mellow and needs no ploughing. In the spring I sow clover,
after the wheat is off; I keep the stock off until about September, to
give the clover a chance to harden and spread. I then let the stock eat
as low as they want to, which drives the clover to root, and causes the
crown to spread; I do not suffer stock to run on the clover during
winter or spring; about the last of May or first of June I plough the
clover under, which is now in blossom, and so I alternately keep two
fields in tobacco and wheat, at the same time feeding the ground a crop
of clover every two years; in this way I expect my land to increase in
fertility all the time. The clover turned under makes food for the
cut-worms, and they trouble the tobacco-plants but little.”

_Selection of Sort._—The cultivator must carefully compare the
requirements of the different sorts, and the means at his disposal to
satisfy them, before making his selection. Though tobacco is a hardy
plant, and grows under varied conditions, yet to become a remunerative
crop, the plant should not be placed under circumstances very dissimilar
from those to which it has been accustomed. By importing seed of a fine
sort directly from its native land, the plants will not retain in the
new habitat all their special qualities, unless climate, soil and
treatment are nearly the same. Climate must first be considered. Fine
and valuable tobacco is a product of tropical countries: in a warm and
humid climate, by employing common means, tobacco may be made to yield a
profit not attainable in less favoured regions. A warm, moist climate
permits the selection of those sorts that command the highest prices; if
to this be added a suitable soil, and proper treatment, the cultivation
of tobacco yields a profit not easily obtainable from any other crop.

As the Havanna tobaccos command the highest prices, the cultivator
nearly everywhere attempts to introduce and cultivate them. There is no
great difficulty in raising plants of these varieties, but they speedily
degenerate and form new varieties, if the climatic conditions, &c., are
not favourable. Virginian tobacco was previously extensively cultivated,
but has of late been frequently replaced by the Maryland kind. It is
still much favoured by cultivators in temperate climates, as it does not
require a high temperature. On account of its botanical characteristics,
it is usually not much liked by manufacturers of cigars; some varieties,
however, that have less of the marked specific characters, yield
tolerably fine leaves for cigars. As the price of this tobacco is rather
low, it is not so well suited for export. Hungarian tobacco is
considered to be very hardy, but is less valuable than the foregoing.
The leaves are generally small, and possess a peculiar aroma.

A high price is generally commanded, irrespective of the species, by
those tobaccos that possess a large, smooth, thin, elastic leaf,
possessing a fine golden colour and a good aroma; the ribs and veins
should be thin, and the former should branch off from the midrib at
nearly right angles, and should be far apart from each other. The lower
the percentage of the weight in ribs, the thinner and broader the leaf,
and the fewer the leaves torn, the more wrappers can be cut out of 1 lb.
of tobacco, other conditions being equal, and consequently the higher is
the price of the article. The cigar-manufacturer often does not
appreciate the aroma so much as the other qualities. He can do nothing
to improve the botanical characters: the finest aromatic leaf would be
of little value to him if it were torn; but he is to a certain extent
able artificially to improve defects in flavour. Of all kinds, Maryland
is considered to possess the qualities that distinguish a good tobacco
in the highest degree. Some of the Havanna tobaccos belong to this sort,
as also the Ohio, Amersfort, Turkish, and Dutten tobaccos. Its
cultivation assumes larger proportions every year, and the number of
varieties and sub-varieties increases accordingly. Perhaps the finest
wrappers for cigars are grown in Manilla.

On this subject, Judson Popenoe remarks that he has “cultivated various
kinds of tobacco, but have come to the conclusion that what we call the
Ohio seed-leaf is the best and most profitable kind for general
cultivation. There are other kinds of tobacco that sometimes are
profitable, and do well, but most of these do not cure out so well, nor
colour so evenly, nor are they so fine and saleable as the seed-leaf.
The Havanna tobacco is too small and has not the fine flavour of the
imported. The Connecticut seed-leaf I believe to be identical with our
Ohio seed-leaf; the difference in the climate may make a slight
variation in the quality, but we plant the Connecticut seed-leaf here in
Ohio, and I do not think they can be told apart.”

Schneider recommends the following varieties: “1. Connecticut seed-leaf,
principally for cigar-wrappers; 2. Cuba, for fillers and wrappers; 3.
Maryland; 4. Virginia, the last two principally for smoking and chewing
tobacco. For snuff everything may be used, the refuse and even the
stems. The Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia yield the largest crops,
the Cuba the smallest but best. The first varieties yield about one
thousand pounds, the latter five hundred pounds. In very favourable
seasons double the amount may be raised. All tobacco-seed, which is
removed from its native clime and soil, will deteriorate, and the seed
must be renewed from its native place, although the seed may, when it
finds favourable soil, &c., yield just as good, if not a better
variety.”

In Virginia, remarks Thomas, there are “as many varieties of
tobacco-seed as of corn or wheat. I will name a few: The Big Frederic,
the Little Frederic, the Blue Stalk, the Brittle Stem, the Big Orinoco,
the Little Orinoco, and half-a-dozen others, each having, or supposed to
have, some characteristic distinguishing it from all the others. But the
Brittle Stem and the Orinocos were the varieties mostly cultivated, the
former for its early maturity, the latter for its comparative heaviness.
There are several varieties, also, in this vicinity, such as the Brittle
Stem, the Graham Tobacco, and the Cuban, but the names convey little
certain information, as the same varieties bear different names in
different localities. But some varieties are evidently to be preferred
to others—one noted for early maturity, all things else equal, is
preferable to another that ripens late. One distinguished for fineness
of texture, all things else equal, is better than another of coarser
fibre, &c. Upon the whole, the surest and most profitable variety is
that which ripens earliest, and yields the largest number of pounds,
cured, to a given number of hills planted.”

In the opinion of Perry Hull, a grower in Litchfield county,
Connecticut, “the variety best adapted to our purpose is that known in
this State as the Bull Tongue. The leaf is neither too long nor too
short; the length and width being in such good proportion that
manufacturers considered there is less waste than there is to a very
long narrow leaf, or a very broad short leaf. It yields well, and ripens
at least one week earlier than-many of the broader varieties. Almost any
of the seed-leaf varieties will do well; but never patronize any of the
humbugs sent from the Patent Office, under the name of Graham tobacco,
Maryland broad leaf, &c. They are a Southern tobacco, and when grown
upon that soil, make chewing-tobacco; but here it is good for nothing
for that purpose, and is too coarse for cigar-wrappers.”

According to Dennis, an Indiana planter, “selection of seed depends upon
the kind of land you have and the quality of tobacco you wish to raise.
Rich, fertile bottom-lands will grow only heavy, strong tobacco, and it
is the interest of the farmer to select that kind of seed that will
produce the plant of the greatest weight; in other words, to make weight
the prominent object in the result of the crop. Thinner, poorer land
will produce tobacco of lighter weight, but of finer and more desirable
quality, and one that will bring a correspondingly higher price. The
Orinoco tobacco is raised extensively in Missouri and Kentucky for heavy
tobacco, and is known in market as Kentucky Leaf. The seed for the finer
qualities passes (as does the other also) under different names, but may
be procured in Pike and Calloway counties, Missouri, and in Virginia;
the Orinoco, and kindred kinds, in Howard and Chariton counties in
Missouri. I should suggest that the seed may be procured through the
agents of express-companies at Glasgow, Brunswick, and Renick for the
Orinoco, and at Louisiana or Fulton for the other qualities. I would
recommend the culture of the coarser, heavier kinds, for the reason that
the finer quality needs much more care and experience in the handling,
in order that it may go into market in a condition to command such a
price as its quality, when well handled, entitles it to.”

In the words of Libhart, a Pennsylvanian farmer, the “best variety for
cultivation in a high northern latitude is the Connecticut seed-leaf, as
it ripens two weeks earlier than most any other variety, cures and
colours better, and commands the highest price in the market. The
Pennsylvania seed-leaf outstrips the Connecticut in size and weight, but
owing to its requiring a longer time to mature in, is not so well
adapted to climates north of 41° or 42°.”

An experienced Missouri grower, named Pursley, remarks that there “are
more than twenty distinct varieties, of which I will only mention the
most valuable:—The Yellow Prior, Blue Prior, Orinoco, Little Frederic,
Big Frederic, Cuba, and Spanish tobacco. These are considered the most
valuable in this State. The Yellow Prior and Orinoco are the most
profitable.

“I prefer the Yellow Prior, as it is the easiest cultivated and is the
most fine and smooth of the many varieties. Some growers prefer the
Orinoco, on account of it being the heaviest. I do not for various
reasons: it has large stiff fibres and ruffled stalks, which afford
hiding-places for insects; it moulds easier, is harder to cure, and
generally does not bring as good a price as the Yellow Prior.”

_Seed._—The best and strongest plants are selected for affording seed.
These are not “topped” like the remainder of the crop, and are left
standing when the crop is gathered. All suckers are carefully removed
from the stems, and sometimes from the leaves also. When the crop is
cut, the seed-stalks should be staked, to prevent their destruction by
the wind. As soon as the seed-pods blacken, the seed is ripe; the heads
are then cut off below the forks of the plant, and are hung in a dry and
safe place to cure. Care must be taken to gather them before frost has
impaired their vitality. During leisure time, the pods are stripped from
the stalks, and the seed is rubbed out by hand, and winnowed. Its
vitality is proved by its crackling when thrown upon a hot stove.

_Seed-beds._—A very light friable soil is necessary for the seed-beds;
to obtain this, it should be broken up to a depth of 1½ ft. some months
before the sowing season. A drain is dug around the beds, and the soil
is utilized in raising the surface. In America, a very warm and
sheltered situation, such as the south end of a barn, is selected for
the seed-beds. It is a common plan there to burn a brush-heap over the
ground, thus supplying potash and killing weeds. The time for sowing in
America is usually from the middle of March to the 10th of April, or as
soon as the ground admits of working in the spring; in India, it depends
upon the locality: when the monsoon rains are very heavy, it should
follow them; in other cases, it may precede them.

Unless the soil be very rich in humus, it should be heavily manured with
well-preserved farmyard manure soon after breaking up. The soil of a
tobacco nursery cannot contain too much organic matter; the presence of
much humus will prevent, to a great extent, the formation of a surface
crust, which is so detrimental to the development of the plants during
their early growth, and will also facilitate the extraction of the
plants when transplanting takes place. After a few weeks have elapsed,
the soil should be dug over a second time, and the whole be reduced to a
fine tilth. The land may now remain untouched until the sowing-time,
unless weeds should spring up: these must be eradicated.

The area required for a nursery depends on the area of ground to be
planted, and on the distance separating the plants in the field. About 1
sq. in. space should be allotted to each of the young plants in the
nursery. Taking the number to be 7260 plants required for an acre (at 3
ft. × 2 ft.), and giving each plant 1 sq. in. of room, an area of 7000
sq. in. or 50 sq. ft. would raise plants sufficient for an acre. But as
some are injured during growth, many rendered useless in lifting them
for transplanting, and more needed to replace those that die after
transplanting, double the number should be raised, or 100 sq. ft. of
nursery bed for an acre.

The amount of seed required for an acre depends chiefly on its vitality.
An ounce contains about 100,000 seeds, or sufficient for nearly 7 acres
if all grew; but as even the best has not a very high percentage of
vitality, ½-1 oz. is generally sown to produce the plants required for
one acre.

Sowing-time having arrived, the nursery is divided into beds, most
conveniently, 10 ft. long and 5 ft. wide, making 50 sq. ft. each, on
which plants for ½ acre can easily be raised. As, even with a small
tobacco plantation, several days are required for transplanting, all the
beds should not be sown at one time, but at intervals of a few days.
This will also lessen the risk of the young plants being all destroyed
by a storm, insects, &c. Before sowing the seed, the soil is dug over to
the depth of 6 inches, and levelled with a rake. The seed must then be
sown evenly on the surface, and beaten down slightly with the hand or
otherwise. The seed being very small, many cultivators mix it with
ashes, or pulverized gypsum, in order to distribute it regularly over
the bed. The seed must be covered only slightly, best done by strewing a
little fine compost manure over it. Ants, which often destroy the seeds,
may be kept off by sprinkling some ashes over the bed. Finally cut straw
may be scattered over the surface. In India, to protect the nursery from
the sun and rain, the whole is covered with a roof made of straw,
leaves, or cloth, supported by poles, at only a few feet above the
ground. The soil must be kept constantly moist, but not wet; weak liquid
manure may be used for watering. Much time is saved by starting the seed
in a warm room before sowing.

The plants, which will appear about a week after sowing, are very tender
during the first stage of their growth, and require frequent watering
through a fine rose. The straw will now prevent the water falling with
any force immediately on the plants, and its tendency to wash the soil
from the fine rootlets. If the plants spring up thickly, they are
thinned out, when about a week or two old, leaving about 1 sq. in. for
each. Those taken out may be used to fill blanks in the nursery bed, or,
if more plants are taken out than are required for this purpose, they
should be planted in a separate bed. It is universally acknowledged that
plants transplanted when very young develop more roots, grow more
vigorously, and become more hardy afterwards, than when not transplanted
at this stage. When the plants are about two weeks old, they require
less attention, and should be watered less frequently, to harden them
before transplanting. Any weeds appearing must be removed, and injurious
insects must be killed. In about 7–8 weeks after sowing, the plants will
be fit for transplanting.

Bowie, a Maryland planter, gives his experience in the following
words:—“After a thorough burning of brush, dig deep, and continue to
dig, rake, and chop until every clod, root, and stone be removed; then
level and pulverize nicely with a rake. As to the variety to plant, I
think the Cuba is a very good kind for our climate. The Connecticut
seed-leaf is the best, but culture has more than anything else to do
with the quality. Mix 1 gill of seed for every 10 square yards with a
quart of plaster or sifted ashes, and sow it regularly in the same
manner that gardeners sow small seeds, only with a heavier hand; roll
with a hand-roller or tramp it with the feet. If the bed is sown early,
it ought to be covered with brush free from leaves; but it is not
necessary to cover it after the middle of March. Tobacco-beds may be
sown at any time during the winter if the ground be not too wet or
frozen. The best time for sowing is from the 10th to the 20th of March,
though it is safest to sow at intervals, whenever the land is in fine
order for working. Never sow unless the land is in good order, for the
work will be thrown away if the land be too moist or be not perfectly
prepared. The beds must be kept free from grass or weeds, which must be
picked out one at a time by the fingers. It is a tedious and troublesome
operation, therefore you should be very careful not to use any manures
on your beds which have grass or weed-seeds in them. After the plants
are up, they should receive a slight top-dressing of manure once a week,
sown broadcast by the hand. This manure should be composed of ½ bushel
of unleached ashes (or 1 bushel of burnt turf), 1 bushel of fresh virgin
woods-earth, 1 gallon of plaster, ½ gallon of soot, 1 quart of salt
dissolved in 2 gallons of liquid from barnyard, and 4 lb. of pulverized
sulphur, the whole well intermixed. Let a large quantity be got together
early in the spring, or winter rather, and put away in barrels for use
when wanted. This, and other such mixtures, have been found efficacious
in arresting the ravages of the fly—both from the frequent dusting of
the plants and the increased vigour which it imparts to them, thereby
enabling the plant the sooner to get out of the tender state in which
the fly is most destructive to it. The fly is a small black insect,
somewhat like the flea, and delights in cold, dry, harsh weather, but
disappears with the mild showers and hot suns of opening summer. If
possible, the plants should stand in the bed from ½ inch to 1 inch
apart, and if they are too thick they must be raked when they have
generally become as large as 5 or 10-cent pieces. The rake proper for
the purpose should be a small common rake, with iron teeth 3 inches
long, curved at the points, teeth flat, and ⅜ inch wide, and set ½ inch
apart.”

Schneider, whose success as an Illinois planter has already been
mentioned, expresses himself thus:—“Raising tobacco-plants from seed is
somewhat similar to raising cabbage-plants, but is different in two
important things: It takes considerably more time for the seed to sprout
(six weeks), and, on account of disturbing the roots, cannot well stand
weeding. Therefore the principal care in providing the seed-bed is, to
prepare for the early starting of the seed, and to have the bed free
from all weed-seeds. In the West we prepare the seed-bed in the
following manner: we take a plot of land—newly cleared land is
preferred—sloping southward, and protected against winds. The bed should
be 4 feet broad and 8 feet long; on this we pile brush, wood, and heavy
logs, sufficient to keep up a strong fire for at least one hour, and
burn it. When the coals begin to die out, or before the soil is cold,
the bed is cleared off, and only the fine ashes are left; then it is
hoed thoroughly and as deep as the strongest heat has penetrated, after
which it is raked cross and lengthwise, until the soil is entirely
pulverized. Everything that might hinder the growing of the plants, and
their taking out afterwards, is carefully removed. On this bed a
thimbleful of seed, well mixed with a few handfuls of ashes or earth, is
sown broadcast, and tramped in with the feet, or slapped with the under
side of the spade or any other suitable instrument. After this, the bed
is thoroughly wetted with a weak manure-water, 12 lb. of hen-droppings,
or 1 lb. of soot in 10 gallons of water, and lightly covered with straw.
The seed-bed does not need much attention at first, if the weather
remains mild; but if there is danger of night-frosts, a layer of brush
must be made, and on this a layer of straw 2 to 4 inches thick,
according to the degree of frost. The straw is removed in the morning,
and put on again at evening, leaving it off entirely when the nights are
mild. Although the seed-bed is ready now, it must not be left to itself,
and requires some care. The plants must always have sufficient moisture,
and if timely rains do not fall, they must be watered with weak liquid
manure as often as needed. Should weeds appear, notwithstanding all
precautions, they must be removed with the utmost care. The
above-mentioned quantity of seed is sufficient to raise plants for one
acre.

“Whoever is in possession of a hot-bed can raise the plants much easier;
he can sow later and have plants earlier and with more certainty. But
even the common bed may be made into a kind of hot-bed. The burned and
hoed surface soil is removed and put on one side, then one foot of fresh
horse-dung is laid on the subsoil, and the surface soil put back again.
Boards may be placed around, cross-pieces laid over them, and the straw
covering put on these.

“The earlier the young plants are ready for transplanting the surer the
tobacco crop will be. March is the latest to make the seed-bed in the
open air, and June the latest for transplanting. Some time may be gained
by keeping the seed in damp earth in the room, and sow it in the
seed-bed just before it commences to sprout.”

Having selected a suitable location, says White, a Connecticut grower,
“next consider how large a bed you will need. That depends on the
surface you intend to plant out. A bed 2 rods long, by 12 feet wide,
will produce a sufficient number of good plants to set an acre. On such
a bed you should spread a heavy coat of good, fine, well-rotted manure,
at least 2 inches thick; let it be free from straw or other litter.
Then, with a good strong back, and long-handled spade (or other as you
prefer), spade up the bed, mixing in the manure very fine. Have ready
some fine dry brush, or the like, and spread over the whole surface; set
it on fire and burn to ashes. A small quantity will answer better than a
very large one, for if very much is burned, it is apt to do injury by
burning the soil. The less quantity will tend to destroy any foreign
seed turned up, and warm the ground. Having reduced the brush to ashes,
take a fine iron or steel rake, and proceed to pulverize very finely the
whole surface spaded up. After reducing it to as fine a state as
possible, and having made it flat and level, leave it till the next day.
Then, with your rake, carefully rake over the whole bed; it is now ready
for the seed. Sow the seed on broadcast; be careful to sow it even and
true. About two thimblefuls, or a little less, will be sufficient for
such a bed. It is better to have too little than too much, as in the
first instance, the plants will have room to form thick stalky roots and
well-spread leaves, while in the latter they will be crowded with
spindling tops as well as small roots. Having sowed your seed, take a
good heavy garden-roller and roll the surface down hard and smooth. In
the absence of a roll, a very good substitute can be made by taking a
piece of 2-inch plank, say 18 inches long by 14 inches wide; in the
centre, place an upright handle. With this spat the bed over, being
careful to do it evenly, and to leave the surface solid and level, the
reasons for which you will afterward discover in weeding and taking out
plants to set in the field. This should be done in the spring, as soon
as the ground will permit, say first of April, if the frost is out and
the ground settled. The roll or spatter will cover the seed sufficiently
without any other covering. To be able to sow the seed with the least
trouble, mix it in thoroughly with wood-ashes or plaster, before sowing.
To obtain plants earlier, you can mix your seed thoroughly in about a
quart of light chip dirt from under your wood-shed; put it in some
proper vessel, and wet to the consistence of soft putty, with water as
warm as can be well borne by the hand. Set it on the mantle-shelf in the
kitchen, not too near the stove or fire, but where it will keep warm. In
the course of a week or ten days, the seed will have cracked the shell,
and will show the small white germ or sprout. It should now be sowed
broadcast very evenly, and treat as before described. If properly wet at
first, it will need no more water to sprout the seed. Before sowing,
pulverize the mass containing the seed, to facilitate the sowing. Having
thus sown and rolled down your bed very nicely, it is well to have
something to protect it from the encroachment of the fowls. For this
purpose, spread a net of twine or a few brush over the surface, covering
it so that they may not disturb the surface by scratching and wallowing.
It may now be left till the weeds begin to make their appearance; these
you will need to extract by the roots as soon as the plants can be
distinguished; these last may be known by two very small nearly round
leaves opening over flat on the ground. Now procure a plank or some
substitute a little longer than your bed is wide, also two blocks 5 or 6
inches square, as long or longer than your plank is wide; place one on
one side of the bed, the other on the opposite side; on these two blocks
place your plank, and you will have a fine platform on which you can sit
and weed any part, or all, of your bed, by moving it as occasion may
require. To assist in pulling out the weeds, procure a moderately
sharp-pointed knife, and with the same grasped in the hand with the
thumb near the point, pinch out the weeds, being careful not to disturb
the dirt any more than absolutely necessary. The process of weeding must
be repeated as often as necessary, to keep the bed clean from weeds.”

[Illustration: FIG. 4.]

Obviously, no frost must be allowed to reach the seedbed when once
sowing has taken place. To prevent this, and for another purpose to be
described presently, Perry Hull advises the construction of a straw mat,
as shown in Fig. 4, which is very light to handle, easily made, and
sufficiently strong to last one season. It is made “by laying a
scantling (6 feet long, 1½ inches wide, ¾ inch thick) upon the barn
floor; place a layer of good straight rye-straw upon it, so that the
scantling will come about in the middle of the straw, then another layer
with the tips the other way, that it may be of uniform thickness in all
its parts (about 1½ inches thick). Place a similar scantling exactly
over it, and with sixpenny nails, nail them tight; with an axe trim both
edges straight, and to a width of 3 feet, and the mat is made. With
these the beds should be covered every night, cold or warm; in the
daytime they should be set up at the north side of the bed, at an angle
of about 65 degrees, by driving crotches just inside of the bed, for the
end of the scantling to rest in, the lower edge of the mat resting on
the ground, outside the bed.

“The plants, as soon as they are out of the ground, which will be in a
few days, require strict attention. The beds should be made high enough,
so that in fair weather a little water can be applied every night. After
the fourth leaf appears, manure-water should be used. Place an old
barrel near the beds, and throw into it ½ bushel of hen-manure, and fill
with water; after it is well soaked, use ½ pailful of it, and fill up
with clear water with the chill taken off. As the plants get larger, the
strength of the infusion can be increased, being careful that it is not
so strong as to turn the plants yellow. As soon as the plants are large
enough to be readily taken hold of by the thumb and point of a knife,
they should be thinned to about 144 per square foot, and kept free from
weeds. This plan is decidedly preferable to raising under glass. It is
less expensive, the plants are more hardy to set out in the field, are
got fully as early, and a little carelessness on a hot day will not ruin
the whole. It has been my method for the past 8 years, and during that
time I have never failed to have good strong plants ready for the field
between the 5th and 10th of June.”

Mitjen, whose essay on tobacco-growing in Cuba has been already
mentioned, recommends a system of shade frames borne on small tramway
trucks, as illustrated in Fig. 5—(_a_) seed beds, raised above the
surrounding level; (_b_) light pointed covers of thatch on a wooden
frame, and provided with grooved wheels; (_c_) rails on which the frames
run, facilitating their application or removal as the vicissitudes of
the weather may demand.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.]

_Preparation of the Field._—Land intended to be planted with tobacco
should receive several ploughings not less than 9 inches deep. As a
rule, clay requires to be more deeply ploughed than sandy or loamy soil.
It greatly conduces to success, if the land is allowed to lie fallow for
several months before planting the crop, to admit of the proper
preparation of the soil, by ploughing, rolling, harrowing, &c., and to
allow the attainment of as fine a tilth as is usual in gardens. No crop
will better repay the expense of proper preparation of the soil than
tobacco; the fineness of the leaf and the aroma of the tobacco depend to
a great degree upon this. The land should be ridged immediately before
planting. The distance apart at which to make the ridges is governed by
the quality of the soil and the sort of plant to be raised. With good
soil, the ridges must be farther apart than in a poor one, because of
producing larger leaves. The ridges should allow a passage between the
rows, for the purpose of weeding, hoeing, suckering, &c., without
breaking the leaves. In the lines, the plants may be 6 in.–1 ft. closer
than the ridges. In some places, a plough is run at right angles across
the ridges before planting, at the distance at which the plants have to
stand in the lines, thus forming small hills on which the seedlings are
planted.

_Planting._—Planting should take place only in the evening (or even at
night in India), unless the weather be cloudy, when it may be performed
during the whole day. Some hours before commencing to transplant, the
nursery should be thoroughly watered, to facilitate the removal of the
plants, without tearing their roots. If the plants are of even size, so
that all can be removed, the best plan is to take them out with a spade,
or trowel, leaving a lump of soil on each. But in most cases, it will be
necessary to take up each plant separately; this should be done very
carefully, holding with the thumb and forefinger as near as possible to
the roots, and drawing out the plants, if possible, with a little soil
adhering to their roots., The plants are taken at once in a basket to
the field for planting. An attendant going between two ridges places a
plant on each hill, right and left. One attendant is sufficient for two
planters, who follow immediately. The planting is nearly the same as
with cabbages, but requires more care, the plants being more tender, and
their roots and leaves springing nearly from the same point, they are
more difficult to handle. The plants should be placed in a hollow made
on each hill, which will serve as a reservoir for the water to be
applied, and also afford some shade.

In India, the plants are watered immediately after planting; they should
also by some means be shaded during the first few days, which can easily
be done when only a small area is planted, but is rather difficult to
manage on a large scale. In the latter case, the shade afforded by
planting in a slight cavity must suffice. If the plants have been taken
from the nursery with some soil adhering to their roots, and are kept
sufficiently moist during the first few days, few of them will die. When
the weather is dry, water should be applied at morning and evening, and
after that time, once daily until the plants have taken root, after
which, occasional waterings, varying with soil, weather, and kind of
plant, must be given. In dry weather, and with a soil poor in humus, one
watering every second or third day may be necessary, whereas with a soil
rich in organic matter, and in a moist atmosphere, watering may be
entirely dispensed with. During the first few days, the water is applied
with a watering-pot, held very low, otherwise the soil would be washed
from the plant-roots, and expose them to the direct rays of the sun,
causing death. The arrangement of the plants in what is known as
quincunx order, as shown in Fig. 6, is generally adopted.

[Illustration: FIG. 6.]

This part of the operations connected with tobacco-growing is described
at some length by Mitjen so far as the practice rules in Cuba. His
translator remarks that “as soon as the land has been prepared, it
should be furrowed at a distance of 1 yard between each two furrows.
This operation should be simultaneous with the planting, and should be
done, if possible, after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and on cloudy days,
so as to prevent the recently set plants from being scorched by the sun.
The furrows should run more or less from north to south, as, by making
them in this direction, the plants are less injured by the sun, or the
strong winds which generally blow about the planting season.
Immediately, and behind the man who is furrowing, another should follow,
placing the plants at every ½ foot all along the furrow, and behind them
another should at once set the plants, the first walking in the
distance, or bank, and the other in the furrow. The one should open the
land with his right hand, behind which, with his left, the other will
place the plant, being careful neither to double the stalk nor the
roots, and, letting the ground fall directly on the roots, should press
it lightly on them with his hand. The plants should be buried half-way
up the stalk, or, if the plant is small, it should be covered to where
the leaves spread. Care should be taken that the plants have no _dry_
mould sticking to their roots, and that no ground from the furrow falls
in the _centre or sprout_, and when the planting is going on, the ground
should not be too wet. The plants should be set on the side of the
furrow, and on that side which is next the setting sun, so that the
rising sun may strike upon them, and they may be somewhat protected from
the rays of the afternoon sun.

“Generally the plants wither after being transplanted, but on the third
or fourth day after they are set they begin to shoot up, and on the
fifth day or the sixth, those that have not taken root can be
distinguished. Then, and without loss of time, others should be
supplied, this operation being repeated at the end of another 5 or 6
days, so that the whole field may be well filled with living plants.
This is one of the most important operations for securing a good crop,
because the fields will require as much cultivation and labour bestowed
on them if they have vacant spots as if they were full and regularly
planted, and, of course, the yield will be less, besides many other
evils well known to practical _vegueros_.

“According to the best opinions admitted among _vegueros_, one man can
take care of 12,000 tobacco plants, and prudence dictates that no more
land should be planted than that which can be well attended to, as
experience shows that in exceeding this number for each man, instead of
proving advantageous to the planter, it is frequently the cause of
considerable loss. Excessive planting produces, at once, an increase of
labour, and if, unfortunately, a hard year should occur, occasioned by
caterpillars or other causes, it almost always happens that the man who
has only planted 12,000 plants, for each labourer he can command,
produces four times as much tobacco, and of a better quality, than he
who may have planted from 25,000 to 30,000 plants per labourer.

“When the plantations are out of proportion to the strength of the
labour which can be counted on, all the work becomes slowly and badly
done, and these faults most sensibly prejudice both the yield and the
quality of the crop, and consequently the interest of the planter.
Immediately after supplying the fields, the tobacco plants should be
carefully inspected, almost daily, in order to exterminate the
caterpillars of every kind that may be found, and this operation should
_always_ be made during the morning, because in the heat of the day the
worms are accustomed to hide themselves from the sun, and the wind
agitates the leaves too strongly to permit them to be handled without
risk of being broken or torn, especially when they are somewhat large.”

_After-cultivation._—After the plants have once taken root, they grow
rapidly. They are hoed when about 6–9 in. high, and the soil is drawn
from the furrows to raise the hills, maintaining a depression round the
stems. If the soil is not very rich, a special manure should be applied
at this stage of growth. The best manure generally will be nitre in a
liquid state, which can be applied in the depression around the plants
with a watering-pot. By applying it in solution and close to the plant,
less is required than when spread over the whole field. Some weeks
afterwards, another hoeing and heaping of earth round the plants will be
necessary. It is most difficult to say the number of hoeings which may
be required by a tobacco crop. The general rule to be followed is to
keep the soil loose, friable, and free from weeds. The more organic
matter the soil contains, the more will it remain loose and friable; the
less organic matter, the more waterings will be required, which causes
the soil to crust over, and to assume a close texture, and necessitates
frequent hoeings. As long as the plants have not spread much, the hoeing
may be done by a cultivator, followed by some men to perform the
heaping. Insects which attack the tobacco must be carefully sought for
and killed at once. They can easily be discovered in the mornings; if
not killed, they may destroy the whole crop in a few days. Turkeys are
invaluable for their grub-eating propensities.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.
THE TOBACCO WORM.]

Worms, in the American phraseology, here generally known as
caterpillars, are the _bête noire_ of the tobacco grower. The most
common is highly destructive also to the potato and tomato foliage. The
worm as it comes from the egg is so small as to be unobserved, but
having an enormous appetite, it devours rapidly, and soon grows to a
great size. When not feeding, it lifts up the head and fore-part of the
body, and remains apparently lifeless. From its resemblance in this
position to the Egyptian Sphinx, Linnæus gave the name _Sphinx_ to the
genus. The larva is of a light green colour, with whitish oblique
stripes, and has a horn upon the rear end of the body. Though it is
repulsive in appearance, it is perfectly harmless to touch, and may be
picked off with the hands without fear. After it has reached its full
size, it leaves the scene of its ravages and goes into the earth, where
it throws off its skin and becomes a brown-coloured chrysalis. The
curious projection, like a handle, at the end of the chrysalis, is a
sheath which holds the tongue of the future moth. The moth or perfect
insect is fully 2 in. long in the body and the spread of its wings
reaches 5 in. It is of a grey colour, with orange-coloured spots on each
side of the body. As there are five of these spots on each side, it is
called _Sphinx quinque-maculatus_, or Five-spotted Sphinx. The moths may
be seen towards night flitting about the flowers, from which they suck
the juices by means of their remarkable tongue, which is 5–6 inches
long. When the tongue is not in use, it is closely coiled up and hidden
between the two feelers. From the manner of their flight and feeding,
they are frequently mistaken for humming-birds, and are called
“humming-bird moths,” and “horn-blowers.” The moths should always be
destroyed if possible; by so doing we prevent the production of several
hundreds of most destructive worms. Naturalists make one or two other
species, which closely resemble the Five-spotted Moth, and are only
distinguished by characters which would not be noticed except by the
entomologist.

Judson Popenoe gives the following advice with regard to these pests.
“As soon as worms appear, which is generally when the leaves are as big
as a man’s hand, go over the tobacco, looking carefully at every plant.
The worms usually stay on the under side of the leaf; if you see a hole
in the leaf, no matter how small, raise it up and you will generally
find a worm under it. Worming can not be done too carefully. Miss one or
two worms on a plant, and before you are aware of it the plant is nearly
eaten up. When you find a worm, take hold of it with the thumb and
forefinger, giving your thumb that peculiar twist which none but those
who are practised in it know how to do, and put the proper amount of
pressure on, and my word for it you will render his wormship harmless.
Worming has to be continued until the tobacco is cut; the last worming
to immediately precede cutting and housing.”

Schneider remarks that “from the first starting of the tobacco plant, it
has its enemies. First appears a cutworm that works in the soil and eats
the roots off. Then comes a little caterpillar which enjoys itself on
the young leaves, and lastly the beautiful and large tobacco-worm, which
eats into the leaf, and in a short time leaves nothing but the
leaf-stems and stalk. The only remedies against these enemies are the
vigilance and industry of the planter—looking after them, digging up,
picking, and destroying once or twice a day, or as often as there are
any traces of them. Children, to whom premiums are offered, will be very
successful in destroying them. A herd of turkeys, if given access to the
tobacco-field, are a very valuable help. A negro from South Carolina
told me a few days ago, that a solution of blue vitriol in water,
sprinkled over the plants, will kill the worms. The remedy may be worth
trying. Of course the solution must be made weak enough, so that it will
not destroy the plants as well as the worms.”

On the same subject, White recommends the planter on the “next, or at
farthest, the second morning after having set your plants, go over to
see that the worms do not eat up one-half of them. You can tell where
they are and have been, by seeing a plant with a single leaf, and
sometimes the whole plant eaten off and drawn down into the hole
occupied by a large brown or black worm; you will see little ant-hills
like, and round holes in the ground; by poking around a little in the
dirt, you will find a worm very near the mouth of these little holes.
Destroy it, and all you can find, and thus save your crop. This
searching for worms must be kept up till they cease to do mischief. All
plants missing in the field should be renewed from the bed at the first
opportunity. The morning is the best time to find the worms, as they are
near the surface of the ground; later, they retire into the ground to
appear again near sundown, and work during the night and early morning.”

Thomas describes tobacco worms as “hatched from eggs deposited by what
is called the ‘tobacco fly.’ It is a large, dusky-brown, winged miller,
nearly as large as a humming-bird. It lays its eggs on fair evenings and
moonlight nights in July and August. It can be seen almost any clear
evening, among what are called ‘Jimson-weeds,’ sucking the flowers. The
eggs will hatch out in 24 hours, and the worms commence eating when less
than ½ inch long, and continue to eat till they attain the length of 4–5
inches. One worm, in 6 weeks, will destroy a plant so completely as to
render it utterly valueless. This pest is vastly more numerous in some
seasons than in others. Four years ago there were scarcely any; but for
the last three years they have been destructively numerous. The worming
of the crop, when they are numerous, is, by far, the most disagreeable
and tedious labour attending it. Much of the value of the crop depends
upon the care or inattention of performing this part of the work. The
crop may have been planted in good time—ploughed, hoed, primed,
suckered, topped, cut, and cured well; yet it may have been so riddled
by worms as to be comparatively good for nothing in market; hence, they
must be picked off and destroyed, and that promptly.”

_Topping and Suckering._—The plants will commence to flower about two
months after planting, when 2–7 feet high. When the flower-buds appear,
they must be broken off, and with them the top and bottom leaves. By
breaking off the flower-buds at an early date, the sap that would be
used in the formation of these organs flows to the leaves, which thereby
increase in size, and the outturn becomes much heavier than when the
plant is allowed to flower. But it is generally admitted that the leaves
lose much in aroma. To what extent the early removal of the flower-buds
impairs the quality has not been properly investigated. It is very
probable that the greater yield does not always compensate for the loss
in quality. The bottom leaves are generally of inferior quality, small,
torn, and dirty. The number of leaves to be left on the plant varies
greatly, according to species, quality of soil, and method of
cultivation. The minimum may be placed at 6, the maximum at 22. The only
rule to be observed is to retain as many leaves as the plants are able
to mature. Soon after the plants have been topped, suckers appear in the
axils of the leaves; these should be broken off as soon as they come, at
least they should not be allowed to grow longer than 4 inches. If the
suckers are not removed soon after their appearance, the size of the
leaves will be seriously impaired. After the plants are half-grown,
great care must be taken when going through the lines, whether for the
purposes of hoeing, watering, or suckering, &c., not to tear the leaves.
In India, hoeing and suckering should be performed only when the leaves
have lost part of their turgescence, attained at night. Insects,
however, must be killed during the morning and evening; at other times,
they are not easily found. Leaves which are torn are not fit for
cigar-wrappers, and must often be thrown on the refuse heap as
valueless, even if well developed and of good colour.

The plants commence to ripen about three months after being planted;
this is indicated by the leaves assuming a marbled appearance, and a
yellowish-green colour. The leaves also generally become gummy, and the
tips bend downwards. It is considered that tobacco intended for snuff
should have attained more maturity than tobacco for smoking. Nessler
found that the less ripe leaves contained more carbonate of potash, and
burnt consequently better, than the more ripe ones, but the total amount
of potash was larger in the latter than in the former; cigars made from
less ripe leaves kept the fire when lighted for a shorter time than
those made from more ripe leaves.

In the words of Judson Popenoe, the “tobacco is ready to top when the
button (as the blossom or top of the stalk is called) has put out
sufficiently to be taken hold of, without injury to the top leaves. As
tobacco is not regular in coming into blossom, it is the usual practice
to let those stalks that blossom first, run a little beyond their time
of topping, and then top all that is in button as you go. There is no
particular height to top at, but as a general thing 16 to 18 leaves are
left; judgment is necessary to determine where to top; if topped too
high, 2 or 3 of the top leaves are so small as not to amount to much; if
topped low, the tobacco spreads better; if just coming out in top, reach
down among the top leaves, and with thumb and forefinger pinch the top
or button off below 2 or 3 leaves; if well out in top, break off several
inches down from the button and 4 or 5 leaves below it. As soon as the
tobacco is topped, the suckers begin to grow; one shoots out from the
stalk at the root of each leaf, on the upper side. When the top suckers
are 3–4 inches long, the suckering should be done; with the right hand
take hold of the top sucker, with the left take hold of the next, close
to the stalk, and break them off, and so proceed, using both hands,
stooping over the stalk, taking care not to injure the leaf. Break the
suckers about half-way down the stalk, the balance being too short to
need removing until the second suckering. In about 2 weeks from topping,
the tobacco is ready to cut; now give it the last worming and suckering,
breaking all suckers off down to the ground, and remove every worm, if
you don’t want your tobacco eaten in the sheds.”

Another process, called “priming” by Schneider, is thus described by
him. “The object of priming is to break off the leaves that come out too
near the ground, which, when large, lie flat on it, and therefore rot or
get dirty. This work should be done early, the sooner the better, so
that the plant does not lose much strength by their growing. These
leaves must not be torn off, especially not downward, because the plant
would be injured, and instead of throwing the strength gained into the
other leaves, it would be thrown away to heal the wound. The distance
from the ground at which this priming should be done, depends upon the
variety grown and upon the time at which the work is done: 4–6 inches is
the right distance. This priming is not done by every one. One farmer
may practise it, while his neighbour does not; but sorts the lower
leaves separately, and sells them as so-called ‘lugs,’ for which he gets
a little over half the price of the good upper leaves. Those who do not
prime, must generally top lower, or they must risk that the whole plant,
or at least the upper leaves, will not mature fully.

“Topping is done to throw the strength, which would go to develop seeds,
into the leaves. It must, therefore, be done as early as the seed-buds
show themselves, if not earlier. This work must be done, and the
question is, how to do it. If there are but few leaves on the plant,
even these will not ripen, if it is not topped; if there are many, then
the grower has the choice either to break off the flower-stalk only or
to take off one or more leaves also. This should be done in answer to
the questions: 1st. Is there time enough to ripen even the upper leaves
fully? and, 2nd, Are the plant and the soil strong enough to ripen all
leaves, even the upper ones? The answers to these queries will decide
the way of topping. If yes, he takes off the flower-stalk only; if no,
he tops to 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 leaves, according to his judgment, that
is, he allows so many leaves to remain as will have a good fair chance
of reaching maturity.”

As Bishop remarks, cultivators are not agreed on the time and place for
topping tobacco plants. “Some favour the plan of topping as soon as the
blossom-buds appear, others prefer to wait until in blossom. I think
there is no harm in letting the earliest plants bloom before being
topped, but after once beginning, they should be broken off as soon as
the buds begin to look yellow, and the latest plants as soon as the buds
appear. A new beginner will be apt to top the plants too high. The
object is to ripen and develop as many leaves as the plant can support;
if topped too high, the top leaves are small, and when cured are nearly
worthless, and the other leaves are not as large or heavy, whereas, if
topped too low, then you lose one, two, or three leaves, which the plant
might have supported. As a general rule, a plant just in blossom should
be topped down to where the leaves are full 7 inches wide, leaving on
the stalk from 15 to 18 leaves. This will leave the stalks about 2½ feet
high in good tobacco. Later in the season, top the plants sooner and
lower. Let as many of the earliest plants as will be wanted remain for
seed. One plant will furnish seed enough to put out 5 acres, at least.
These should be wormed and suckered like the rest, only leaving the
suckers above where you would ordinarily break it off, were you to top
it. The piece should now be looked over every other day, to break off
the suckers and catch the worms. This should be done as soon as the dew
is off in the morning, and towards night, as the worms are eating then,
and can be found more readily, while in the heat of the day they remain
hid. Great care should be taken not to break off the leaves while going
through it, as they are nearly all wasted before the crop is ripe. As
soon as the top is broken off, the sap is thrown into the leaves,
causing them to expand rapidly. In the meantime suckers will start out
just above where each leaf joins the stalk; these must be broken off, or
the growth of the leaf will be checked, as the sap will be thrown into
these young sprouts. Those nearest the top will start soonest, and will
require breaking off twice before the plant is ripe; those at the bottom
must all be broken off. This is the hardest and slowest work of all. Not
only will these suckers check the growth of the plants, but if allowed
to grow will soon break or pry off the leaves, or cause them to grow out
at right angles from the stalk, rendering them more liable to be broken
off. It is a good plan to have a piece of corn on the north side of a
piece of tobacco, or, at least, two or three rows, to shield the growing
plants from winds.”

Priming is defined by Thomas as “pulling off the bottom leaves to the
number of 4 or 5,” and he says that any plant large enough to be topped
ought to be primed first. All conditions being favourable, he considers
that in Ohio, a “tobacco plant will ripen in as many weeks, from the
time of topping it, as there are leaves left on the stalk. Consequently,
if the topping is done early, it can be topped high, if later, it must
be done lower, and if still later, still lower. Planters differ very
much at this point. Some will top as high as 16 leaves, others 10, and a
great many at 8. My own opinion is, that a plant topped at 10 will weigh
as much as one at 16, topped at the same time, and on the same kind of
land. About a week after a plant has been topped the suckers will begin
to grow. A sucker is only an auxiliary branch which shoots out at the
junction of the leaves to the stalk. If not removed, they will grow, and
bloom, and ripen seed, and in doing so they will ‘suck’ the parent-stem
of much of its vitality. When the crop of suckers are about 1 inch long
they can be pulled or rubbed off, and it should surely be done. In about
a week or 10 days a second crop of them will appear. These must also be
promptly removed, and then the third crop will show itself, which must
be similarly treated. The longer they are permitted to remain on the
plant, the more they retard its development, and delay its maturity.”

CHAPTER III.
CURING.

Growing tobacco is only half the battle. Having raised a crop to a state
of perfection, the next object is to cure it for the market. This branch
of the business demands fully as much care and skill as the purely
agricultural part preceding it, and is perhaps equally influenced by the
weather. The best crop ever grown may be completely spoiled by
injudicious conduct during the drying, &c., while a growth of moderate
quality may be made the most of by extra care and trouble.

_Harvesting._—The leaf being matured, it should be harvested only after
the dew is off the plants, and not on a rainy day. There are two modes
of harvesting—gathering the leaves singly, and cutting down the whole
plant. Gathering single leaves admits of removing them from the plant as
they ripen; the bottom leaves are removed first, and the top ones are
left some time longer, until they have attained full maturity. The
cultivator is thereby enabled to gather his crop when it possesses the
greatest value. This plan necessitates, however, a great amount of
labour, and, in a hot climate, the single leaves are apt to dry so
rapidly as not to attain a proper colour, unless stacked early in heaps.
But stacking in heaps involves great risk of the leaves heating too
much, and developing a bad flavour, whereby the tobacco loses more or
less in value. For Indian circumstances generally, cutting the whole
plants is better than gathering the leaves singly.

For cutting down the plants, a long knife or chopper is used. A man
takes the plant with his left hand about 9 inches from the ground, and
with the knife in his right hand, cuts through the stem of the plant
just above the ground. If the plants are sufficiently “wilted,” he may
lay them on the ground and proceed to cut down others; if, however, they
are so brittle as to cause the leaves to be injured by laying them down,
he should give them to another person, to carry them at once under
shade. During bright weather, the plants should not be allowed to lie
exposed to the sun on the ground, or they will become sun-burnt, and
lose in value. A temporary shed should be erected; it might be simply a
light roof of palm-leaves or thatched straw, supported by poles; a large
tree standing near will also serve the purpose. Under this shade,
parallel rows of posts are put up, and on the posts, light poles or
strong bamboos are fixed horizontally. The parallel lines should be
about 4½ feet apart and the horizontal poles about 4–5 feet from the
ground, according to the height of the tobacco plants. Rods are cut in
lengths of 5 feet, and laid over the parallel bars, so that they will
project about 3 inches at each end. A very light and convenient shelter
sometimes used for sun-drying in America, consists of rods laid
crosswise, supported on four upright poles, and covered with a sloping
roof of boards. The plants that have been cut are immediately brought
into the shade, tied in pairs, and hung across the rods. They must not
be hung so close as to press each other, and the rods should therefore
be 6–12 inches apart. The framework should be so large as to allow of
one day’s cutting being hung. The plants are left thus for one day,
during which time they will be wilted sufficiently to allow handling
without tearing the leaves. In a very dry wind, mats or other cover
should be laid against the plants most exposed to it, or their leaves
will dry rapidly, shrivel up, and remain green. Next day the leaves are
carted to the drying-shed. A cart supplied with a framework, in order
that the plants may be hung as they were hung under the shade, is the
best means. Perpendicular uprights at each corner of a cart or waggon
are fixed together by horizontal poles. The plants may be hung so close
as not to press heavily on each other, 200–400 being brought to the shed
at one time.

As a general rule, Judson Popenoe thinks “tobacco should be cut in about
2 weeks from topping, at which time the leaves assume a spotted
appearance and appear to have fulled up thicker; double up the leaf and
press it together with thumb and finger, and, if ready to cut, the leaf
where pressed will break crisp and short. Do not let your tobacco get
over-ripe, or it will cure up yellow and spotted: it is better to cut
too soon than too late. Take a hatchet or short corn-knife, grasp the
stalk with the left hand, bend it well to the left, so as to expose the
lower part of the stalk, strike with the knife just at the surface of
the ground, let the stalk drop over on the ground without doubling the
leaves under, and leave it to wilt. The usual practice is to worm and
sucker while the dew is on in the morning, and as soon as the dew is off
to commence cutting. There are some who advocate cutting in the
afternoon, say 3 o’clock; let it wilt and lie out until the dew is off
next day, and take it in before the sun gets hot enough to burn it. I
prefer the first plan, because a heavy dew may fall on the tobacco, and
next day be cloudy, leaving the tobacco wet and unpleasant to handle.
After cutting, allow the tobacco to wilt long enough to make the leaves
tough, so that they can be handled without tearing. Great care is now
necessary to keep the tobacco from sun-burning; cutting should be
commenced as soon as the dew is off, and all that is cut should be
housed by 11 o’clock, unless it is cloudy; from 11 to 2 o’clock the
direct rays of the sun on the tobacco, after it is cut, will burn the
leaves in 20 minutes; after 2 P. M., as a general thing, there is no
danger of such burning, the sun’s rays not striking direct on the
tobacco. Have a waggon at hand, with stiff boards, 12 feet long, laid on
the running gears; as soon as the tobacco is wilted so that it can be
handled without breaking, commence loading on both sides of the waggon
on the front end, lapping the tobacco the same as loading fodder,
keeping the butts out on both sides—build about 2 feet high, and so on
until loaded.”

Any one accustomed to the cultivation of the crop, says Bishop, “knows
when it is ripe,—the veins of the leaves are swollen, the leaves begin
to look spotted and feel thick and gummy. The ends of the leaves will
crack on being doubled up. After it is ripe, the sooner it is cut the
better, as it is liable to injury by frost or hail, and will not
increase in weight as fast as the worms eat it, and the leaves get
broken by catching them. The plants will generally ripen from the 1st to
the 15th of September; they should not be cut immediately after a heavy
rain unless in danger of frost, as a portion of the gum washes out, but
should be allowed to stand 2–3 days. The cutting should not begin until
the dew is off; a cloudy day is best, for when the sun shines hot, they
will not have time to wilt sufficiently before they will sunburn, which
may be known by the leaves turning white and looking puckered. Commence
on one side of the piece, laying the plants all one way, in order to
facilitate loading. The plants may, most of them, be broken off easily,
by gently bending them over one way and another. Small plants, which
will not break, may be sawed off with an old saw or cut with a hatchet.
If the sun shines too hot, the plants should be turned over carefully to
prevent burning. After lying an hour or two to wilt sufficiently, so as
not to break by handling, they may be carted to the barn.”

In the words of Schneider, “when the plant begins to yellow, it is time
to put it away. It is cut off close to the ground, by turning up the
bottom leaves and striking with a tobacco-knife, formed of an old
scythe—such knives as are often used for cutting corn. Let it lie on the
ground for a short time to wilt, and then carry it to the tobacco-house,
when it may be put away in three different modes, by ‘pegging,’
‘spearing,’ and ‘splitting.’ Pegging tobacco is the neatest way and
best, yet the slowest. It is done by driving pegs about 6 inches long
and ½ inch or less square into the stalk, about 4 inches from the big
end of the stalk; and these pegs are driven in with a mallet, in a
slanting direction, so as to hook on to the sticks in the house. It is
then put on to a ‘horse,’ which, by a rope fixed to one corner, is
pulled up in the house and there hung upon the sticks, which are
regulated at proper distances. A ‘tobacco-horse’ is nothing more than
three small sticks nailed together so as to form a triangle, each side
being 3–4 feet long. Spearing is the plan I pursue; because it is neat
enough and decidedly the quickest plan. A rough block, with a hole
mortised in it, and a little fork a few inches from the hole for the
tobacco-stick to rest upon, one end being in the hole and a spear on the
other end of the stick, is all the apparatus required; the plant is
then, with both hands, run over the spear and thus strung upon the
sticks, which, when full, are taken to the house and hung up at once.
There are ‘dart-spears,’ like the Indian dart, and ‘round spears.’
Either will do. ‘Splitting’ tobacco is admired by many, who contend that
it cures brighter, quicker, and is less likely to ‘house-burn’ or injure
from too thick hanging. This mode is pursued easily by simply splitting,
with a knife made for the purpose, the plant from the top to within a
few inches of the bottom, before it is cut down for housing.”

Another planter observes that “when a plant begins to ripen, it will
gradually assume a ‘piebald’ or spotted appearance. As the ripening
advances, the spots will become more distinct and individualized. When
the spots can be distinguished at the distance of 10 steps, and the
leaves of the plant turn down, become stiff to the touch, and their ends
curl under, the plant is ripe, and should be cut. From the moment it has
arrived at maturity, it begins to decay. Remember that all the plants in
your crop are to be hung after they are cut—hung on something, and by
something. Prepare a knife—a butcher-knife answers well—have it
sharp—enter it at the top of the plant, where the top was broken off.
Enter it centrally; press it downwards, dividing the stalk into two
equal portions. Continue it downwards till within 5 inches of the
ground. Withdraw the knife, and cut off the stalk close to the ground.
The plant is now cut. Lay it on the ground with the lower end towards
the sun. The plants should be placed in rows as they are cut, in order
to facilitate the labour of gathering them. There is one caution to be
heeded in cutting tobacco, and that is, do not let it be burnt or
blistered by the heat of the sun. In some varieties of tobacco this will
be effected in one hour; in others, not so soon. But this danger can be
evaded in two ways: first, by cutting late in the evening; second, by
throwing it in the shade, or covering it so as to weaken the power of
the sun. Some varieties of tobacco will wilt (that is, become soft or
limber) in 2 hours; others, in a longer time, according to the degree of
sun-heat.”

Bishop tells us that when “the plant begins to yellow or turn spotted,
it is time to put it away. It is cut off close to the ground, turning up
the leaves, and cutting off close to the roots, by a single stroke of a
hatchet, or tobacco-knife, made of an old scythe, such as are used in
cutting up corn. After cutting, let it lie on the ground a short time to
wilt, when it may be handled without danger of tearing the leaves; it is
then to be taken to the house to be ‘hung.’”

The condition of the leaf, according to Pursley, may be judged in the
following manner:—“When the tobacco is ripe, it has a yellow faded
colour, and becomes brittle; the surface of the leaf is rough and
ridged. By bending the leaf short between the fingers, it will break
before it will double. The sticks to hang it on should be in readiness.
The best mode of hanging or stringing is with a V-shaped spear, made of
iron or steel. The spear has a socket, large to admit the end of the
stick. The sticks should be sharpened at one end, to fit the socket;
should be 4 feet 6 inches in length, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. A
stick of these dimensions will hold 8 plants. The tobacco should be cut
off just below the bottom leaf, then turn the plant upside down, and let
it remain so till the sun wilts it. When it is wilted it can be handled
without breaking; then it should be taken up and laid in piles of 8
stalks each, placing the butts of the stalks towards the sun, to prevent
it from sun-burning. When it is sun-burnt it turns black, and it cannot
be cured any other colour than black, which ruins its sale. The sticks
should be strewed along, one stick to a pile; place the spear on the end
of the stick, and set the stick upright; then take up the tobacco, one
stalk at a time, and thrust it on the stick, letting the spear pass
through the stalk, about 6 inches from the butt end; then take the spear
off and take up the stick, and shake the tobacco out straight, and set
the stick up with the butts towards the sun.”

Some tobacco-growers, remarks Pursley, “prefer splitting the stalk from
the top down to within about 6 inches of the butt, then hang it on the
sticks. But I cannot agree with them, for it is more difficult to
handle, and is apt to slip off the stick, when moving it; besides, the
tobacco cured in this manner is not so heavy as if it was speared. It
dries out quicker by being split, but the substance evaporates instead
of remaining in the leaf. I am not certain that it injures the taste of
the tobacco, but I am certain that split tobacco is lighter than that
which is speared. Some prefer hanging the tobacco on scaffolds in the
field until it is ready to be put in the barn and cured by fire. But it
is the safest to house it as soon as it is strung on the sticks.
Scaffolding is done by placing poles on forks, about 4 feet apart, and
4–5 feet from the ground; then hang the tobacco between the poles,
letting the ends of the sticks rest on the poles. This procedure is
unsafe, for the rain may come and saturate the tobacco and wash off the
gum, thus making it light and chaffy.”

The maturity of tobacco is defined by Schneider as when the leaves,
which have hitherto been green, on holding them “against the sun, show
yellowish, reddish, or brownish spots, feel sticky, and when bent break
off short and clean. Before this period sets in, the _drying-house_
should be in good order. This house is built to give room for the free
hanging up of the tobacco, so that it is protected from the sun, wind,
and rain, and is allowed to dry by the free circulation of the air. Any
building, therefore, will answer which has a good roof, boarded sides,
and enough windows and air-holes (which can be closed at will) to keep
up a mild circulation of air inside, and also to keep out strong and too
quick drying winds. If the tobacco is grown on a large scale, the house
should have large doorways to drive a waggon in and out. There must be
sticks all over the house, either cross or lengthwise, and these sticks
must be ready and in their places. Now the work of harvesting the crop
is commenced on a clear or cloudy but not rainy day. The mature plants
(those not ripe are left longer on the field if not too late in the
season) are cut off near the ground, two of them tied together by the
butt-ends and hung up in the field on riders, which rest on two forks
fastened in the ground, and they are left there until evening to wilt;
then they are brought to the drying-house and hung up. The tobacco is
hung up on the upper sticks first, and the work continued downward; care
is taken that the sticks are 6–8 inches apart, also that the plants are
not too near together on the sticks, because the air should have free
passage among the plants, and when they touch or rub against each other,
unsightly spots are produced. The sticks must be pretty wide, so that
the two plants which are tied together, and one of which hangs on each
side, are held well apart. Later, when the tobacco has dried off
somewhat, the sticks and plants may be moved a little nearer to each
other; but the plants on the upper sticks must not touch those on the
lower; they should be so arranged that one lower stick is just in the
middle of the space between two upper ones.”

Another method of harvesting is recommended by Schneider for those “who
cultivate tobacco on a small scale, or who have hands and time enough.
As all the leaves on the plant do not ripen at the same time, but the
under leaves are always a little earlier than the upper ones, they may
gather the crop in the leaf, that is, taking only the matured leaves
from the stalk; this must be done daily, and so long as there are leaves
on the stalk. In this way the crop will be harvested slower, and it will
cost more, but the tobacco will be of more even quality and better. The
leaves are strung on strings instead of being hung up on sticks, with
the same care and precautions as recommended for hanging up the whole
plants. After the leaves are off, the stalks must be cut off or pulled
up, for they would still vegetate, and needlessly take away nourishment
from the soil. No more tobacco, leaves or plants should be cut than can
be taken to the drying-house and hung up the same day.”

Perry Hull’s instructions commence with a caution that the plant should
never be cut while the dew is on the leaves; “but wait until it is off,
say 10 o’clock, and what tobacco is cut from that time until 2 o’clock,
if the day is hot, will need close attention. In short, the whole
operation, from cutting in the field, to the hanging upon the poles in
the barn, needs care, as a little carelessness or inattention will
damage many dollars’ worth. No hand should be allowed to handle it, who
is unwilling to use care, and perform every operation just as directed,
or else by breaking of leaves, or sticking fingers through them, &c., he
may do more damage than his wages amount to. The plant to be cut should
be taken by the left hand, not carelessly by the leaves, but carefully
by the stalk, and as carefully leaned over, to give a chance to use the
axe, which should have a handle about one foot long. Cut the plant with
one blow, laying it carefully down, with the top to the sun; if it is
laid otherwise, the leaf will burn before the main stalk of the leaf
will wilt sufficiently to admit of handling. Even in that position, it
may burn unless attended to, but not as soon. After lying until pretty
well wilted, and before burning, turn it over and wilt the other side.
When so wilted that the main stem has lost most of its brittleness, load
as explained above; taking hold of the butt of the stalk, lay them
carefully upon the arm, and again as carefully upon the load. If the day
be very hot, use expedition in getting to the shed, else, if the
distance be great, the load may heat, which will spoil the leaves for
anything but fillers.”

When the plants are carried into the shed, “if quite warm, they should
be left only one plant deep upon the floor and scaffolds. If the day be
cool, and they are to be hung up soon, they may lie much thicker. They
should never be hung upon a pole less than 5 inches in width. If sawed
pieces are used, saw them just that; if poles are used, see that they
are about that; for if anything of less width is used, the plants will
hang so close, that the chances of ‘pole-burn’ are greatly increased.
They are fastened to the pole by a half hitch. (Their position is
represented by Fig. 9 on p. 95.) It requires two hands to hang them, one
to hand them, another to tie them. The poles should be about 18 inches
apart, and the number hung upon a 12-foot pole will depend upon the
size, from 24 to 30, so regulating them, that when thoroughly wilted,
they will scarcely touch each other. If hung thicker than this, a little
unfavourable weather will cause more or less pole-burn, sweat and mould.
After the tobacco is hung, the building should be so thoroughly
ventilated that there will be a circulation of air through every part.
The ventilators should be kept open during all fair weather, until well
cured down. During storms, shut the doors and exclude as much wet as
possible; being cautious to give it a thorough ventilation again, as
soon as the rain ceases. When it is cured enough to be husky in dry
weather, exclude all hard winds, that will crack and damage the leaves.
When the leaves are so much cured, that there is nothing about them
green but the stem, a moderate quantity of wet weather will not injure
it, but rather improve the colour; as the sap of the stalk works through
the stems into the leaves, during moist weather until the stalk has been
well frozen; after this takes place, the tobacco should be picked.”

White estimates that in “the course of 2 or 3 weeks after topping, the
plants will begin to ripen, which may be known by the change in colour
of the leaf. It will look spotted with spots of lighter green, a
yellowish green. When fully ripe the leaf may be folded together, and
moderately pressed without breaking or cracking. Now is the time to
begin to harvest it. All this is supposed to take place before there is
any appearance of frost, as a very light frost often does great damage.
All touched by it is ruined, and good for nothing. The crop must be cut
and hung, even if not fully ripe, before any frosts occur. If there are
strong appearances of a frost, you can secure the crop by cutting it
down, and putting it either under your sheds, or by putting it in piles,
not over 1 foot deep, in the field, and covering with straw. It is well
to let it stand, if not fully ripe, as long as it can safely, for the
cool nights have a tendency to thicken up the leaves. The cutting is
best performed with a hay-knife, with a sharp, rounding point, in the
following way: stand at the right-hand side of the plant or row; with
the left hand grasp the stalk down 2 or 3 leaves from the top and lean
it back on the row; now, with the point of your cutter held in the right
hand 2–3 inches from the stalk, close to the root under the bottom leaf,
with a sudden stroke or dab, sever the same from the root; lay it gently
down back in a line with the row. Proceed in like manner to cut what you
can take care of, and not get injured by sunburn. Have two rows of butts
together, lying the same way for after-convenience. This cutting is done
after the dew is off in the morning, or in the afternoon. Let it remain
until the top side is somewhat wilted; then commence to turn it over.
Step between the two rows with the butts lying toward you, and with each
hand take a plant on either side; raise them from the ground, and by
twisting the hands in or out, turn the plants, laying them either to the
right or left, as most convenient, at right angles to their former
position. Go through with the 2 rows, and you have the next 2 with the
butts the other way; take these and lay the tips directly opposite those
first turned, and you have an alley, with the butts of the plants of two
rows on either side, which will be convenient to drive in to load. When
wilted sufficient to be handled without breaking, if in the forenoon,
you can load it from the rows as they lie; if in the afternoon, it is
best to put in hakes, which is done by putting five plants at the
bottom, and on these four, decreasing one on each layer, and terminating
with one on the top; this will protect it from dew and wet. The best
cart for hauling the tobacco is a one-horse waggon, geared long, with
merely a platform resting on the axles. Such a cart can be driven
between the rows and loaded from either side, having the butts of the
plants uniformly one way, and laid crosswise on the platform. Great care
should be used, in all the handling, not to bruise, break, or tear the
leaves. Having cut all, excepting your seed-plants, strip all the leaves
from these, and set a stake to each to tie it up to; let the stake be a
foot taller than the plant; it will answer to keep a piece of old carpet
from breaking down the stalk when you wish to cover it up on cold
nights. Let the seed-plants stand till the pods or bolls are cured to a
brown, and the seed is ripe; then cut off the top of the seed-stalk, and
hang it up in some dry and safe place, where it will be ready to shell
and use the next season; only the ripest and best pods should be used.”

Libhart alludes to the existence of several ways of hanging cut tobacco
plants, but specifies the two following as the best and shortest:
“first, splitting and hanging it upon laths or poles and leaving it to
partially cure in the field; secondly, nailing it to rails with
lathing-nails, at once in the shed. The former method, for high northern
latitudes, is by far the best, as it will cure in a much shorter time
(and thus prevent the destruction of the crop by freezing in the shed),
by the drying of the pith of the stalk, which is the main reservoir of
moisture. It is performed as follows:—Have a chisel about 1 foot long
and 3 inches broad, the sharp end not bevelled on one side, but coming
to an edge by a gradual taper on both sides (a common tenon-saw will do
pretty well); place the edge of the chisel in the centre of the stalk
upon the end where it has been topped, and push it down, guiding it in
its course so as not to break or cut off any leaves, to within 3–4
inches of the ground; the stalk may then be cut off with a hatchet, or
with the chisel if it be made pretty strong. The splitting may be done
in the morning when the leaves are too brittle to admit of the stalk
being cut down, and then when the sun has sufficiently wilted the
leaves, the stalk may be cut and left to lie until it will bear handling
without breaking the leaves. The lath being previously prepared, 4 feet
in length and about 1 inch in thickness on one edge, and ½ inch on the
other, and 2 inches broad (or poles cut in the forest will answer pretty
well); then have trestles prepared high enough to allow the stalks to
hang suspended without touching the ground, and set far enough apart in
the field to admit of the lath reaching from one to another; now place
the stalks of tobacco upon the lath (previously laid across the
trestles), by slipping them over and down until they will hang
perpendicular and 6–8 inches apart, so they will merely touch, without
crowding too much. It may be left hanging thus exposed to the weather
until the leaves are so wilted that the stalks hang apart without
touching, and the lower leaves begin to dry, when it is taken off the
trestles, each lath entire, and laid upon a waggon and hauled to the
drying-shed.”

Before the tobacco is ready for harvesting, Hudson suggests the
preparation of “a supply of sticks for hanging. Sticks 4 feet long and 1
inch square are most convenient; 12 sticks to every 100 plants will be
sufficient. For sun-curing, there should be a shed built at one or more
convenient points of the patch. This may be done by placing posts in the
ground to support the poles, as represented in Fig. 8. The poles _a_
being for the support of the smaller poles _c_, upon which the
tobacco-sticks are placed, and _b_ for the cover, when necessary that it
should be shedded.”

[Illustration: FIG. 8.]

Mitjen’s translator gives the following account of the Cuban practice.
“Tobacco should be cut during the wane of the moon; and although most
_vegueros_ say that it is impossible to do this, because the leaves
commence to ripen both during the new and the full moon, and would be
over-ripe before its wane, we can, nevertheless, assert that we know
persons who never cut their tobacco during the first quarter, or when
rain has made it again green. These persons have never experienced any
difficulty; rather, on the contrary, they are those who always obtain
the best prices and the greatest money results. Cutting tobacco during
the first quarter of the moon, or when vegetation is renewed in the
leaf, is one of the principal reasons why the leaf becomes pricked with
holes, and this very frequently even before it is taken from the
plantation to the market. The system generally observed is, in cutting
tobacco, to take off, at once, all those parts of the plants which may
be really or apparently ripe, and to load up the poles indiscriminately,
without any division between the pairs of leaves (_mancuernas_). This
system is highly prejudicial. The leaves of the same plant are not all
of the same quality, neither do they all at the same time acquire the
same degree of ripeness. Those of the crown, or the pairs at the top of
the plant, immediately next the flower or seed, receive the sun direct
on their upper surface, and are the first to ripen, whereas the lower
ones, being shaded by the upper ones, remain still in an unripe state;
moreover, the lower leaves at the foot of the plant, and even those of
the fifth or fourth pairs (_mancuernas_), compared with those of the
first, second, and third pairs, are inferior in quality, and,
comparatively speaking, may be termed leaves without substance. The
contact of these leaves with the upper ones frequently occasions putrid
fermentation on the poles (_cujes_) and in the packs (this is vulgarly
called _sahorno_), especially if there is much dampness in the
atmosphere. When this misfortune happens in a tobacco curing-house all
the weak leaves will be lost, and the strong ones will be so injured
that the best quality of _capa_ would turn to _tripa_, and that of bad
consistency.

“The cause of this destruction, from which the _veguero_ suffers more or
less in the best of crops, may be easily explained. The curing of
tobacco is nothing more than a series of fermentations. It ferments on
the poles (_cujes_), ferments in the heaps (_pilon_), and ferments in
the bales. All these fermentations are requisite for obtaining a good
colour and smell, but it is better that each quality or consistency of
tobacco should ferment apart. Tobacco of good strong quality, which is
that produced by the upper leaves, naturally suffers a much stronger
fermentation than the weak ones, because the former contain a larger
proportion of juice; as the lower leaves have less substance, the
fermentation is naturally weaker and lasts less time; but if the leaves
are put in contact with those of a stronger quality, the fermentation
would be kept up by the latter, and it would indispensably result that
the weak ones would rot, and their contact be injurious to the stronger
ones. But by separating, in the field, the leaves of different
consistencies which each tobacco stalk produces, this evil is avoided,
and the dry rot is rendered impossible, unless no care whatsoever is
given in the curing-house. Therefore, the mode of reaping should be
reformed. It is best to cut the tobacco when it is thoroughly ripe, and
in the wane of the moon, making this operation in three sections or
cuts, each of which should always be placed on separate poles, in
separate rooms, heaps, and carefully picked.

“The first cut should consist only of the pair of crown leaves, and for
the poles which they are hung on, a special corner in the curing-house
should be set apart. After the first cutting, and 3 or 4 days of sun,
the second and third pairs of leaves will be ripe, and may be cut at one
and the same time, care being taken to place them on separate poles and
rooms; and, lastly, 3 or 4 days after the second cutting, the remainder
of the leaves may be gathered, but the last leaf near the ground should
not be taken, as it has no consistency, and therefore no value as
tobacco, and only serves to increase the work and give discredit to the
class of tobacco.

“Tobacco should be cut during the hottest part of the day; each pair of
leaves should be placed on the ground face downwards, so that the sun
may strike on the under part of the leaf, and in this state it should be
allowed to remain a sufficient length of time to wither, after which the
pairs of leaves (_mancuernas_) should be picked up one by one, placed
evenly on the arm, with the upper side of the leaf inwards, and each
armful should be carried to and placed on the poles (_cujes_), which
should be prepared beforehand near the spot where the tobacco is being
cut. Two forked sticks should be placed strongly in the ground, and on
these the pole should rest. After the tobacco leaves have been placed
carefully on these poles and been allowed to wither, they should be
carried to the curing-house before the sun has time to dry them. This
operation must be performed by two labourers, who can carry each time
two poles, placing the end of each on either shoulder, so that, in
walking, the leaves on one pole may not cut against those on the other.
These poles of leaves, when brought to the curing-house, should be fixed
or hung by the points on the lowest stages, but so high that the points
of the leaves do not touch the ground, and sufficiently apart one from
the other that the leaves may not touch, because, being brought in from
the field warmed by the sun, it is not judicious to allow them to touch.
When the sun is not sufficiently strong to wither the cut leaves,
reaping should not be continued. The tobacco should be so arranged on
the poles that the pieces of stalk should gently touch one with the
other, but without crowding.” However, if the weather should be damp,
and the leaves large, space should be left between the pairs.

_Drying._—The drying-shed is prepared beforehand to receive the tobacco.
When cultivating tobacco on a small scale, any shed will do, provided
that it contains a sufficient number of doors and windows to admit of
regulating the circulation of air. A roof made of straw seems to answer
very well. The shed should be high enough to admit of hanging 3 rows of
tobacco in it, one above the other. The bottom tier for the first row
should be about 3–5 feet from the ground, according to the size of the
plants, which should not touch the ground; the second tier should be 3–5
feet higher than the first; the third, 3–5 feet higher than the second;
the whole being 10–17 feet high from the bottom of the shed to the
highest tier. The tiers must be so arranged that the tobacco when hung
on the upper tier should not touch that of the lower one, and that the
rods on which the tobacco has been hung in the field fit exactly. The
windows must face each other, and be placed between the tiers, so that
the bottom part of the window is on the same level as the tier. When
cultivating on a large scale, the same arrangements are made, but the
building is higher, and is provided with a cellar, in which to place the
tobacco for the purpose of stripping, &c.

The drying-shed being ready, the plants immediately on arrival at the
shed are transferred from the conveyance, on the rods, to the lowest
tier. No rule can be given as to the distance the rods should be placed
from each other, as it varies according to the species of the plant, the
degree of ripeness, and especially the state of the weather. The purpose
of hanging the plant here on the lower tier is to cause the leaves to
dry gradually, and assume a good yellow colour, and to create a slight
fermentation in them, while allowing such a circulation of air between
the plants as will facilitate the gradual escape of the moisture from
them, and prevent the injurious development of ammonia and other
combinations that give rise to bad flavour in the tobacco. How to attain
this, exercises the judgment of the cultivator, who, by frequent
examination of the plants, and by careful observation of the changes
going on in the leaves, will soon find out the right way.

The rods should be placed closer together—(_a_) when the plants are much
wilted on reaching the shed; (_b_) when the air is very dry, and the
temperature is high; (_c_) when the leaves of the plant are very thin
and contain little water. Plants which have the leaves closely arranged
on the stems must be hung farther apart. When the air is very dry, and
there is a strong breeze, the windows must be closed. If this is not
sufficient, water may be poured on some heaps of sand, to create a moist
atmosphere in the shed. When the stems of the plant are very thick, and
consequently contain much sap, it is beneficial to open the windows,
especially at morning and evening, for some hours, that the wind may
pass over the butt-ends. As the windows are situated above the lowest
tier, the leaves will not be much affected by it.

The leaves must be examined carefully every day; one plant may progress
very well, whereas another close by may decompose too rapidly, and
another too slowly. Although no change of weather occur, it may yet be
necessary to alter the position of the rods, in order that each plant
and leaf may receive air in such a degree as is most conducive to its
proper decomposition. Any change in the weather necessitates different
arrangements. The plant should remain on the lower tier until the leaves
have turned yellow, which will take place within 6–10 days, according to
circumstances; after this, they are hung on the upper tiers. There they
should be more apart, each plant hanging free. When on the upper tiers,
the tobacco may be said to be in the free-hang; and when on the lowest
tier, in the close-hang. The object in hanging the plants more apart on
the upper tier is to dry them more rapidly there, and for this purpose,
the shutters may be opened, unless there be a strong dry wind. The
light-yellow colour of the leaves should change into a dark
yellow-golden or light-brown colour. After hanging on the upper tier for
about a week, the veins of the leaves will be nearly dry, leaving only
the midribs pliant. The drying of the leaf and the changing of its
colour proceed gradually, commencing from the margin and proceeding to
the midrib. At this time, the plants are hung closer together, the
evaporation from the leaves being little, and the space and sticks being
required. The plants hanging on two or three sticks may be hung on one
stick. All the windows may be kept open from this time; the tobacco may
also be brought into an open shed, or even hung outside exposed to the
sun. In about a week more, the midribs will be entirely dried up, and
the tobacco will be fit for stripping. In some climates, it may be
necessary to facilitate the drying by the aid of artificial heat. For
this purpose, heated air should be conducted into the drying-shed,
without the fire, or the products of combustion, being admitted.

Pursley warns tobacco growers that the plant should not be exposed to
the weather after it is cut, but should “be immediately conveyed to the
barn and hung up. As soon as it gets about half yellowed, a slow fire
should be started under it; if made too hot at first, the tobacco will
turn black. About the second day the ends of the leaves will begin to
curl up; then the fire should be gradually increased, till it heats the
tobacco blood warm; it should be kept up so till the leaf is thoroughly
cured. If this rule be strictly adhered to, the tobacco will be cured
bright. The brighter it is cured the better it sells.

“Our barns are generally built of logs, some have frames. The barn
should be made tight up to the tobacco, which should hang about 8 feet
from the ground; above this leave cracks or air-holes, sufficient for
free ventilation. A barn to hold 2½ acres of tobacco, which is as much
as one man can attend to, should be 24 feet square. It should have 5
tiers of poles, the lowest about 6 feet from the ground; these should
extend across the barn, and be fastened at each end into the walls. The
poles should be 4 feet apart, and the tiers directly one above another.
The sticks which contain the tobacco should be placed within 8 inches of
each other, on all the poles except the bottom ones, which should be
left vacant directly over the fire. When tobacco is nearly cured, it
very readily catches fire. If there be a wet spell of weather before the
stalks are thoroughly dry, build a fire under the tobacco sufficiently
hot to keep it dry. It should not get damp and pliant until the stalks
are dry, then it may be allowed to get damp.”

Libhart recommends that the shed “be constructed of timbers strong
enough to resist storms, and boarded ‘up and down.’ About every 3 feet
one board should be hinged, to readily open and shut. If it is intended
to split and lath the tobacco, the inside of the shed must be divided by
rails into widths to accommodate the lath, and likewise into tiers, one
above the other, far enough apart to allow the stalks to hang from, well
separate. The frame of rails and timbers inside the shed destined to
sustain the weight of the tiers of tobacco (which, when green, is
exceedingly heavy) should be strongly constructed, so as to preclude the
possibility of breaking down, for if this should happen to the upper
tier, in all probability the whole would be tumbled to the ground.”

The housing of the crop proceeds, says Dennis, “as fast as it is cured
up on the scaffold, or as the indications of rain make it necessary,
care being taken not to bruise or tear it in hauling. The sticks of
tobacco may be piled upon the waggon or cart, and hauled to the barn and
hung up, commencing in the highest part of the building, and filling up
as you go downwards. If the leaves are pretty well cured, you may hang
it so as to touch, without crowding it; if not, there should be a little
space between. If a cold, rainy spell comes on, you will need to
introduce some means of artificial drying. A trench is sometimes dug,
and a log or two of wood placed in it, and a fire made, taking care to
remove the tobacco immediately over the fire, and avoiding much blaze.
This is dangerous, and a better plan is to make a trench across the
floor of the barn, of mason-work, covered with sheet-iron, and leading
from a furnace outside the house on one side, to a chimney at a safe
distance on the other. The colour and quality of tobacco may be improved
by hanging it closely and curing by artificial heat, watching that it
does not become ‘funked,’ or moulded, while curing; but the best plan
for a beginner is to dry it safely, and make a sure crop, experimenting
as he goes along, in order to improve the quality, as he may safely do
so. When the stalk becomes dry and entirely cured, which will not
usually be for some weeks, the crop is ready to ‘strip.’ The hanging
tobacco yields to the influence of a rainy day or a foggy morning, and
‘comes in case,’ or softens, so it will not crumble. It must never be
handled when dry. When it is just soft, not damp, or when it is barely
so soft that it can be handled (if it is approaching that softened
state), it may be taken down and taken off the sticks, and ‘bulked,’ by
piling it alongside a partition, or by itself, with the butts of the
stalks outward in every direction, and the tops or leaves in the centre.
Several hundred pounds may be thus bulked down, and can be worked up
while the hanging tobacco has gone out of case, and cannot be touched.”

According to Bishop, it usually requires about 12 weeks to cure the
plants thoroughly, that is, so that there is no more juice in the leaves
or leaf-stems; it matters not if the main stalk is not dry, you need not
expect it, and there will be green leaves that will not cure but freeze
while green and are worthless. He calculates that to “hang an acre of
good tobacco requires a building about 30 by 24 feet with 15-feet posts.
Two girths should be framed into the posts on all sides of the building;
one 5 feet above the sill, and the other 10 feet above, to rest the
poles on, also to nail the covering boards to. This gives a space of 5
feet for each tier of plants. Have a beam run across the centre of the
building, with a post in the middle with girths to correspond with those
on the side, extending lengthwise through the middle of the building for
the poles or rails, each 12 feet in length, to be laid upon; or if
sticks are to be used (as hereafter described) lay rails or poles once
in 4 feet for the sticks to rest upon. Place a ventilator upon the
centre of the roof, and have one board in every 4 feet hung on hinges,
to be opened or closed at pleasure. If made with a floor and a cellar
underneath, to let down the tobacco into when ready stripped, it is all
the better. We will now return to the crop, and commence hanging it. A
common way of doing it is by tying with common twine. Tie the end of the
string tightly around the butt of one plant, and by placing it against
the side of the pole nearest you, put another plant on the opposite side
and carry the string over and around it, placing the plants alternately
on each side of the pole until filled, then fasten the string, place the
pole in the right place (it should be nearly right before it is filled),
and commence on the next one in like manner, having some one to hand the
plants as wanted. As to how thick to hang it depends upon the size of
the plants, but in good-sized tobacco about 9 inches on each side is
close enough, that will be from 30–32 on each pole of 12 feet; place the
poles 15–18 inches apart. Another method of hanging, much practised and
approved by many, is to hang on slats or sticks sawed out 4 feet long,
1¼ inches wide, and ⅝ inch thick. Chestnut timber is generally used
here. The common lath answers very well for this purpose. An iron made
something like a chisel is used to slip on to one end of the sticks,
which are sharpened a little at one end to receive it. It is made about
8 inches long, wedge-shaped at the small end, and a socket ½ inch by 1
inch to slip on to the sticks. When ready for use have a place fixed
near where you unload, to hold one of these sticks out at right angles
from a post and about 4 feet from the ground. Let the plants be handed
you from the load and slip them on the stick, piercing the stalk about 6
inches from the butt; put 6 or 7 plants of medium size on each stick,
thicker if smaller; when hung it will appear as in Fig. 9. As each stick
is filled, it may be carried to its place in the barn. In getting them
to the top of the barn, they may be handed up with a pitchfork, lifting
them by the middle of the sticks. These sticks should be about 8 inches
apart. I think a greater amount can be put into a given space by this
method without danger of sweating, as it is more evenly distributed. The
loose leaves that have been broken off while handling, may be cured by
placing 4 or 5 together and securing to a small pole, in the same way as
plants are hung with twine.”

Hanging is done in the following manner:—“The ‘hanger’ stands in an
erect position, having for a foothold the poles on the tier below the
one which he is hanging; he has a ball of tobacco-twine (a twine made of
flax, procurable at any seed-store) which for convenience is carried in
the bosom of the loose blouse generally worn; he stands with the left
side to the pole on which the tobacco is to be hung, left arm over it;
the stalk of tobacco is handed to him by a boy whose duty it is to pass
it to him; the stalk is then taken in the left hand and placed against
the side of the pole, the butt projecting an inch or two, around which
projection the twine is wound from left to right (the twine having
previously been fastened to the pole); the next stalk is placed on the
other side of the pole, just far enough along so that the leaves of the
two stalks will not touch and ‘pole-burn,’ and so continue, the stalks
being hung alternately on the sides of the pole, as seen in Fig. 9.
After the house is filled, some put fires under the crop to hasten its
drying; but it is found by experience that the practice is not a good
one.”

[Illustration: FIG. 9.]

[Illustration: FIG. 10.
TOBACCO-HOUSE.]

Bishop describes the common size of tobacco-house as about 100 feet long
by 24 feet wide, posts 17 feet long, and built upon a wall 18 inches
high; the buildings are framed with girths from bent to bent, for
boarding up and down, the bents being 12 feet apart. The external
appearance is illustrated in Fig. 10. “The boards for closing up the
building should be 1 foot wide, and at intervals of about 5 feet a board
should be hung with light strap hinges, to serve as a ventilator to
admit light and dry air, and to exclude damp. These ventilators or doors
must be closed on frosty nights, but in fair dry weather should remain
open. The tobacco poles, the ends of which rest upon the bents, should
be about 13 feet long, 2 inches thick by 6 inches wide, of some light
timber, such as elm or basswood, and when hung with tobacco should be
8–10 inches apart. A large door should be placed at either end for
ingress and egress. The poles, of which there should be 4 tiers, are
laid from bent to bent, resting the ends of the cross beams in the bent,
tiers 4 feet 4 inches apart.” A sectional view of the barn is shown in
Fig. 11.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.]

White suggests that stables, sheds, and barn floors can be arranged “so
as to hang up an acre or two by setting stanchions with holes mortised
in them to hold rests for your poles about 4½ feet apart. Set such ones
on either side with a very stout rail, one end in either post. Set these
as often as you may need them, depending on the length of your poles. No
poles should be so long as to sag very much when filled with plants. But
for another reason I would build a house expressly for hanging and
storing tobacco. Make it of good, liberal dimensions, 30 feet wide, by
40 or more in length; posts, 14 feet, with two tiers of girths for poles
to rest on; one tier can hang on the beams, and another above on the
purlin plates, thus hanging 4 tiers under the same roof. Ventilate by a
ventilator in the roof, also by hanging every other board of the siding
on hinges. For such a building, I would have a tight floor to the whole,
and underneath a good walled cellar lighted with suitable windows, and
chimney in one corner, with a stove, to keep fire in in very cold
weather, to work by when stripping the tobacco. For poles to hang on, I
would get, if possible, straight, slim, white pine staddles about 4–5
inches in diameter; shave the bark off smooth, and we have poles that
will last and remain straight a lifetime, if kept housed.

“Having provided all required, even to the strong cotton or hemp twine
for tying up the tobacco, have a good man to hand it to you. Commence by
tying the end of your twine around the butt of a plant, about 2 inches
from the end, in a slip or loose knot; place this plant at one side of
the pole near the end, your hand carrying the twine over the pole; on
the opposite side of the pole, about 6 inches along, place another
plant, and with a single turn of the twine around it from before, round
back, and by drawing it close, the plant is secure. Proceed thus till
you have filled your pole; then with a knife, cut a notch in the pole
and draw your twine through, and it is fast. You can now cut it off and
commence another pole. Place the poles far enough apart to prevent the
tobacco crowding; about 1 foot will do. In this manner you will have a
row of plants hanging on each side of the pole about 1 foot apart. The
man, in handing up, should take the plant by the butt, carefully from
the pile or load, raise it up and gently shake it sideways, to shake off
dirt and loosen the leaves when stuck together, and also adhering to the
stalk; with the other hand, take hold about midways of the stalk and
pass to the one tying up, enabling him to receive the plant in such a
way as to not need to shift it in his hand, but to place it immediately
into its position beside the pole. All leaves which are accidentally or
otherwise broken from the plants, should be gathered up each day, and
hung three or four in a bunch, the same way as the plants, or string
them on a string; the latter is the best way—with a large needle-thread,
a suitable cord, and on to this string the leaves one at a time, by
running the needle through near the end of the stem. These can be hung
by attaching the two ends to some suitable nail, and having it remain
stretched. In this way they will cure very well.

“Having housed the whole of your crop, give it all the air you can, by
opening doors, shutters, &c. Let them remain open during pleasant
weather, remembering to close them in wet, damp weather, as well as
nights; and also shading the crop so far as may be from the direct rays
of the sun, to prevent blanching. When it has nearly cured, shut it up
and let it remain till perfectly cured. This may be known by the stem of
the leaves being dried up, so that no green sap will show itself. If you
have hung in your stables and other places that you wish to use, it will
be necessary to take it down and strip it at the first favourable
opportunity, which is described farther along. The separate building
elsewhere described is to be preferred, as it does not necessitate any
immediate hurry in getting it down. In such it can be allowed to hang
and freeze and thaw two or three times, which improves the colour and
weight, and will give more leisure in stripping, &c. Watch a favourable
time, when it rains and is damp, to open your buildings, and let in the
damp air till the tobacco is damped, so that it can be handled without
any danger of breaking the leaves. It need not get too damp, as in that
case it is liable to injure in the pile before you can get it stripped.
It will gain dampness from the stalk.”

The Cuban tobacco planter, according to Davis, “would force the drying
in wet weather and retard it in dry weather, as either extreme is
injurious; the wet is injurious, as the leaves, when they change from
the natural colour to a pale yellow and light brown, easily mildew; when
dry, as before-named, it is taken down. Damp weather is best, so as not
to break the leaves, which are immediately stripped from the stalks and
sorted into as many grades as the market may require, from one to four
and even more grades, as ‘bright yellow, dull, seconds, and
ground-leaves.’ But I see no necessity for but three grades, as the
over-ripe, the unripe, and the just ripe at cutting, and when properly
dried they show their grade plain enough to sort. After being stripped
and sorted, they are to be separately piled (‘bulked’ some say) in
courses of leaves—2, 4, or 6 tiers of leaves, stems end out, and 3–4
feet high. The leaves should be kept straight in all these handlings.
The heap should be made up each day separate, as it begins to make
tobacco in 12 hours or so, by fermenting, which is variously called
‘curing,’ ‘sweating,’ ‘conditioning,’ &c. Soon as the heap begins to get
warm it should be re-piled, putting the inner tier out so as to equalize
the fermentation; some re-pile several times and some none; but the
fermentation should be kept equal, and if covered with old sail-cloth it
can be regulated. This fermenting is allowed to proceed for 4–6 weeks by
careful manufacturers; as it is the process that makes the tobacco to
suit the taste of tobacco-epicures it should be carefully done, yet many
do it in a careless manner, and thus have an article so poor as to not
find many lovers. At the end of the 4–6 weeks the Cuba grower would have
one side of each leaf slightly moistened with the decoction of tobacco,
which is made by letting some leaves rot in clean water, and then he
would tie it up in hanks of 25 or 30 leaves, and hang one day for
drying, then take it down and pack it in tight casks as being best. From
these leaves he would make the best Cuba cigars. The Virginian grower
would not wet his tobacco after it had fermented, but simply tie it in
hanks so that 5 or 6 would weigh a pound, and then pack it in his
hogsheads for market; and this, after it had lain from one to six months
in the ‘conditioning bulks.’”

Burton, translating from Mitjen, goes more fully into the Cuban
practice. He advises firstly that the “shoots and the sprouts should be
put apart from the principal tobacco, with which it should never be
mixed, neither in the heaps nor in the packages. The day after the
tobacco has been cut and placed in the curing-houses, the poles should
be pushed together, making thus a compact mass, with the object, that by
means of the warmth, which this contact produces, the fermentation
should commence, called _maduradero_. In this state it should remain 2
or 3 days, according to the consistency of the tobacco and the state of
the atmosphere. By means of this first fermentation it acquires an equal
and a yellowish colour: by the second or third day, at the latest, this
colour should be uniform, and then without loss of time the poles should
be spread apart, and given all the ventilation possible, so that
fermentation may not continue, and the drying of the leaves may be
facilitated—care being taken that they are not exposed to the dew, the
sun, nor to sprinkling of water, should it rain. As the tobacco dries,
the poles should be hung on higher pegs, so as to leave the lower ones
unoccupied for the fresh leaves brought from the fields. This operation
should be performed early in the morning whilst the leaves are flexible
and soft; because later in the day they become crisper, and are more apt
to tear.

“It is not judicious to allow the tobacco to dry too precipitately, by
exposing it to a very strong current of air, because strong wind greatly
injures its quality; many leaves break, and that silkiness of appearance
is destroyed which good leaves should have, and which it is desirable to
preserve. During heavy winds the doors of the drying-house should be
kept closed; they should also be kept closed if there is much dampness
in the atmosphere occasioned by heavy and continuous rain. Dampness
causes mildew, which shows itself first in the points of the leaves, and
is the commencement of the rot. Under these circumstances, and to check
this evil, it is convenient to spread, or part the poles a little; and
if the rains, or the excess of humidity continue, fires should be
kindled and smoke made in the curing-houses, opening at the same time
the doors and the windows, so as to facilitate the circulation of air
whilst the smoking is going on.

“After the tobacco is thoroughly dry, it should be placed on the highest
beams, or pegs, of the framework which support the poles, squeezing them
compactly together. This must be done in the morning whilst the leaves
are soft, and all this should be done with a view of protecting it from
the effects of change in the atmosphere. The house should, after this,
be kept closed, until it is time to make the heaps.

“The object of heaping up the tobacco is to produce a second
fermentation, so as to equalize the colour of the leaf and wear out of
it that excess of gluten or resinous matter which is natural to the
plant; this fermentation makes the leaves more silky and ductile, and
gives them a more agreeable flavour. The place for making the heaps
should be prepared beforehand, in one or more of the rooms of the
tobacco-house, by making a kind of box lined with _yaguas_ (sheets of
palm-tree bark) at the bottom and the sides, the base is a boarding on
which should be placed a sufficient quantity of dry plantain leaves,
which serve as a bed for the heaps.

“In the months of April or May, when the rainy season commences, the
poles which are on the highest pegs of the scaffolding should be taken
down and placed somewhat apart, one from the other, on the lower pegs.
The doors of the house should be left open at night, so that the
humidity from the atmosphere may enter, and when, in the morning, the
tobacco is found to be soft and silky, it is fit to be placed in heaps.
The pairs of leaves should then be collected in armfuls, with all the
bits of stalks placed in one direction; the leaves that may be found
doubled or crooked should be smoothed out, and each armful should be
placed in layers in the heaps, placing the first layer at the bottom
with all the woody pieces of the stalk touching the _yagua_ which forms
the sides of the case; other layers should be placed with the stalk
reversed, and in this manner, crossing the leaves, the pile should be
raised up level. When a pile has a sufficient height, another, and
another, is made until the tobacco is finished or the case is full, so
that each heap may form a compact mass of leaves protected by the pieces
of stalk all round, which should never touch the leaves, but only touch
each other. When the heaps have been thus made, they should be covered
with dry plantain leaves, or palm skins, and, in front, by palm leaves.

“Tobacco should not be packed thus when it is too damp, because a very
strong fermentation would ensue, which, if kept up longer than
necessary, would pass to putrefaction. The tobacco only requires to be
soft, or flexible, before packing, so as to produce a certain degree of
heat, neither is it convenient to pack tobacco when too dry, for then it
would not ferment at all, nor would any beneficial results be produced.
When it has been packed sufficiently soft, it undergoes after the second
or third day a degree of heat of 110° to 120° F. in the centre of the
heap, and if it does not acquire this degree of heat it is because it
has been packed too dry.

“We have already said that reaping or cutting tobacco should be
performed in three distinct sections, preserving always a distinction,
consequently the crown leaves should form one heap, or one set of heaps;
the second and third pairs another, or others; the fourths and the
fifths others; and lastly, the _capaduras_ (second shoots from the same
plants) others. This system, besides having the advantages which we have
in another place described, greatly facilitates the sorting of the
leaves, as the different qualities are from the first kept apart, and
scarcely any other work remains to be done than that of taking out the
broken leaves. Tobacco should be kept for at least 30 days in heaps,
after which, sorting and choosing the leaves may commence, beginning
first with the heaps of the inferior qualities.”

_Stripping._—Stripping may be performed at any time, provided the
leaves, after being once properly dried, have again become pliable. For
stripping, such a number of plants as will furnish work for several days
are taken down on a morning, when the plants have absorbed some
moisture, and have become elastic; they are put in a heap, and properly
covered, to check evaporation. If, however, the night air should be so
very dry that the leaves cannot absorb sufficient moisture to become
pliable, a moist atmosphere can be created either by steam, or by
pouring water on the floor, or by keeping vessels with water in the
shed. If this cannot be done, the tobacco must remain hanging until
there is damp weather. Under no condition should the tobacco be stripped
when not pliant, that is if the leaves are so brittle that they would
break when bent or rolled. The best arrangement is to keep the
drying-shed and stripping-room separate, since the latter requires to be
more moist than the former. A cellar under the drying-shed is best
suited for stripping. It should be large enough to admit of the erection
of a scaffold to receive the tobacco.

Pursley looks upon stripping as being labour suited to damp weather. He
says, “the lugs, shipping, and manufacturing, which are worst, medium,
and best qualities, should be separated at stripping. The ‘lugs,’ or
worst quality, are found at the bottom of the plant; they are chaffy and
light leaves, and should be stripped from the stalk and tied in bundles
by themselves with all of the ragged, black, and injured leaves. The
second quality, or ‘shipping tobacco,’ is a grade above the lugs; it is
the red or brown tobacco; this should also be tied in separate bundles.
The best, or ‘manufacturing,’ is the finest and brightest leaves, and
should be put in bundles by itself. In stripping, the stems of the
leaves should be broken off as close as possible to the stalk; this adds
to the weight of the tobacco. In forming a bundle, the butts of the
leaves should be placed evenly, and closely together, and pressed
tightly in the hand; then a leaf should be folded to form a wrapper 2
inches in width; then wrap it tightly and smoothly around the butts of
the leaves, winding it from the end down, about 2½ inches, then open the
bundle in the middle, and tuck the wrapper-leaf through the opening, and
draw it snug, so that when the opening is closed the wrapper-leaf will
remain; this forms a bundle which we call a ‘hand of tobacco.’ The hands
should be strung on sticks, and hoisted up in the barn on the
tier-poles; 18–20 hands may be put on each stick, at equal distances
apart.”

Libhart expresses his opinions on stripping in the following words. “At
the setting in of a warm, drizzling, wet, foggy spell of weather, the
shed must be opened on all sides to allow the damp atmosphere to pervade
the whole interior; after the dry leaves have become damp enough to
allow handling in any degree without breaking, the stalks must be taken
off the lath or pulled down and laid in heaps about 18 inches or 2 feet
high, and any desired length; if it is not intended to strip it
immediately, it should be conveyed to a cellar or other apartment, where
it will remain damp; it should not, however, be suffered to remain
longer than 2 or 3 days in heaps, without examination, as there is
sometimes sufficient moisture remaining in the stalks or frozen leaves
to create heat and rot the good tobacco. If found to be heating, it
should be changed about and aired and be stripped immediately. If found
to be drying out, further evaporation may be checked by covering the
heaps with damp straw or corn-fodder. Tobacco is usually stripped into
two qualities, ‘ground-leaf,’ or ‘fillers,’ and ‘wrappers’; the leaves
that lie next the ground, generally from 2 to 4, are always more or less
damaged by sand beaten on by the rain and other causes, hence they only
command about half the price of the good tobacco or ‘wrappers.’ The
ground-leaves are taken off first and tied up separately in bunches.
With a bunch clasped in one hand, take a leaf and wrap it around
(beginning at the end of the bunch), confining the end under the first
turn, continue to wrap smoothly and neatly until about 3 inches of the
leaf remains, then open the bunch in the middle and draw the remaining
part of the leaf through. This forms a neat and compact ‘hand,’ that
will bear a great deal of handling without coming open. After the
ground-leaves have been removed, the good leaves are stripped off and
tied up the same as the ground-leaves, with this exception: the leaves
of each stalk should be tied in a bunch by themselves, to preserve a
uniformity in colour and size, as tobacco is sold in the market
according to colour and size, therefore if the leaves of a large and a
small plant, or of a dark-coloured and a light one, be tied up together,
it at once diminishes the appearance and value of the crop.”

[Illustration: FIG. 12.
HAND OF TOBACCO.]

Dennis describes stripping as being “performed by holding the plant, top
down, with the left hand, while with the right hand the leaves are
pulled off, taking care to have the stems all even in the hand, so that
the ends are together. When 10–15 leaves have thus been grasped by the
right hand, change the handful to the left hand, and with the right,
select a leaf and wrap it around the stems at the end, so as to bind
them altogether and cover up the ends, then split the other leaves apart
with the finger, and pull the end of your wrapping-leaf through, and you
have a ‘hand’ of tobacco. A small ‘hand’ of leaves, uniform in size and
colour, will be found the most desirable shape to tie it in, resembling
Fig. 12. The bottom leaves of the plant, and all torn and defective
leaves, should be tied up by themselves, and are known as ‘lugs.’ These
‘hands’ should be ‘bulked’ again, with the wrapped end out, and covered
with straw, or anything that will retain the ‘case,’ and if subject to
immediate sale, may be boxed up or hauled to market. If boxed, it should
be put in tight boxes—if hauled, it should be kept covered until
unloaded. Care must be taken to avoid ‘high case’—extreme dampness or
softness in bulking tobacco after it is stripped—as it may be ‘funked’
in bulk, and ruined; and it should not be packed in that condition when
it is liable to remain long. It is a crop that is never off of hands.”

According to Perry Hull, stripping, or, as he terms it, “picking,”
should not take place till about December; “at least not until the _fat
stems_ (main stems of the leaves, which are not thoroughly cured at the
butt-end) have mostly or all disappeared, which they will have done by
that time, if the crop reached maturity before harvesting. The
operations of picking and assorting are by many, who make only two
classes or qualities of the tobacco, carried on at the same time. By far
the preferable way is, especially if there is a very large crop to pick,
to take off the leaves during damp or wet weather, tie them into bundles
of 15–20 lb., with twine, and pack it away into cellars, or wherever it
can be kept without drying up. It can then be assorted in any kind of
weather, thus gaining considerable time, as two will pick and tie up in
this way as much during one wet spell as 6 hands would, assorting and
hanking up, at the same time. Another reason why the last practice is
preferable is, that, by the former, the assorting can be but
indifferently done; whereas, by the last, it can be done as carefully as
desired. Tobacco should not be allowed to get too wet before picking; in
fact, should not be allowed to get wet at all, so as to feel wet, only
just damp enough to make the leaves pliable, so as to handle and pack
without breaking or feeling husky. If allowed to get wet, before
picking, it is next to impossible to get it dried to the proper state
again so uniformly but that some of the leaves will still be too wet,
while others will be dry enough to crack and break. So if the rains are
long enough to get it too wet, which they often are, by all means let it
remain upon the poles until the next wet spell.”

_Sorting._—Tobacco intended for smoking should be carefully sorted when
stripped. There should be four sorts: 1st, large, equally good coloured,
untorn leaves; 2nd, leaves of good size and colour, but torn; 3rd,
leaves of inferior colour, and bottom leaves; 4th, refuse, shrivelled-up
leaves, &c., to which may be added the suckers No. 1 leaves, when thin,
elastic, and of good sorts, are mostly valued as wrappers (outside
covers) for cigars, No. 2 may also be used as wrappers, but are less
valued than No. 1; they are adapted for fillers and cut tobacco. The
different sorts are kept separate. The best plan is to let the most
intelligent man strip the leaves from the stem, and at once separate
them according to quality. The leaves should then be made into hands,
i.e. 10–20 leaves should be tied together by twisting a leaf round the
end of the stalks, each sort being attended by a special man, to avoid
mixing. The leaves of the first sort being large, 10–15 will be
sufficient for a hand; more are required of the other sorts. When making
the hands of the two first sorts, each leaf is taken separately,
smoothened on a flat board, and left there while another is treated in
the same way, continuing thus until a sufficient number is ready to make
a hand. When the hand is ready, it is laid aside, and a weight is placed
upon it to keep the leaves smooth.

To sell well, according to Perry Hull, tobacco “should be assorted into
three classes or grades, Wrappers, Seconds, and Fillers. The wrappers
will include the soundest, best-coloured leaves, the colour (a dark
cinnamon) should be as uniform as possible; this quality should include
nothing but what is fit for wrappers. The Seconds, which are used as
binders for cigars, &c., will include the small top leaves, of which, if
the tobacco was topped too high, there will be one or two to each
plant—the bad colours, and those leaves somewhat damaged by worms and
bad handling, but not so much so as to be ragged. The third class, or
Fillers, will include the balance of the crop, bottom leaves, ragged
leaves, &c. The tobacco should be done up into hanks of about ⅓ lb.
each, or about what can be encompassed by the thumb and fingers, winding
at the butt with a pliable leaf, drawing the end through the hank to
secure it.”

The Cuban system of sorting is described at considerable length by
Mitjen, whose remarks are interpreted by Burton as follows. The
operation consists in “separating one from the other the different
leaves, according to their strength and quality, and dividing the
produce of the crop into various classes. These are, in practice, styled
_Libra_, 1st quality; _Quebrado_, 2nd quality, broken; _Injuriado de
primera_; _Injuriado de segunda_, _de tercera_, _de cuarta_, _de
quinta_, _de sexta_, _de setima_; _Libra de pie_, and _capadura_.

“Under this classification it is presumed that attention has been
bestowed, not only to the special quality of the leaf, but also to its
size, and its state, whether whole or broken; but it is very seldom that
exactness is found in this classification, because but very few persons
possess the requisite skill which such a complicated mode of sorting
requires. Moreover, by the abuse of mixing in one heap all kinds of
leaves, frequently brought in from the fields all mixed together, the
proper sorting of tobacco becomes a very complicated affair.

“This kind of classification and nomenclature is, moreover, absurd, and
does not positively represent fixed qualities, under the denomination of
which, prices might be arranged which would serve as a guide to the
merchant as well as the grower. In a word, the names, with which the
different qualities of tobacco are to-day distinguished, signify
nothing, and it is ridiculous to be guided in business by them. Until
this kind of classification and nomenclature is changed, it is
impossible to quote the mercantile prices for the different qualities,
because the name does not represent the quality; and this confusion
tends greatly to the prejudice of the planter, and the merchant; and
hinders attaining the perfection after which we should strive.

“We have shown that the practice of making a classification of seven
_Injuriados_ must not be taken as absolute. There are better modes of
sorting in which a separation of 8, and even 9 _Injuriados_ should be
made, and others, and by far the greater proportion, in which only 5
_Injuriados_ should be separated; so that the quality which, in one
sorting, would appear under that of fifths—being the lowest of the
crop—would be equal to eighths, or ninths, if picked more carefully; and
the fifths, in a sorting, whose lowest class may be sevenths, is about
equal in quality to that of thirds of other pickings, whose lowest class
would be fifths, if both crops had produced equal kinds of tobacco.

“There is even more to confirm our opinion. Supposing two crops equal in
all respects, and that each planter makes a separation of 7
_Injuriados_. This would not ensure that the intrinsic value of each
respective quality would be equal; for each _Veguero_ has his own
particular mode of considering the different classes, and some make a
much more careful sorting than others. In the supposed case it may
happen, as it frequently does, that the _Veguero_ A will take from his
crop—which we will suppose to be one hundred packages—2 of the first, 3
of the second, 5 of the third, 8 of the fourth, 12 of the fifth, 30 of
the sixth, and 40 of the seventh; whereas the _Veguero_ B will take from
his, 4 of the first, 6 of the second, 10 of the third, 16 of the fourth,
32 of the fifth, 21 of the sixth, and 11 of the seventh; and it would
result, from the comparison of these two supposed pickings, that each of
these classes of the _Vega_ A would correspond to the immediate superior
one of the _Vega_ B, as will be shown on the following calculation:—

A.
$ $
2 Bales, 1st at 120 = 240
3 ” 2nd ” 100 = 300
5 ” 3rd ” 80 = 400
8 ” 4th ” 60 = 480
12 ” 5th ” 40 = 480
30 ” 6th ” 25 = 750
40 ” 7th ” 20 = 800
—— ———
100 $3450
—— ———

B.
$ $
4 Bales, 1st at 100 = 400
6 ” 2nd ” 80 = 480
10 ” 3rd ” 60 = 600
16 ” 4th ” 40 = 640
32 ” 5th ” 25 = 800
21 ” 6th ” 20 = 420
11 ” 7th ” 10 = 110
——— ————
100 $3450
——— ————

“Here it may be seen that the second of A is worth as much as the first
of B, the third of A as much as the second of B, and so successively in
the other classes; and as it is of importance that names should
represent fixed objects, and that each quality should represent a
relative value, we think that the sortings and the classifications
deserve a reform, which would undoubtedly bring with it advantages to
the planter, to the merchant, the manufacturer, and the consumer.

“The reform in the sortings should take its origin from a reform in the
plantation or field, and principally in the manner of cutting. By
observing a methodical and well-calculated system, each one of the
operations prepares and facilitates the execution of the succeeding one.
In its proper place, we have recommended that the tobacco planter should
not attempt to plant more than 12,000 plants for each labourer employed,
so that all the plants may receive proper cultivation and attention. If
all these plants are equally well taken care of, if the land has been
properly prepared with manure, and all have had the same advantage of
season, it is a necessary consequence that the fruit will be equally
good. If afterwards the cutting or cropping is made in 3 sections,
preserving always the separation we have recommended, we shall have,
naturally, not a capricious assortment of leaves, but one in the order
established by nature.

“None will, we think, question the fact that the pairs of leaves on one
stalk must be equal in quality to those cut from an adjoining stalk,
that is to say, all the crown leaves must be of the same quality, all
the second also, and so successively. This admitted, we have the
separation of qualities made, almost, in the field, and it only remains
to separate the sizes, and the sound leaves from the torn ones, an
operation which any person can make; and thus it will be unnecessary to
employ those workmen who style themselves sorters, who are supposed to
have an exact knowledge of the properties of each leaf. The sortings
ought, therefore, to be made by classes, or by bales, each containing
the separate qualities beginning with the bale of _capaduras_ and
_mamones_, which may be mixed together in the same bale. Of this
quality, however, not more than two classes should be made, which may be
called suckers and sprouts; and in the class called sprouts, the sound
and larger leaves of good consistency should be placed. The result would
be a _tripa_ of good quality, and, after throwing away all those that
are really without substance, the remainder would form the second class,
and would make a useful _tripa_, although inferior to the former.

“When these are made, the next bales should be made of tobacco chosen
from the inferior class of leaves, of which 3 classes ought to be made,
and called _sano_, _quebrado_, and _desecho de tercera_. In the first
class of these, which we will call third quality, should be placed all
the sound leaves which have any consistency; and this would form a weak
_capa_, equal to that which is now called clear fifths, _quinta limpia_,
and this might be called _sano de tercera_. The second class should
contain the torn or broken leaves of good consistency, but not so much
broken or injured as to merit only the name of shavings, as the leaves
which are very much torn, or small pieces of leaves, are called. This
class would be called _quebrado de tercera_, and might be used for
inferior _tripa_. The last class of this quality, after throwing away
all the useless leaves, would be called _desecho_.

“After this, and in the same order as the preceding, three classes
should be made from the sortings for the heaps of bad seconds and
thirds, and called _sano_, _quebrado_, and _tripa_ of the second class.
The first of these should contain all the sound leaves, and should be
called _sano de segunda_, second-class sound. The second should be
composed of the damaged leaves, but good for making _capa_, and should
be called second-class broken; and the third, which will be the most
broken, should be called second-class _tripa_.

“Finally, the picking, or sorting for the pile of pairs of crown leaves
should be made; and of this quality there should also be three classes,
which will be denominated ‘_sano_,’ ‘_quebrado_,’ and ‘_tripa de
corona_,’ observing always the same order as was done for the piles or
heaps of seconds and thirds.

“Sorting carried on in this order is so simplified that we do not doubt
it might be done in one-third the time taken under the present system;
and the labour of the resorters would be dispensed with, which most of
the _vegueros_ have now to employ and pay, as many of them do not
consider themselves sufficiently expert in the matter to classify their
own tobacco. This classification and nomenclature represent exact
qualities to which a relative value can be fixed, and may serve as a
base for mercantile transactions.

“The manufacturer will not have to contend with bales of mixed tobacco
containing all the different classes which the _vega_ may have produced;
and he will find this division very convenient to determine the time
when each class may be used without having any loss from finding in them
leaves that are not seasoned, whilst others of the same bale, and
perhaps of the same _manojo_, may have become deteriorated from having
remained too long in fermentation. The manufacturer will, without any
great trouble, be able to make the assortment for strong and weak
_tripa_ according to the quality of _capa_ which is going to be used, a
most essential point in cigar making, and thus he will be able to make
cigars with all perfection. All these advantages will result from
adopting the reform in the manner of sorting which we propose. And, in
spite of its simplicity, it is much more positive and extensive, as it
will be composed of four qualities subdivided into eleven classes. The
consumer, too, will have the advantage of being able to procure cigars
manufactured completely of the quality which he prefers, and the
contents of each box, or each set of boxes, will be all equal both in
flavour and colour, which, under the present system, it is difficult to
find. The classes will be styled:—

{ 1st class Sound crown.
First quality { 2nd ” Broken ”
{ 3rd ” Stuffing ”

{ 1st class Sound seconds.
Second quality { 2nd ” Broken ”
{ 3rd ” Stuffing ”

{ 1st class Sound thirds.
Third quality { 2nd ” Broken ”
{ 3rd ” Stuffing ”

Fourth quality, 1st and 2nd Suckers and sprouts.

“It is scarcely necessary to add that, according to the preceding system
of sorting, only 3 divisions, cases, or rooms, with _yaguas_, will be
required for depositing the respective qualities which the workmen may
be assorting, until sufficient quantity has been collected in each to
commence the seasoning or painting, _betumeo_, _enmannillado_, or
_engavillado_, _manojo_, and _enterciadura_.

“In all kinds of sortings, the fragments of broken leaves, too small to
use for cigars, should be collected, sponged, and with them packages
made of _picadura_. This should be preserved, and the following year it
will be useful for making _betun_. Wash the tobacco, or rather sponge
it, with a solution made from these pieces of good leaves, and not with
a solution made from stalks and trash of new tobacco, as some do. The
wash (_betun_) has the same effect on tobacco that yeast has on bread.
It is the agent employed to produce a strong and quick fermentation,
from which results that strong and agreeable aroma that may be observed
in old tobacco which has been well _betumeado_ (sponged with tobacco
infusion). This infusion, made with fresh tobacco, is not bad if made
carefully, but we consider that made with old tobacco is the best,
because it instantly imparts an agreeable odour to the leaves on which
it is used; and, instead of the infusion which is generally used, it
would be cleaner and better, if a strong decoction was made from
_picadura_—the small pieces of leaves of good tobacco—and used after it
had become cold, or on the day after the boiling is made.

“If the wash is made by infusion, at least two jugs should be used to
make it in, and it should be only used on the third or fourth day,
renewing it as often as it appears to pass into a state of putrid
fermentation, in which state it is of no use, and on which account two
deposits are necessary, so that one at least may always be in a fit
state to use, whilst the other is acquiring the necessary strength and a
transparent golden colour, in which state it is fit for use.

“Each tobacco leaf should be dyed separately, and not, as some do, after
it has been made up into _gavillas_—small bundles tied at one end of the
leaf. It is very important that all the leaves should equally receive
the benefit, and this is impossible when several are tied together. The
good system of dyeing is used by all practical _vegueros_; to save
labour some do it otherwise, to the great injury of the aroma and
quality, and no small risk of the tobacco becoming spotted, and full of
holes; for tobacco invariably commences to show these spots and small
holes near the heads of the _gavilla_, where the dye has not been able
to penetrate owing to the manner in which the leaves are tied. Each leaf
ought, therefore, to be dyed separately, as the most intelligent people
do. The leaves should be placed separately in rows on a bench, having
all the heads in one line; then the dye should be applied by means of a
sponge, which should be soaked in the dye or infusion, and squeezed, so
that a dampness only will be communicated to the leaf.

“In passing the sponge over the leaf, it should be drawn from the head
or thick part near the stalk, down the large vein to the point, so that
the thick vein down the centre of the leaf may receive the heaviest part
of the infusion, from which the dye pushes along the transversal veins,
and all parts derive benefit from it.

“After dyeing the first layer on the bench, another one is placed above
this, keeping always the leaves in the same direction; and this
operation is repeated, and each layer is sponged, until the pile from
which they are taken is exhausted. As this new pile of dyed leaves
gradually increases in height, it should be gently pressed down with the
hand, and, when finished, should be covered over with green plantain
leaves. This operation should be done in the morning, and by nightfall
the tobacco will have acquired the necessary softness, and soaked up the
infusion, so that the leaves, although very flexible, will have no signs
of excess in moisture. If they have, they should be spread to dry
somewhat, because, when the bundles of leaves are being tied up, they
should not be excessively wet, as the result would probably be so strong
a fermentation that it would degenerate into a putrid one. The leaves
should have a soft silkiness, but should have no positive signs of water
on them after they have been dyed.

“When the tobacco is in a good state of softness, the next operation is
the ‘_cabeceo_.’ This operation consists in uniting the leaves by the
heads—putting them perfectly even, and joining together a uniform number
of each class. The leaves should be collected in the palm of the left
hand, drawing gently the right hand over all the length of each leaf
from the head to the point, and tying them at the heads with a piece of
_yagua_ or vine, or, as most people do, by binding one of the leaves
round the head of the bundle. This operation is generally made in the
evening, and the following morning they should be placed in the bales,
as it injures the tobacco to allow it to dry in _manojos_ before putting
it into bales, for, if too dry, fermentation is retarded, or is
incomplete in the bales.

“We have described the manner of washing or dyeing, in making the
_gavillas_, and tying them in bundles as the most practical _vegueros_
do. In this part we should not, we think, advise any innovation, except
that of using old seasoned tobacco instead of fresh for making the
infusion, and substituting a decoction made by boiling, instead of an
infusion in cold water. But we strongly advise a reform in the sorting
and the classification; and a fixed number of each class of leaves
should be put in each _gavilla_, as a basis from which to start all
calculations for mercantile transactions. We believe, therefore, it
would be convenient to fix, after the following order, the number of
leaves which each head ‘gavilla’ should contain:-

{ Sound 25 leaves to each _gavilla_
First quality { Broken or torn 30 ” ”
{ For stuffing 40 ” ”

{ Sound 30 ” ”
Second quality { Broken or torn 35 ” ”
{ Stuffing 43 ” ”

{ Sound 40 ” ”
Third quality { Broken or torn 45 ” ”
{ _Desecho_ } These three classes
} may be added without
Fourth quality { Suckers } counting the
{ Sprouts } number of leaves,

but making the heads (_gavillas_) of a regular uniform size; and the
_manojos_ and bales of about the same size as those of ‘sound’ and
‘broken’ of the third quality, the latter weighing 100–125 lb.

“By following strictly this method, and by establishing these quantities
and qualities, as a basis for all contracts, any defects found might
easily be obviated; and very exact calculations might be made of the
number of cigars each bale would yield, after having examined its
special condition; and its real value might be estimated either by bales
or bundles, or by weight.”

_Bulking._—Bulking means placing the tobacco-leaves in heaps for the
purpose of heating, in order to develop colour and flavour; this is
carried out in various ways, nearly all involving great labour and risk,
as in most instances tobacco loses more or less in value during the
process called “curing.” The more care is taken in raising the crop, the
less attention the tobacco requires in the shed. With a good kind of
tobacco, grown on light, friable soil, treated as described, little care
will be needed, after the leaves are dried and stripped. By the drying
process, the leaves will have undergone a slow fermentation, which makes
it unnecessary to watch or guide a regular fermentation afterwards,
hence bulking and fermenting, as generally understood, are not required.

After being made into hands, the tobacco is put into heaps (bulked)
before it again dries. Every evening, the tobacco that has been stripped
during the day is bulked; but if the weather be very dry, it must be
bulked as soon as a certain number of hands is ready. The heaps should
be made 4–8 feet square and 4–8 feet high; all the stalks are outside,
and the whole is covered by mats, &c., to check evaporation. The drier
the tobacco, the larger must the heaps be made, to encourage a slight
fermentation. The extent of the fermentation can be easily controlled.
If the colour of the leaves is not uniform, or if it is desired to give
them a browner colour, the heaps must be made large, and a somewhat
moist atmosphere is required in the storing-room. This will cause
fermentation to set in after a short time, and the heat to rise after
some days, so much so that rebulking is required, which is done by
putting the top leaves of the old heap at the bottom of the new one.
Under such circumstances, the heap must be frequently examined during
the few first weeks, to prevent overheating. It is advisable to rebulk
the tobacco also, even when not much heated, after the first fourteen
days, and again a month later, to ascertain the exact state in which it
is. Sometimes the tobacco becomes mouldy; this occurs especially with
tobacco which has been manured with chlorides, which cause it to become
more hygroscopic than when manured otherwise. If this occurs, the mould
must be brushed off, and, if necessary, the tobacco be dried. The
tobacco may now remain heaped in the store-room until there is a chance
for sale. It must be remembered, however, that the best time for selling
varies very much. Some tobacco is fit for smoking a few weeks after
drying, whereas others may burn very badly at that time, yet become a
good burning article after being stored for several months.

After assorting, Perry Hull advises that the tobacco “be corded up
awhile, in a dry place, that the butts may be thoroughly cured before
packing in the cases. The pile is made with the butts out, and tips
interlapping in the middle, at every other course, at the ends turning
the butts toward the end. Get upon the pile upon the knees, take hold of
the butt of a hank with one hand, drawing the leaves at the tip together
with the other, and placing it upon the pile in that position,
immediately putting the knee upon it. After the pile is finished, it
should be covered over with boards, to keep it from drying up, and a few
days before packing into the cases, should be well weighted down, which
will save a great deal of pressing at that time. Such a pile should be
made only about 2½–3 feet high, and then closely watched to prevent a
premature sweat, which often, if the weather be mild, will take place in
such a pile, which will not be sufficient to render the tobacco fit for
working, but which, if not intercepted at the commencement, will be
sufficient to prevent a proper sweat afterwards. Check, therefore, the
first symptoms of heat in such a pile, by opening the pile, and
repacking it, shaking out the hanks and giving them time to cool off.”

Bowie gives a caution that the tobacco “should not be too moist or
‘high,’ as it is termed, when put in stalk bulk, or it will get warm,
the leaves stick to the stalk, get a bad smell, and change colour;
besides, if left too long, it will rot. To bulk tobacco requires
judgment and neatness. Two logs should be laid parallel to each other,
about 30 inches apart, and the space between them filled with sticks for
the purpose of keeping the tobacco from the dampness of the ground. The
bundles are then taken one at a time, spread out and smoothed down,
which is most conveniently done by putting it against the breast and
stroking the leaves downward smooth and straight with the right hand. It
is then passed, two bundles at a time, to the man bulking. He takes them
and lays them down and presses them with his hands; they are laid, two
at a time, in a straight line—the broad part of the bundles slightly
projecting over the next two—and two rows of bundles are put in a bulk,
both rows carried on together, the heads being on the outside, and the
tails just lapping one over the other in regular succession. The bulk,
when carried up to a convenient height, should have a few sticks laid
across to keep it in place. It must often be examined, and if getting
warm it ought to be immediately changed and laid down in another bulk of
less height, and not pressed as it is laid down; this is called
‘wind-rowing’; being loose and open, it admits the air between the rows
of bundles, hence the term. The next process in this troublesome, but
beautiful crop, is to ‘condition’ it for ‘packing.’ The ‘bright,’
‘yellow,’ and ‘second’ tobacco will condition, but most generally in
such bulks as I have just described, but it is best to hang up the
‘dull’ as soon almost as stripped. If the bright or second do not dry
thoroughly in the bulks, that should also be hung up in the house to
become well dried. To properly hang up tobacco to condition, small-sized
sticks should be procured, and each one nicely smoothed with the
drawing-knife, and kept for that purpose. After it has once been
perfectly dry, either hanging up or in bulks—so dry that the heads are
easily knocked off, and the shoulders of the bundles crack upon pressure
like pipe-stems—it should be taken down, or if in bulks, removed, the
first soft, moist spell of weather, as soon as it is soft and yielding
enough, as it will become too dry to handle without crumbling or
breaking, and it must be put in 4 or 6 row bulks of any convenient
length and height, the higher the better, laid down close, so that as
little of the leaves or shoulders as possible be exposed on the outside
of the bulk. When completed put sticks and logs of wood, &c., on the top
so as to weigh it down. Here it will keep sweet and in nice order for
packing at any time, no matter what the weather be, if it was
conditioned properly, it will not change a particle while in the
condition-bulk.”

_Packing._—Tobacco in America is commonly packed in barrels, the layers
being at right angles to each other alternately, and the butt-ends being
always towards the outside. The usual size is about 4 feet 6 inches
deep, 3 feet 6 inches in diameter at one end, and 3 feet 4 inches at the
other, to enable the contents to be uncovered for examination without
disturbing the mass. The packing is effected under considerable
hydraulic pressure. Elsewhere all kinds of packages are employed, and
their weights are very various.

In Bishop’s opinion the best size for boxes is the following:—“3 feet 6
inches long, 2 feet 4 inches wide, 2 feet 6 inches in depth,
manufactured from planed pine boards, 1 inch in thickness, with
standards 2 inches square, inside at each corner to nail to. Having thus
your boxes prepared, and the tobacco in good condition, the first soft,
mild day that comes proceed to packing; the bundles or ‘hands’ of
tobacco must be taken from the bulk and laid in courses in the box,
laying the butts of the ‘hands’ to the outside of the box, allowing the
ends to lap over each other, and endeavouring to keep the centre of the
box a little higher than the edges—these courses to be packed as solid
as possible by the hand. If any of the bundles are ‘soft’ or have an ill
smell, they must be exposed to the fire or sun until sweet and dry
before being packed. When the box is nearly full, a false cover (just
large enough to slip inside the box) must be placed on the tobacco, and
pressed as heavily as possible with the lever or screw power; remove the
pressure and re-fill, pressure finally being applied to the real cover,
which may then be tacked down. A box of the size I have mentioned, when
filled, should contain about 400 lb. of tobacco, and thus packed, will
keep for years.”

Another planter considers that parcels of “less than 1500 lb. may be
carried to market almost in any way; but more than that should be
‘prized’ in hogsheads. Several farmers might combine their crops for
prizing. As to the size, form, and materials of the hogsheads. In
Virginia, the size of the hogsheads is prescribed by law. They must be
made of seasoned pine or poplar. They must be 4 feet 6 inches long; 3
feet 6 inches in diameter, at one end, and 3 feet 4 inches at the other.
This difference of diameter is to allow the tobacco to be inspected.
This may be something new to persons of the North, therefore I will
explain the mode of inspecting tobacco in the hogshead. An inspector is
appointed by law to inspect or examine the tobacco prized in hogsheads.
His first step is, to place the hogshead big end upward. He then removes
the lining, and takes out the head. He next inverts the position of the
hogshead, that is, puts the little end up, and raises it entirely from
the tobacco. The mass of prized tobacco stands before him without a
covering. The outside may be all right, but his sworn duty is to examine
it through and through, as well as round and round. For this purpose he
drives an iron bar to the middle, near the top of the mass, prises up
and takes out a handful of bundles. He repeats that operation on two
other points of the mass. He then inspects or examines the parcels
extracted, and rates the whole hogshead according to their quality. The
hogshead is replaced and made secure. The hogsheads and the samples
taken from them bear corresponding marks, and the former is sold by the
latter. The staves of the hogshead must not be wider than 5, nor
narrower than 3 inches, ⅝ inch thick, and dressed on the inside. The
heading must be seasoned pine or poplar, and 1 inch thick, with 8 hoops.
Such a hogshead will well answer in other States as well as in Virginia.

“Weigh out, say 300 lb. It takes two hands to do this work, one inside
the hogshead and the other out. One is called the ‘packer,’ the other
the ‘waiter.’ The packer so arranges the bundles, in placing them, as to
make 4 courses in one layer. Repeat the layers until the 300 lb. are
packed. The weight (lever-power) is then applied. After 6 hours, put in
200 lb. more and apply the weight; 6 hours, and so on, until 1300–1500
lb. have been put in. The softer the tobacco, the more of it can be put
in a hogshead. If the tobacco is of the first quality, 1500 lb. is
enough. But if lower qualities, 1800 lb. can be put in. The finer the
quality the less weight it can bear without injury; and _vice versâ_.
Having prized the crop, it is ready for market.”

According to Pursley, a hogshead “4 feet in length, and 3 feet in
diameter, is the medium size; 1000 lb. is considered a full hogshead;
but one of the above dimensions can hold 1500 lb. by hard pressing; but
this blackens the tobacco, and injures the sale of it. Packing in the
hogshead is done by first laying a course or layer of bundles straight
across the bottom, keeping the butts even and close together; then fill
up on each side of the centre course, placing the butts against the
staves; then the butts of the hands that lie against the hogshead should
be covered up with 2 or 3 others, pressed closely down. The next centre
course should be laid across the first, and done in the same manner as
before, and so on, crossing each course in succession, until the
hogshead is two-thirds full; when the press should be applied till the
tobacco is pressed down to within 1½ foot of the bottom of the hogshead.
The press should remain on an hour or more, in order that the tobacco
may settle together; then the press should be raised, and the packing
resumed as before, till the tobacco is within 1½ foot of the top; then
the press should again be applied till the tobacco is pressed half-way
down the hogshead; the same proportion should be observed until the
hogshead is full. Then put the head in, and it is ready for market.”

Perry Hull would have packing-cases “made of cheap pine lumber, 3 feet 8
inches long by 2 feet 6 inches wide and high, outside measurement; they
should be made tight and strong; there should be corner-pieces nailed in
1½ inch square, nailing to them well from both ways. The tobacco is
packed in, with the butts towards each end; taking hold of the butt with
one hand, the tip with the other, and giving the hank a slight twist,
lay it in the case in that position. A lever or screw can be used to do
the pressing, whichever is the most convenient. From 360 lb. to 380 is
the proper weight for packing; though if the tobacco is very dry, 400
lb. will probably not sweat too hard; and if quite wet (which it never
should be), 350 may.

“After being packed, the tobacco should never be kept in a damp cellar;
a good tight barn or other outbuilding, where the cases can stand on a
floor, is the best place. The crop usually passes from the hands of
growers, into those of speculators and dealers, before the sweating
season. The first symptoms of sweating appear about as soon as settled
warm weather comes, usually the fore part of May; it then commences to
grow warm, and ‘wet’ to appearance, which increases for about 3 weeks,
when it reaches its culminating point and commences to cool off. One
unaccustomed to the crop, upon examining it at this period, would be
sure to think it was rotting, but if not too damp when packed, there is
no danger. Sometimes, if a case is known to be too wet, the lids can be
started, to give a little vent to the steam and gases which are
generated, and this is about all that can be done for it; and it is far
safer to see that the proper condition is secured before packing, than
to do even this. The weight will commence to decrease about as soon as
the heat commences, and it has been ascertained by weighing at the
various stages, that more than half of the shrinkage is accomplished by
the time that the sweat has reached its culminating point. About 10 per
cent. is allowed for the shrinkage of a crop, in just the right state
when packed; if wetter, it will shrink as high as 12–13 per cent., and
if very dry, it may shrink less than 10 per cent. The different grades
usually bring about the following prices: Wrappers, 14 cents per lb.;
Seconds, 7–8 cents; Fillers, 3–4 cents. The proportion of the different
grades in a good crop should be, Wrappers, three-fifths, and Seconds and
Fillers, each one-fifth.”

Judson Popenoe thinks boxes “should be made 30 inches square by 42
inches in length outside; saw the end-boards 28 inches long, nail them
to two 1¼-inch square slats so that the head will be 28 inches square;
when two heads are made, nail the sides of the box to the heads so as to
come even with the outside of the head, the sides being 28 inches wide;
then nail the bottom on firmly; the top can be nailed slightly until
after the tobacco is packed, when it can be nailed firm. Set your box by
the side of the bulk, and let one hand get in the box and another pass
the tobacco to him, one hand at a time, taking care not to shake it out,
but put in the box as it comes from bulk, with the butt of the hand next
the end of the box. Place close and press with the knee firmly; lay
alternate courses at each end, and if the tobacco is not long enough to
lap sufficiently to fill the centre, put a few hands crosswise in the
centre. When the box is full, place it under a lever; have a follower,
which is a cover made of inch boards, nailed to two pieces of scantling
and made to fit inside of the box; lay this on the tobacco, and build
with blocks of scantling on it of a sufficient height for the lever to
be clear of the box when pressed. Press down firmly with a strong lever,
and, while kneeing in another box full, let the lever remain, so that
the tobacco gets set in the box. When ready, take the lever off and fill
up as before, about 6 inches higher than the box; press it below the top
of the box, take off your lever and nail on the top as quickly as
possible. Some use tobacco-presses for packing, which are perhaps more
convenient; they are of various patterns, but a lever saves the expense
of a press and is in the reach of all. If tobacco is sold at the shed,
it should be sold before packing, being easier examined in bulk than
box.”

Mitjen is of opinion that, “except in cases where the extraordinary size
of the leaves will not permit it, all the bales should be made up of 80
‘_manojos_’; but in the former case 60 of the first classes of the first
quality will be sufficient. The fixed number of 80 _manojos_ is
convenient for making calculations. We have already said that the day
following that on which the _manojos_ were tied up, they should be
packed in bales, so as not to allow them time to dry too much. Bearing
this in mind, the dyeing and tying up of the _manojos_ should not be
commenced until there is a sufficient quantity of assorted leaves to
make a bale or bales; should there be a surplus of _manojos_ after the
bales are made up, they should be kept protected from the air, until
another set of bales is about to be made up.

“We do not think it is necessary to further explain the manner of
placing the _yaguas_, in order to make the bales, but it is expedient to
state that 8 layers of _manojos_ should not be put in one bale, because
it makes a bad shape, and the tierces or bales appear much smaller than
they really are. The bales should be made of 2 layers, having the heads
of the _manojos_ placed towards the outside. When the first layer of one
of the heads of the bale is placed, the heads of the other layer should
be so arranged that they will be about half-way over the points of the
others; and if the tobacco is very small, to each row of _manojos_ may
be laid crossways, two _manojos_ with their heads touching the _yaguas_,
so that the tobacco placed in the bale may form a compact even mass,
impervious to the air. The same should be done in the other rows, care
being taken that the bale is made somewhat thicker in the middle, and
never have a hollow there,—a sure sign of loose packing,—and into which
the air finds its way, preventing fermentation, proper curing, as well
as aroma—the tobacco becoming dry too soon. After the bales are tied up,
they should be placed in the sun or wind until the humidity of the
_yagua_ is dry. They should then be placed on boards in the storehouse,
putting them two and two, one on the other; and after eight days they
should be moved, placing them below those which had been above, so that
they may ferment and be equally pressed.”

[Illustration: FIG. 13.]

For pressing tobacco into the hogshead, Hudson suggests that “a hole be
mortised in a tree, in which the end of the lever can be inserted,
passing over the hogshead, and working by a tree or post, in which
should be pins at intervals of 8–10 inches, by which a small lever may
be used to force the first lever down on the tobacco; 50–100 lb. may be
placed in the hogshead and firmly pressed a few hours, and as much added
again, and so on. Fig. 13 will serve to represent the manner in which
the hands (or ties) may be placed in the hogshead—filling the middle
first, then the outer edges—placing the tops toward the centre, and
observing to keep the centre and edges full.”

_Improving._—It is sometimes the custom to subject the tobacco-leaves to
some sort of improvement. There is no doubt that, by proper application
of ingredients, the value of tobacco may be much enhanced. The most
costly tobacco often commands a high price, not so much on account of
its inherent flavour, as from that given to it artificially. In most
instances, the best course to be adopted is to leave the improvement of
the leaves to the manufacturer. Many ingredients are employed to improve
smoking-tobacco. They tend:—1, to make the tobacco more elastic and
flexible; 2, to remove the coarse flavour; 3, to add a particular
flavour; 4, to improve the burning quality; 5, to improve the colour. To
make the tobacco more flexible and pliant, the leaves are macerated in,
or sprinkled with, a solution of sugar. In hot countries, this process
is often necessary, to give tobacco such an elasticity as to fit it for
handling, especially when intended for wrappers. To remove the coarse
flavour, it is often macerated in water, or in very dilute hydrochloric
acid. In Holland, 4–8 oz. of hydrochloric acid, diluted with 25–30
measures of water, is applied to 100 lb. of tobacco. The coarser the
flavour of the tobacco, the stronger is the solution used. The time of
maceration varies between ½ and 1 hour. Sometimes tobacco is steeped in
a mixture of sugar solution and diluted hydrochloric acid. To extract
the fatty matter, it is macerated in alcohol or spirit of wine. To give
a fine flavour, numerous substances are employed, some of which are kept
secret. The following ingredients are mostly in use:—Water, cognac,
vanilla, sugar, rose-wood, cassia, clove, benzoin, citron oil, rose-wood
oil, amber, thyme, lavender, raisins, sassafras-wood, saltpetre, orange,
and many others. The burning quality is improved by macerating in or
sprinkling with solutions of carbonate of potash, acetate of potash,
acetate of lime, or saltpetre, &c. Badly-burning cigars inserted for a
moment in such solutions are much improved. Tobacco treated with acetate
of lime yields a very white ash. The colour is sometimes improved by
fumigating the leaves with sulphur, and by the application of ochre and
saffron.

Although it may be said that fine tobaccos generally do not require any
impregnation with foreign matter for the sake of flavour, yet the
manufacturer frequently endeavours to give the leaf a particular aroma.
An inferior tobacco, however, which often would not find a market, is
sometimes so much improved by artificial means, as to compete
successfully with the genuine fine article. It is said that in Germany
indigenous tobacco is often so much “improved” that the cigars made from
it, after being covered with a fine tobacco leaf, are sold as genuine
Havanas. A special preparation of tobacco for snuff is seldom attempted
by the cultivator. With reference to the preparation of tobacco for
export, the sorting of the leaf is of the utmost importance; only first
and second sorts should be exported. It would be well to remove the
midribs, whereby the cost of transport and customs duty would be greatly
reduced.

The value of a cigar depends, not only on the intrinsic value of the
leaf, but to a great extent on the mode of manufacture. Thus, the raw
material may be of good quality, but if the maker does not classify the
leaves properly, or if he rolls his cigars too hard, which must vary
according to the qualities of the leaves, the cigar will burn badly. The
best-burning leaves must always be used for wrappers. If this should be
neglected, the inside of the cigar burns faster than the covering, the
air has no access to the burning parts, and the empyreumatical
substances are volatilized without being decomposed. Such cigars
therefore make much smoke, and smell badly.

CHAPTER IV.
PRODUCTION AND COMMERCE.

Details concerning the different modes of cultivating and curing, and of
the extent of the production and commerce in tobacco in the various
countries, will best be given in the alphabetical order of the
countries.

_Afghanistan._—The tobacco grown at Kandahar is celebrated in all the
neighbouring states for its mild and agreeable flavour, and is largely
exported to Hindustan and Bokhara. Three kinds are grown,
viz.:—Kandahari, Balkhi, and Mansurabadi. Of these, the last named is
the most esteemed, and fetches the highest price, viz. 6 lb. for
2_s._-4_s._ The Kandahari sells for a little less than half this price,
and the Balkhi for a little more. The Mansurabadi is not much exported,
being mostly consumed in the country. The cultivation is conducted with
great care, and the same plants yield two crops of leaves in the year.
Of these, the first, which is called _sargul_, is the best, the leaves
having a mild and sweet flavour; it is mostly consumed by the wealthy
classes, or exported. The second crop is called _mundhai_: the leaves
have a tough and fibrous texture, and a strong acrid taste; it is
usually smoked by the poor people, and is also made into snuff. The
plants are raised from seed in small beds, prepared for the purpose by
careful manuring with wood-ashes and stable-refuse mixed together. From
these nurseries, the young plants are transplanted into the fields,
previously prepared for their reception, the earth being laid out in
regular ridges and furrows. The plants are fixed into the sides of these
little ridges, and watered by means of the intervening furrows. Often
the young plants, packed in moist clay, and bound up in straw, are
conveyed to distant parts of the country; but the produce of these, it
is said, does not equal that of the plants reared at Kandahar. About six
weeks after transplanting, that is, about May-June, the first crop is
reaped, the whole plant being cut away about 6 inches from the ground,
and only some 5 or 6 of the lowest leaves being left. Each plant, as
cut, is laid on the ridge, and here each side is alternately exposed for
a night and a day to the effects of the dew and sun, by which their
green colour becomes brown. After this, they are collected in large
heaps in a corner of the field, and covered over with mats, or a layer
of straw, &c., and allowed to remain so for 8–10 days, during which the
stems shrivel, and give up their moisture to the leaves. At the end of
this time, the heaps are conveyed away into the villages, where the
stalks are separated from the leaves, the latter are then dried in the
shade and tightly packed in bundles about 14 inches square, and in this
shape are sold by the grower. After the first crop is gathered, the
ground is turned with a spade, well manured, and freely irrigated. In
due course, the old stems shoot up and produce fresh leaves, and in six
weeks or two months, the second crop is cut. Sometimes, though seldom, a
third crop is realized, but the quality of this tobacco is very
inferior, and it is only fit for making snuff.

_Africa._—The tobacco-plant extends throughout Central and East Africa,
wherever the equinoctial rains fall. It is cultivated to some extent in
the Bondei of Usambara, but seems to be the special product of the
Handei district, whence considerable quantities are sent to Pangani for
export. Usambara also exports to Zanzibar stiff, thin, round cakes,
which have been pounded in wooden mortars, and neatly packed in
plaintain-leaves. It is dark and well-flavoured. The Cape of Good Hope,
in 1865, had 933 _morgen_ (of 2·116 acres) under tobacco, yielding
1,632,746 lb.; in 1875, 1243 _morgen_ afforded 3,060,241 lb. Tobacco is
grown considerably in Oudtshorn and other districts of the Cape Colony,
and on the warmer farms in the Transvaal, but to the greatest extent on
the coast. The supply is already sufficient for local demands, and
tobacco promises to become a staple of South African agricultural
industry.

A recent writer on this portion of the British colonies says, “tobacco,
though cultivated as an article of commerce for export, has not met with
much success, as the passion for the weed has become deeply rooted in
the natives of the coast and interior, so that it is cultivated by them
in many parts of the province for their own consumption, and forms a
regular article of sale and barter amongst themselves.” The tobacco leaf
is dried very carelessly by the natives, and is made up in a peculiar
way, as follows:—It is first plaited, and when the plait has reached a
length of 3–4 feet, it is wound up in the form of a spiral. Gradually
drying in this shape, it preserves its form without any binding, and it
is unwound and cut off in short pieces when required for use or sale.
This mode of preparation is invariable among the Makua and Yao, between
the Roouma and Zambesi. Consul O’Neill says that “were the natives
instructed in some simple method of drying and pressing the leaf, the
valuable product would be probably brought down by them in considerable
quantities, affording, as it would do, a larger margin for profit than
does the culture of oil seeds, and it might become a regular article of
colonial manufacture and export.”

Tobacco-growing is a very important industry in Algeria. The culture and
manufacture are quite free, but the French Government buys all the best
produce, for manufacture and sale by the State factory in Paris. The
cultivation continues to increase, and is highly remunerative where the
land is capable of irrigation. In 1876–7, the 1889 Europeans engaged in
it cultivated 2471 _hectares_ (of 2½ acres), and produced 2,782,500
_kilo._ (of 2·2 lb.); the 8021 natives cultivated 4154 _hectares_, which
yielded 1,889,124 _kilo._ The year 1877–8 was less favourable, and the
area decreased by 425 _hectares_. Still worse results were expected in
1878–9, owing to scarcity of water. The kind most grown is called
_chebli_. The produce per _hectare_ of fine and _chebli_ is estimated at
6–8 _quintals_; the other kinds give 10–12. The exports in 1877 and 1878
respectively were as follows:—Manufactured, 121,090 _kilo._, and 124,117
_kilo._; unmanufactured, 3,445,441 _kilo._ and 1,509,266 _kilo._ In
1879, 1087 Europeans planted 3180 _hectares_, and gathered 1,226,181
_kilo._; 11,079 natives planted 6584 _hectares_, and produced 1,384,802
_kilo._; the exports were 2,481,218 _kilo._ unmanufactured, and 146,345
_kilo._ manufactured.

The figures for 1883 were:—1240 European planters cultivated 2278
_hectares_ and produced 2,250,671 _kilo._, whilst 8735 native planters
cultivated 6416 _hectares_ and produced 2,977,067 _kilo._, the total
product being 5,227,738 _kilo._ This does not differ to any great extent
from the result of the previous year. Tobacco is capable of being
produced in much greater quantity, says the British Consul, but the
market is limited. The colonists themselves and the Government appear to
be the only purchasers.

_Australia._—In the year ending 31st March, 1879, New South Wales had
835 acres under tobacco, and the crop amounted to 7932 cwt. In the same
year, Victoria cultivated 1936 acres, which yielded 15,662 cwt., valued
at 43,853_l._ Queensland grew 36 acres of tobacco in 1879.

_Austro-Hungary._—The manufacture and sale of tobacco is a Government
monopoly in the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the revenue thus derived is
the most lucrative item of the indirect income of the State. The only
tobacco-growing provinces of Austria are Galicia and Bukowina, producing
about 4 million _kilo._ from 2900 _hectares_; and South Tyrol, where 290
_hectares_ yield almost 4 million _kilo._ of green tobacco. The
respective approximate values of the two products are 18⅓ _florin_ (of
1_s._ 11½_d._) and 4⅔ _florin_ per 100 _kilo._ The chief supplies are
furnished by Hungary, which was once so noted for its tobacco, but the
industry is now completely crippled by the fiscal regulations. The area
(in acres) under cultivation fluctuates remarkably; in 1860, it was
679¼; in 1865, 68,141; in 1869, 843¾; in 1875, 26,817; in 1879, 7316.
The total areas (in acres) under cultivation in the whole empire in
1876, 1877, and 1878 respectively were, 144,493, 148,126, 143,447; the
yields in _kilo._, 46,033,163, 44,164,038, 40,978,540; and the yield (in
_kilo._) per _joch_ (of 1·43 acre), 445, 426, 408. Fiume, in 1877,
exported by sea 2862 cwt. of manufactured tobacco; and by land, 31,200
cwt. of leaf, and 53,712 cwt. of manufactured. In 1879, it shipped 9900
_kilo._ of leaf tobacco direct to England. In 1883, the tobacco harvest
was 26,560 metrical centners (about equivalent to cwts.), being 1595 in
advance of 1882. The total exports of raw tobacco were 55,842 metrical
centners in 1883, and 74,475 in 1884. The port of Fiume shipped 613 tons
of tobacco leaf in 1883, of which 189,300 _kilo._ value 75,720 florins,
went to Gibraltar. In 1884, the shipments from Fiume were 1673 tons.

_Borneo._—Tobacco is grown in small quantities by the Dyaks and people
of Bruni; but they are unskilful in its manufacture, though the flavour
of the product of Bruni is much esteemed by Europeans. Under skilful
management, and by introducing a better kind if necessary, it might
become as profitable to this island as it now is to the neighbouring
ones of the Philippines, Java, &c. The Dyaks might be more readily
induced to cultivate this plant, the nature of which they know, than
plants which are strange to them. More recently it is announced that
plantations have been commenced in British North Borneo, and samples of
the leaf sent to Europe have been favourably reported on. The exports
from Sarawak in 1884 were valued at 2020 dollars to foreign ports, and
34,257 dollars in coasting vessels, making a total of 36,277 dollars. In
the same year, British North Borneo shipped 2113 dollars’ worth; and
Sandakan, 1537 dollars’ worth.

_Bourbon._—Efforts are being made to successfully introduce tobacco into
the rotation of crops on the sugar estates, with the object of supplying
the article to the French _régie_ or Government monopoly, which buys
annually upwards of 40 million francs’ worth of tobacco in the islands
of Cuba, Java, and other colonies. The results hitherto obtained are not
unsatisfactory, and this article may shortly acquire importance among
Bourbon products. The exports in 1884 were 10,185 _kilo._, value 61,110
_fr._

_Brazil._—In Brazil, tobacco is chiefly cultivated in the provinces of
Bahia, Minas, Sao Paulo, and Para. The town of Purificaçao, in Bahia, is
the centre of an important district. The cultivation is increasing, and
greater care is being taken in the preparation. The common up-country
method is to pick the leaves from the stalks, dry them under the
hut-roofs, remove the midribs, and spread them in superposed layers,
amounting to 2–8 lb., for rolling together and binding with bark strips.
These rolls are bound very tightly with cord, and left for several days,
when the cord is replaced by strips of _jacitára_, the split stem of a
climbing palm (_Desmoncus sp. div._), and have a stick-like form 1½ inch
in diameter. They are sold in _masas_ of 4–6 feet in length, but the
tobacco is not considered good till it has fermented for 5–6 months,
when it is hard and black, and shaved off as required for pipes,
cigarettes, and cigars, the last made with wrappers of _tauari_ bark
(_Couratari guianensis_). The Tapajos tobacco is considered the finest
in the Amazon valley. The export of tobacco from Bahia in 1877–8 was
17,272,678 _kilo._, and in 1878–9, 18,149,201 _kilo._, almost the whole
being to Germany. Santos, in 1878–9, shipped 381,310 _kilo._ Bahia sends
away immense numbers of cigars coastwise. Maceio exported 4336_l._ worth
in 1876, but none in 1879.

Some interesting particulars are given in the last report of the United
States Consul-General at Rio de Janeiro, as to the cultivation and
manufacture of tobacco in Brazil. It appears that the cultivation began
about the year 1600, in the province of Bahia, and from thence extended
to all the other districts along the coast. Among the localities
earliest known for their tobacco production was the lake district of
Pernambuco, now the province of Alagoas, where an excellent quality was
produced, which commanded very high prices. During the following century
the cultivation increased so rapidly in Alagoas and Bahia, that at the
commencement of the succeeding century, the average annual export had
reached 2857 tons from the latter, and 285 tons from the former
province. The earliest export statistics available for the whole empire,
are for the year 1839–40, in which the export amounted to 295,966
_arrobas_, the _arroba_ being equivalent to about 32 lb.; and the value
exceeded 65,000_l._ For the next thirteen years, the exports averaged
8,000,000 lb. annually, with a value steadily increasing. During each of
the years 1853–55, the amount exported was 22,000,000 lb., of the total
value each year of 200,000_l._ In 1879–80, the export was 50,000,000
lb., of the value 659,000_l._; in 1880–81, 44,000,000 lb., of the value
of 650,000_l._, and in 1881–82, 52,000,000 lb., of the value of
680,000_l._ Though the principal tobacco-producing province of the
empire is Bahia, tobacco of good quality is grown in every part of
Brazil, from the Amazon to the Rio Grande frontier. Some localities in
the province of Amazonas have long been known for the excellent quality
of their tobacco, while in the Rio market one of the brands most
esteemed comes from the province of Goyaz. The local consumption of
tobacco is very great, and principally in smoking. Bahia tobacco used to
be largely exported in rolls, weighing 8 _arrobas_, or 256 lb. each; of
late years, however, large quantities of the leaves in bales are
exported to Hamburg. Cigar factories are established in all large cities
throughout the tobacco-growing regions, which give employment to a large
number of men, women, and children. The methods employed in the
cultivation and preparation of the plant are very much the same as they
were nearly 200 years ago. The labour employed is that of slaves, to
whom are assigned special descriptions of work. In former times curing
tobacco in rolls required much constant labour, the ropes composing each
roll being unwound, twisted, and re-wound during a period varying from
10 to 15 days. The Brazilian tobacco is generally characterized by its
strength and dark colour, particularly in Bahia. In that province the
practice is to manure heavily, which occasions a very rank growth and
strong flavour. In Minas Geraes the tobacco is somewhat milder, and some
advance has lately been made in a few localities towards improved
processes of curing. This seed may be germinated in any season of the
year, but the months of June, July, and August are generally preferred
for planting, because germination and transplanting are brought into or
near the rainy season. Tobacco plants planted in this season are
considered the best growers, and produce the largest leaves. Those,
however, which are germinated in the dry season, and sustained by
irrigation, grow with greater vigour, and possess a finer aroma. The
land selected for the plants is cleared, and the surface worked with the
hoe, after which it is marked off into parallel rows about 3 feet apart,
according to locality and the size of the mature plants. In
transplanting, the young plants are set from 2 to 3 feet apart, and are
manured heavily in the pits opened for them. Great care is necessary for
a time to protect the shoots from the sun, and to irrigate plentifully
when the transplanting occurs in a dry season. The work of cultivation
and keeping down the weeds is performed entirely with the hoe, and only
two or three times during the season. In gathering in the crops,
planters wait until the plants are fully matured, this being determined
by doubling and breaking one of the top leaves. In Bahia and other
Brazilian provinces the lower leaf is often picked by itself, and in a
few days the next, and so on as long as the plant will develop the lower
leaves into what is classed first quality. These leaves are hung up two
and two, under cover and across poles, 24 hours after picking and
sweating. When it is intended to twist the leaves into ropes, they are
left hanging about 2 days, when they are taken down, carefully freed
from the heavy parts of the midrib, doubled in halves, and laid away for
the rope twister. This operation requires considerable dexterity, and is
generally entrusted to the best slave on the plantation. The operation
requires a rude windlass, which is slowly turned in winding the rope,
which is twisted by hand. A boy is usually employed entirely to hand
leaves to the twister. These ropes are unwound and re-wound once or
twice a day, for a period of 10–15 days, according to the weather, and
are twisted a little harder each time. In curing, the tobacco grows
darker and darker, until it becomes jet black. The juices exuding from
the rolls are carefully caught and preserved until the last winding,
when, mixed with lard, syrup, and various aromatic herbs, they are used
to pass the rope through, previous to the final winding. The last step
is to cut the cured ropes in certain lengths, and to re-wind them upon
light wooden sticks, about 2 feet in length, the winding being very
compact and regular. The rolls are then covered with leather or strong
canvas, when they are ready for market. Formerly, these rolls were made
to weigh 8 _arrobas_, or 256 lb., though rolls of 3 _arrobas_ were made
for the home markets. At the present day the weights vary according to
the locality. The large exportation of tobacco in leaf has considerably
changed the character of tobacco-growing in Bahia, the process of curing
and packing the leaf being simpler than the old process of manufacturing
_rolos_. Tobacco-growing is heavily protected and taxed in Brazil,
nearly all the provinces imposing separate protective taxes, in addition
to those imposed by the Government. Besides these, the municipalities
are permitted to levy taxes on the article. The present export tax on
tobacco, in Brazil, amounts to as much as 18 per cent.

The local market quotations are thus given:—

s. d. s. d.
Patentes 6808–8170 _real_ (=12 2–14 7) per 10 _kilo._ (= 22
lb.)
Santo Amaro, assorted 3 7– 5 8 ” ”
Alagrinhas 2791–5106 (5 0– 8 2) ” ”
São Felix 3745–4425 (6 8– 7 10½) ” ”

The Bahia export in 1883–4 was 15,644,010 _kilo._, value 400,246_l._

_Canary Islands._—With the declining importance of cochineal,
tobacco-growing is gaining ground, and the quality of the article has
been much improved, while factories for drying and preparing the leaf
have been established in various localities. The exports for the year
1883–4 were:—27 lb., value 8_l._, to France; 2268 cwt., value 9809_l._,
to Spain; 1753 lb., value 375_l._, to Germany; and 939 lb., value
189_l._, to West Coast of Africa.

_China._—The chief tobacco-growing provinces of China are Chihli, Hopih,
Hoonan, Szechuen, and Shingking. The use of tobacco is wide-spread and
common, and considerable local trade is carried on in it. The exports
from Amoy were 2573 _piculs_ (of 133⅓ lb.), value 13,561_l._, in 1877;
and 3994½ _piculs_, value 17,936_l._, in 1878. Wenchow exported 27¾
_piculs_ of leaf in 1878, and 321⅓ in 1879. The exports and re-exports
from Hankow in 1878 were 65,070¾ _piculs_ of leaf, and 46,241¾ of
prepared. In 1879, Hankow exported and re-exported 63,180 _piculs_
prepared, value 311,754_l._, and 58,094 of leaf, value 118,534_l._ There
is an immense supply from the provinces, and the leaf is fine in colour,
texture, and fragrance, but though sent to America and England for
cigar-making, the trade has not been remunerative. It is now used in
cigarettes and various cut mixtures as “Turkish,” but when better known,
will be smoked on its own merits. Canton exported 1730¾ _piculs_ in
1877, 1742¾ in 1878, and 2397 in 1879. The exports of leaf from Ningpo
were 407 _piculs_ in 1874, 571 in 1875, 211 in 1876, 530 in 1877, 378 in
1878, and 165 in 1879. Kiungchow exported 449¼ _piculs_ of leaf in 1878;
and 85½ _piculs_, value 136_l._, in 1879. Kiukiang exported 28,120½
_piculs_ of leaf, value 35,678_l._, in 1878; and 14,659 of leaf, and 802
of stalk, in 1879.

Chinkiang imported 13,328 _piculs_ of leaf, and 1914 of prepared, in
1879. Macao receives tobacco from the Hokshan district, and prepares it
for exportation to Java, the Straits, and California, the annual export
being about 10,000 _piculs_. The Newchwang imports of prepared native
tobacco were 8052 _piculs_ in 1877, 8354 in 1878, and 6630 in 1879.
Shanghai, in 1879, imported 58,460 _piculs_ of native leaf, 79,081½ of
prepared, and 1187½ of stalk; and exported and re-exported 31,541 of
leaf, and 29,672¼ of prepared. Taiwan imported 3017¼ _piculs_ of
prepared native in 1879. Tientsin exported 1047⅓ _piculs_ native tobacco
in 1878, and 693½ in 1879. Tobacco is grown in the hilly districts near
Wuhu; the leaves are gathered in October, and sun-dried on wicker-work
frames. The exports in 1879 were 597½ _piculs_ of leaf, and 742 of
prepared.

_Cochin-China._—The culture of tobacco is extending in Cochin-China, and
it is even said that a considerable quantity is exported to China, but
it improves little in quality. The area reported to be under tobacco
cultivation in 1878 (including coffee) was 2361 acres.

_Costa Rica._—The free cultivation of tobacco was stopped in January
1884, and its free sale only permitted till December 31, 1885.

_Ecuador._—The tobacco crop of Ecuador for 1879 was not so large as
usual, owing to an unfavourable season. Esmeraldas, the most northerly
port, and whence nearly all the tobacco shipments are made, despatched
about 3000 _quintals_ in 1879. Guayaquil exported 150 _quintals_ in
1877, none in 1878, and 10 in 1879. In 1883, the exports from Guayaquil
were 1374 _quintals_, value 5496_l._; in 1884, only 96 _quintals_,
192_l._

_Fiji._—The Fiji Islands are well adapted to tobacco culture. The
natives produce a good deal, which nearly approaches the American leaf.
With careful curing, it would find a market in England. The native
product is rolled, which prevents its being made into cigars. Samples of
leaf-tobacco in hands, raised from foreign seeds, exhibited very unequal
qualities, and a tendency to revert to American forms, the Havana
returning to the Virginian type. Cut up for smoking, they were deficient
in flavour, but were considered satisfactory as a first experiment.

_France._—The area occupied by tobacco in France in 1873 was 14,858
_hectares_ (of 2½ acres), yielding at the rate of 12 _quintals_ (of 220½
lb.). The amount of land authorized, to grow tobacco in Pas de Calais in
1879 was 2100 acres, and the quantity furnished to the Government was
3,659,636 lb., the prices (per _kilo._) paid by the Government being 1
_fr._ 45_c._ for 1sts, 1 _fr._ 12_c._ for 2nds, 88_c._ for 3rds, and
10–66_c._ for other inferior qualities. The number of plants grown per
acre is about 17,000. The department Nord affords rather more than Pas
de Calais.

By the Imperial decrees of December 29th, 1810, and January 12th, 1811,
it was ordained that the purchase of tobacco in leaf and the fabrication
and sale, whether wholesale or retail, of manufactures of tobacco,
should be exclusively confined to the Administration of Indirect Taxes
(Régie des Droits Unis) in all the departments of France. At present the
Régie has in operation 16 large manufactories, 27 “magasins de culture,”
and 4 “magasins de transit.” It employs over 19,000 workpeople, of whom
about 80 per cent. are women and girls. The usual daily earnings are,
for men, from 2_s._ 7_d._ to 3_s._ 11_d._, and for women, from 1_s._
2_d._ to 2_s._ 4_d._ For faithful or exemplary services, the workpeople
receive annually rewards, varying in amounts from 15_s._ to 20_l._ Mr.
Scidmore, the United States Consular Agent in Paris, gives the following
description of the manner in which the operations of the Régie are
carried on. At the beginning of each year the Minister of Finance
designates the number of hectares upon which, and the departments within
which, the cultivation of tobacco may be undertaken during the following
season. The last ministerial decree upon this subject confines the
privilege to the departments of the Alpes Maritimes, Bouches du Rhône,
Dordogne, Gironde, Ille-et-Vilaine, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne,
Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nord, Pas de Calais, Puy de Dôme, Hautes-Pyrénées,
Haute-Saöne, Savoie, Haute Savoie, and Var. In the month of October or
November, an agent of the Régie proceeds to the communes among which the
prefects have apportioned the allotments, and receives the declaration
of every proprietor desiring to profit by the authorization. A
Commission, composed of the prefect, of the director of indirect taxes,
a superior agent of cultivation, a member of the council general, and of
a member of the council of the arrondissement, not being planters, then
examine the declarations, and admit, reduce, or reject them. After a
planter is accorded permission to cultivate, he is subjected to close
official supervision, and to numerous stringent regulations concerning
details as to the prohibition to sow any other seed than that furnished
to him by the administration, the mode of planting, &c.; and, in
addition to the surveillance as to these matters, two official
inventories are taken of the growing crop—the first to ascertain the
extent of land under cultivation and the number of plants, the second to
determine the number of leaves for which the planter will be held
accountable. When the tobacco has been gathered in a manner described by
regulations of minute detail, the planter takes it to the magazine of
the Régie, where it is subjected to the inspection of a commission of
five disinterested experts, who separate the leaves into three portions,
according to quality; the planter is then paid for each portion in
accordance with the tariff of prices promulgated by the Minister of
Finance. Foreign tobacco is obtained through contract with private
parties, after published proposals by the Minister of Finance through
the French Consular Corps abroad, and through a special government
agency established at Havana. At present a little over one-third of the
tobacco purchased by the Régie is of French growth; over one-half
consists of foreign leaf, mostly obtained from the United States, and
the remainder is made up by importations of cigars from Havana and
Manilla, and by cigarettes and miscellaneous productions of various
countries, and by custom-house seizures. The magazines distributed
throughout the country are of two sorts, “magasins de transit” for
foreign tobacco, and “magasins de culture” for indigenous tobacco. In
the “magasins de transit” the foreign leaves have not to submit to any
other manipulation than the sampling of packages, after which they are
forwarded to the factories in such quantities as may be demanded. With
the indigenous tobacco the course is different; this when received from
the hands of the French grower is usually very imperfectly dried, and
has to be subjected to a curing process. After the bundles are
thoroughly thrashed, they are put in heaps according to maturity, and
fermented in a temperature as high as 30° to 40° Centigrade. This
maturation lasts from six to nine months, depending upon the locality,
and the condition of the leaves as received, and is interrupted from
time to time by the operation of shaking and turning in order to prevent
too great fermentation. When this fermentation is concluded, those
leaves containing less than twenty per cent. of water are ready to be
packed. At this point certain of the leaves undergo a stemming process;
they are then packed by hydraulic pressure in bales and hogsheads
weighing from 400 to 500 _kilo._ each, and in this state they remain
stored in the magazine for some months to acquire further ripeness. It
is usually 15–18 months after they are gathered that the leaves are
considered to be in a fit condition to be sent to the manufactory. Upon
arrival at the manufactory, the packages are sorted and emptied; the
leaves are spread out in large bins or receive a preparatory wetting
with water containing 10 per cent. of sea salt, in order to produce
flexibility and prevent powdering. This process occupies 24 hours. Then
follows the sorting according to quality, and the distribution to the
various workrooms for composition.

When intended for the manufacture of snuff, the leaves are put into
machines and chopped into strips of the width of a finger; they are then
moistened with pure water or tobacco juice of various strengths, the
necessary quantity and quality of which is determined by chemical
analysis. These strips are then piled up in masses containing from
35,000 to 40,000 kilogrammes, in rooms where a high and even temperature
is maintained by steam-pipes and ventilators. Here they remain to
ferment during a month or six weeks, when they are dried, ground into
powder, and sifted. This powder then receives a wetting, is packed in
stout wooden bins, in quantities ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 _kilo._,
and so remain to ferment for several months. During the course of the
final fermentation, the powder is tested and moved from one bin to
another from time to time, in order to ensure a successful issue of the
process. When the samples taken from the bins indicate maturity, the
snuff is packed in barrels and casks, and is ready for the market. For
the manufacture of smoking-tobacco, the leaves, after the stemming
process, receive their first moistening, which lasts 24 hours. They are
then neatly arranged, with their edges parallel, and are taken to the
chopping machines; the machines in use at the Régie are capable of
chopping 220 lb. per hour, the knives being renewed twice during that
time. The tobacco, on leaving the choppers, contains about 25 per cent.
of humidity, and is immediately conveyed into one end of a revolving
drying cylinder, heated to a uniform temperature of 203° Fahrenheit,
from the opposite end of which it issues, at the expiration of fifteen
minutes, in a dried state and freed from albumen. It is then put through
a second cylinder, similar in construction to the last, but which
subjects the tobacco to a strong draught of cold air to eliminate all
dust and heat. The tobacco is then packed in well-aired bins, where it
remains from four to six weeks, after which it is carefully overhauled
by hand to remove the pieces of stems and foreign matter that may have
escaped notice in the previous operations. It is then put up in
packages, varying in weight from 40 grammes upwards. These packages are
surrounded with a paper band, upon which are printed the Government tax
stamp, the date of manufacture, the weight, the price, and the letter
“H,” followed by figures. The last mark signifies the amount of humidity
contained in the tobacco at the time it was put into the packets. Consul
Scidmore says that in no instance since its inauguration has there been
a year without enormous profits to the tobacco monopoly in France, and
in a table appended to his report, it appears that from the date of its
foundation (1811) to the end of 1878, the net total gain to the French
Government amounted to 287,703,881_l._

The following table from a recent report shows that the consumption of
tobacco in France has been steadily increasing:—

Year. Population. Amount Amount per
consumed. Head.

Kilogrammes. Grammes.

1815 29,250,000 8,981,403 307

1826 31,673,853 11,595,084 366

1831 32,731,256 11,071,088 338

1841 34,018,715 16,461,934 484

1851 35,546,919 19,718,089 555

1864 37,133,424 28,019,803 755

1866 37,807,203 30,627,663 810

1872 35,844,414 27,031,000 754

1876 36,643,087 31,188,846 851

The amount consumed in the different departments varies very much.
Snuff-taking is most practised in Oise, Seine Inférieure, Eure, and
Eure-et-Loir, at the maximum rate of 375 _grm._ per head; and least in
the departments of Doubs, Pyrénées Orientales, Nord, Haut Rhin, and
Haute Savoie, where the average is but 100 _grm._ In smoking, however,
there is rather a reverse order of things, the Nord, Haut-Rhin, and Pas
de Calais consuming at the rate of 2 _kilo._ per head, while the minimum
is found in Haute Savoie, Cantal, Corrèze, Creuse, Aveyron, Dordogne,
Lot, and Lozère. Ten departments only consume tobacco above the average,
while 70 are actually below it. If all France smoked the same quantity
as do the people of Nord, Haut-Rhin, and Pas de Calais, the consumption
for the whole country would be 73,286,174 _kilo._ instead of 31,000,000;
and _vice versâ_ it would be only 6,265,968 _kilo._ if calculated
according to the average of Lozère, which is only at the rate of 171
_grm._ per head.

The department of the Nord, in 1884, had 449 _hectares_ (of 2·47 acres)
under tobacco, the yield of which was 1,168,206 _kilo._

_Germany._—The total area of land engaged in growing tobacco in Germany
in 1878 was about 44,520 acres; nearly two-thirds of this total was
distributed among Rhenish Bavaria, Baden, S. Hesse, and Alsace-Lorraine.
The total consumption of tobacco in the German empire in that year was
2,196,000 cwt. The home production was 596,776 cwt., the remainder being
imported.

The aggregate area of land cultivated with tobacco in the States of the
German Customs Union did not vary considerably during ten years, being
21,509 _hectares_ in 1863, and 20,918 in 1872, to which must be added
the newly annexed provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which bring up the
total to 24,745 _hectares_. It appears that, with particular regard to
the year 1872, the cultivation was carried on in 4067 different
localities, by 94,916 taxable growers, and by 83,675 smaller growers,
whose production, owing to its limited extent, was exempt from taxation.
By far the larger number were small growers, the area cultivated by each
not exceeding an average of 10 _ares_. In Prussia the aggregate of land
cultivated during the year 1871 amounted to 5925 _hectares_, or 26 per
cent. of the entire territory of the kingdom; the aggregate yield of the
harvest in the same year was 198,890 _centners_. It appears that the
extent of tobacco-growing land has, during the last fifty years, been
gradually diminishing in Prussia, and that accordingly the expectations
entertained in the beginning of that period of a great future
development of this branch of agriculture have not been realized. The
reasons for the gradual decline are considered to be, on the one hand,
the growing competition of the South German growers, and the increase in
the importations of American tobacco; on the other hand, the fact that
the cultivation of beetroot for sugar, and of potatoes for distilling
purposes, has proved to be a more profitable business than tobacco
production. It has, moreover, been found by many years’ experience, that
whilst the quality of the tobacco cultivated in most parts of Prussia is
not such as to enable the growers to compete successfully with the
importers of foreign, particularly North American sorts, the labour
attending its cultivation and its preparation for the market, as well as
the uncertainty of only an average crop, are out of proportion, as a
rule, to the average profits arising therefrom. The cultivation of the
plant has consequently gradually “become restricted chiefly to those
districts of the country where either the soil is peculiarly adapted for
the purpose, or where it is carried on for the private use of the
producer.

In Bavaria, as is well known, tobacco is cultivated very extensively,
particularly in the Palatinate and in Franconia, viz. the districts
around Nuremberg and Erlangen. The area of land in 1871 was 4721
_hectares_, which produced 144,153 _centners_. In Saxony but little
tobacco is grown, the total area planted therewith in 1871 not having
exceeded 6 _hectares_, upon which 130 _centners_ were produced. Although
in parts of Wirtemberg the soil and climate are said to be very
favourable to the growth of the plant, the area of land cultivated is,
upon the whole, a very limited one, and did not exceed 178 _hectares_.
The yield of the harvest is given at 5571 _centners_. In the year 1858
the extent of production in Wirtemberg is stated to have been four times
as great as it is at present. The Grand Duchy of Baden has at all times
been the chief tobacco-growing part of Germany, and as far back as the
end of the seventeenth century special laws for regulating the
cultivation, preparation, and warehousing of this article were in force.
The great importance accordingly attaching to this branch of agriculture
and industry for so large a proportion of the inhabitants of Baden,
renders it but natural that any project of increasing the tobacco tax
should meet with very strong opposition amongst most classes of the
Grand Duchy. The most prominent tobacco-growing districts of Baden are
those of Carlsruhe, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Badenburg, Schwitzingen, and
Lahr; the quality of the plant grown in these parts being a very
inferior one. The produce of the districts mentioned is therefore
applied chiefly to the manufacture of “cigar-wrappers,” and is exported
in considerable quantities to Bremen, Hamburg, Switzerland, Holland, and
even to America, for the use of the cigar-makers. The prices of the best
kinds of Baden tobacco are consequently also, on an average, much higher
than those realized by other German growers. The area in Hesse was 979
_hectares_, the chief district being around the town of Darmstadt; the
production was 31,311 _centners_. The most prominent amongst the
Thuringian States as regards tobacco production, is the Duchy of
Saxe-Menningen; the land cultivated in 1871 in all of them put together
was 202 _hectares_, the yield of the harvest in that year having been
4806 _centners_. In the two German states of Mecklenburg, 6106
_centners_ were raised from 165 _hectares_ of land. The most important
district is that of Neu-Brandenburg, in Mecklenburgh-Strelitz. Only a
small extent of land, viz. 69 _hectares_, is used for tobacco in the
Duchy of Brunswick, the same being situated near the town of Helmstadt;
the amount raised was 2391 _centners_.

In the recently acquired provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, tobacco
cultivation has been extensively carried on for many years, more
especially in the country around Strasburg, Mülhausen, Schirmeck, and
Münster, and to a smaller extent near Metz and Thionville. The aggregate
area of land cultivated in 1871 in both provinces is given at 3159
_hectares_, upon which 115,518 _centners_ of tobacco were raised.
According to the statistics and information furnished by Consul Ward,
the quantity of tobacco produced in Germany in the year 1871 amounted to
713,845 _centners_, the whole being estimated in value at 60,284,210
dols., or about 9,042,613_l._ sterling.

A Consular report of March 31, 1885, remarks that one of the most
prominent branches of agriculture in Baden is that of tobacco, of which
about 300,000 to 350,000 cwt. annually are grown, whereof large
quantities are exported. Owing to the comparatively high tax on
production of 22½ marks per 50 _kilo._, the grower has been forced to
seek a more rational system of cultivation, and a more careful treatment
of the plant and the curing of the leaf. Government pays particular
attention to this culture. A Commission has been appointed for the
purpose of studying and investigating the treatment of tobacco in
Holland, and the results are to be adopted and propagated, so far as the
climate admits.

It is very doubtful whether the labours of the Commission will greatly
influence the farmers, who are of a very conservative disposition;
moreover, there is a greater obstacle to struggle against, namely, their
desire to increase the quantity of the production, and with it their
income, without regard to the question of deterioration of the quality
of tobacco; the peasantry, like other classes, participates in the
desire to better its material condition.

The surface of land occupied by tobacco plantations represented in 1883
for the whole of the empire the considerable figure of 22,068
_hectares_; this year a reduction is to be noted, as official reports
bring the total to 21,108 _hectares_ only.

The Grand Duchy of Baden participated in the above figures with 7788
_hectares_ for 1883, and 7647 _hectares_ for 1884.

Notwithstanding this difference, the result of the crop will not
essentially be smaller (as regards the weight of the total), the new
produce proving heavier in weight and in substance. While in 1883 the
hectare produced about 1900 _kilo._, it is supposed that for 1884 it
will yield from 1800 to 2000 _kilo._ These figures tend to prove that
the 1884 tobacco is richer in quality, and consequently more durable,
and less capable of treatment than that of the preceding years; although
the quality is somewhat inferior to that of 1882 and 1883 it may fairly
be considered as good.

The subjoined remarks deal with the tobacco trade of Bremen. The number
of casks of Kentucky tobacco sold in 1884 fell considerably below that
disposed of in 1883. This is explainable by the circumstance that lugs
and cuttings were altogether wanting. The prices of leaf on the whole
remained steady, except in October and November, when they soon regained
their firmness through no more supplies from America being expected,
owing to the continued demand for strong tobacco in that country.
Business in Virginia tobacco also suffered from the want of inferior
qualities. Prices, considered high from the beginning, showed even a
rising tendency at the end of the season. Transactions in Maryland and
scrubs exceeded the average of the last five years. Ohio and Bay
suffered, as hitherto, from the protection afforded to home growths.
Operations in stems were, considering the depression in trade, not
unsatisfactory.

A good business was done in almost all descriptions of tobacco in
serons, chests, bales, and baskets, and sales surpassed those of
previous years.

The subjoined table presents a comparison of the transactions in the
various sorts of tobacco during the last two years:—

──────────────────┬──────────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────
Description of │ Description of │ Imports. │ Sales.
Tobacco. │ Packing. │ 1883.│ 1884.│ 1883.│ 1884.
──────────────────┼──────────────────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────
Kentucky │Casks │ 20,828│ 12,084│ 20,012│ 12,514
Virginia │ ” │ 3,937│ 5,250│ 4,848│ 5,196
Maryland │ ” │ 4,929│ 5,615│ 4,579│ 5,811
Scrubs │ ” │ 383│ 1,363│ 383│ 1,027
Ohio │ ” │ 581│ 1,155│ 566│ 1,174
Bay │ ” │ 101│ 136│ 234│ 134
Stems │ ” │ 5,013│ 7,332│ 8,163│ 5,403
Havana │Serons │ 16,127│ 15,027│ 13,121│ 11,967
Cuba and Yara │ ” │ 22,467│ 22,259│ 29,297│ 17,383
St. Domingo │ ” │ 83,836│ 59,665│ 58,121│ 44,065
Seed-leaf │Chests │ 17,070│ 18,723│ 77,000│ 18,203
Porto Rico │Bales │ 1,133│ 300│ 1,137│ 2,210
Esmeralda │ ” │ 705│ 549│ 776│ 599
Columbia │Serons and bales │ 11,862│ 21,041│ 14,032│ 22,659
Varnias │Leaves and rolls │ 922│ 2,065│ 3,174│ 2,065
Brazil, in leaves │Bales │131,982│185,061│139,397│189,246
Paraguay │ ” │ 2,672│ 2,601│ 2,879│ 2,819
Rio Grande │ ” │ 4,571│ ..│ 10,199│ 1,340
Manilla │ ” │ 50│ 77│ 21│ 106
Mexican │ ” │ ..│ 10│ ..│ 10
Turkish and Greek │ ” │ 6,155│ 6,825│ 8,235│ 8,105
Other varieties │ ” │ 1,496│ 2,017│ 1,441│ 3,357
──────────────────┴──────────────────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────

Good qualities of Havana fetched adequate prices. The demand for Cuba,
Yara, Carmen, and Domingo was brisk; Brazilian and Felix found ready
buyers, owing to the last good crop, the prices rising towards the close
of the year. The stock of Porto Rico was realized at a low figure. In
seed-leaf Pennsylvania plants were chiefly imported, and, being of a
good quality, were for the most part promptly disposed of. Much
inclination was shown for Turkish tobacco, and the same remark applies
to business in Paraguay, of which the supplies might have been greater.
Chinese tobacco, very brisk at first on account of its fine quality,
later on fell off again considerably.

The value of the tobacco consumed in Germany in 1878 is calculated to
have been 353 million marks, or 17,650,000_l._ sterling, the total
return to the revenue being 26,383,966 marks, or 1,319,198_l._ The
quantity consumed in that empire in the year is stated at 2,196,000
cwt., or rather more than 100,000 tons. Of this quantity 582,600 cwt.,
or upwards of 29,000 tons, were consumed in the form of cigars.
Reckoning a hundred cigars to a pound in weight, the number of cigars
consumed in Germany in 1878 would be upwards of seven thousand millions,
which would give two cigars a day all the year round to ten million
smokers. But besides cigars the Germans smoked in the year 1,327,200
cwt., or upwards of 60,000 tons of tobacco more or less manufactured. In
the form of snuff they took 160,600 cwt., or 8000 tons, in the course of
the year, while in the way of chewing-tobacco they limited themselves to
the moderate quantity of 14,200 cwt., or about 700 tons. Rather more
than one-third of the total weight of tobacco consumed was grown within
the limits of Germany, the quantity so produced in 1878 being 596,776
cwt., while the imports amounted to 1,768,855 cwt. of tobacco leaves,
4827 cwt. of roll tobacco, 14,170 cwt. of cigars, 8321 cwt. of stems for
snuffs, 513 cwt. of snuff, and 101 cwt. of chewing-tobacco. The total
area of land engaged in growing the plant in 1878 was 18,016 _hectares_,
or about 44,520 acres. Two-thirds of that quantity was grown in Rhenish
Bavaria, Baden, South Hesse, and Alsace-Lorraine, in which districts
11,623 _hectares_ were employed in the cultivation of the plant.

_Great Britain._—The proposal to re-establish tobacco culture in the
United Kingdom has called for the following sensible article in the
_Planters’ Gazette_.

“The question of growing tobacco in the United Kingdom is not so simple
as patriotic Irishmen and enthusiasts of acclimatization might think.
Tobacco has been classed, like tea and coffee, as among those
necessaries of life which could not be grown with any advantage in the
United Kingdom, and might therefore be freely taxed for revenue
purposes. It is, indeed, true that a passable herb may be grown and
called tobacco, in many parts of the United Kingdom, but the fact has
been generally recognized that competition with more tropical countries
is practically fruitless, and therefore to be abandoned. It is easily to
be understood that so aromatic a crop, monopolizing so many of the best
and rarest qualities of the soil, would require high manuring; and that,
just as is the case of any other crop—such as hops, or even wheat—one
could get nothing of the special excellence of the herb required but
what one has previously put into the soil. But, to be profitable, the
plant requires good heat as well as good soil. This, therefore, is the
whole economical question, and upon that the matter mainly hinges. The
claim to grow real tobacco in England or Ireland is based upon the
allegation that the herb can be grown at a profit. The best evidence
furnished to the House of Commons on Monday evening on this point was
that of Lord Harris, who affirmed boldly that Ireland and parts of
England were prepared to enter into a fair competition with the
recognized productive colonies. The Government, and with them, Lord
Iddesleigh, are in favour of an experiment largely granting all that is
asked, and carefully observing the result. Then, when the British
tobacco comes upon the ordinary market, let it be taxed as any other
similar product would be. The Government could not view with anything
but dismay the prospect of a fall in revenue; and there is no question,
therefore, that the home-grown tobacco must pay duty to the full. The
_crux_ of the question is how such duty can be enforced without an army
of revenue officers, whose practical duties would bear no reasonable
proportion to their probable cost. Our own impression is that tobacco
can never be grown in these islands on any large scale to compete with
the growers within the tropics, and that the expense of collecting
revenue would be out of all proportion to the amount collected. At the
same time, it ill becomes us as a Free-trading nation to shut out any
class of our own countrymen, by duties distinctly prohibitive, from
following a branch of agriculture which they think they could make
profitable. It is against our principle to offer a bounty on the forced
cultivation of exotics, such as tobacco undoubtedly is when grown in
these islands, but it would be still worse to maintain, on merely
pedantic grounds, a prohibitive import on a crop which many men think
the smaller tenants could produce to the great advantage of their
holdings. We are by no means sanguine of their success; but that is no
reason why they should not try.”

_Greece._—The production of tobacco in Greece is about 4 million _okes_
(of 2¾ lb.) annually. Patras, in 1878, exported 300 tons to Holland,
Austria, and Turkey, at a value of 25–30_l._ a ton. The values of the
exports from Syra, in 1879, were 3503_l._ to Great Britain, 2325_l._ to
Turkey, 88_l._ to the Danubian Principalities, 236_l._ to France,
554_l._ to Austria, 436_l._ to Egypt, 1605_l._ to Russia; and in 1878,
1528_l._ to Turkey, 1875_l._ to Great Britain, 93_l._ to the Danubian
Principalities, 441_l._ to Austria, 334_l._ to France, 266_l._ to
Russia, 39_l._ to Egypt.

In 1884, Nauplia exported 13,000_l._ worth of tobacco; and Calamata,
2400_l._ worth. The value at Patras was 45_s._ per cwt. Syra imported
439_l._ worth of tobacco and 305_l._ worth of tumbeki from Turkey; but
exported 10,459_l._ worth of tobacco to Turkey, 697_l._ worth to Great
Britain, 17,723_l._ worth to Egypt, 200_l._ worth to Russia, 120_l._
worth to Roumania, 2963_l._ worth to Italy, 1176_l._ worth to France,
and 200_l._ worth to Austria.

_Holland._—There were 4117 acres under tobacco in Holland in 1878, which
produced 3,132,875 _kilo._ The imports of tobacco into Holland in 1878
were as follows:—Maryland, 5249, Kentucky, 500, and Virginian, 107
hogsheads; Java, 87,998, seed-leaf, 100, Sumatra, 33,671 packages. In
1876 and 1877, there were 5900 and 3993 packages respectively from Rio
Grande. The exports of leaf from Holland in 1879 were 3,900,000 _kilo._

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE IMPORTS OF THE VARIOUS KINDS
OF TOBACCO DURING THE FIVE YEARS 1879–83.

───────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │Virginia │ │ │ │
│Maryland.│ and │ Java. │Seed-leaf.│ Brazil. │Sumatra.
│ │Kentucky.│ │ │ │
───────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┼─────────
│ Hhds. │ Hhds. │Packages.│ Packages.│Packages.│Packages.
In 1879│ 7,234│ 85│ 102,791│ 192│ 1,548│ 44,477
1880│ 4,775│ 147│ 34,037│ 1,007│ 339│ 52,151
1881│ 2,989│ 151│ 81,225│ 454│ 1,098│ 59,468
1882│ 3,405│ 26│ 103,384│ 905│ Nil.│ 73,444
1883│ 4,240│ 976│ 30,975│ 2,500│ 675│ 10,111
───────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┴──────────┴─────────┴─────────

_India._—An immense area is occupied in producing tobacco in India. In
Madras, Dindigul is the great tobacco district, and cheroots are
manufactured at Trichinopoli. The islands in the delta of the Godavari
also yield _lunka_ tobacco, the climate being suitable, and the plants
being raised on rather poor, light soil, highly manured and well
watered. Manilla seeds have been tried on the lower Palnai Hills, but
the Wynaad has proved to be the best locality. In Bombay, the Kaira and
Khandesh tobaccos are superior; altogether over 40,000 acres were under
the crop in this presidency in 1871–2, and the exports were 3 million
lb. Shiraz and Manilla seeds yield good plants in Gujrat and Khandesh.
The total areas under tobacco in 1871–2 were thus returned:—Bengal,
about 300,000 acres; Punjab, over 90,000; Oudh, 69,500; Rungpore, 60.000
(affording the so-called “Burma cheroots”); Central Provinces, 55,000;
Tirhoot, 40,000; Cooch Behar, 24,000; Mysore, 20,000; Dinagepore,
20,000; Purneah, 20,000; Behar, 18,500; Burma, 13,000; Monghyr,
9–10,000; Nuddea, 9–10,000. The best tobacco districts are said to be
Sandoway and the island of Cheduba, in Arracan; Rungpore, in Bengal; and
Bhilsa, in the Central Provinces. The results of many analyses of South
Indian tobaccos show that their ash seldom contains more than 5–6 per
cent. of carbonate of potash, while American range from 20–40 per cent.,
indicating the poverty of the Indian soils in this important ingredient.
It might, however, be supplied at moderate cost in the shape of
saltpetre, which is actually exported largely from the tobacco-growing
districts.

The bulk of the Indian tobacco exported consists of leaf, the kinds
chiefly shipped being the “Bispah” and “Poolah” varieties of the
Rungpore kind; the quantities of cigars and other manufactured tobacco
exported are very small. The exports in lb. for the four years 1875–79
were:—

───────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────
│ 1875–76. │ 1876–77. │ 1877–78. │ 1878–79.
───────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────
Unmanufactured │ 22,861,711│ 10,508,720│ 10,594,604│ 13,279,158
Manufactured: │ │ │ │
Cigars │ 152,189│ 190,136│ 189,742│ 196,759
Other sorts │ 232,720│ 205,033│ 317,887│ 247,743
│————————————│————————————│————————————│————————————
Total │ 23,246,620│ 10,903,889│ 11,102,233│ 13,723,660
───────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────

On the other hand, a considerable quantity of manufactured tobacco,
averaging over 1½ million lb. yearly, is imported, showing that India is
still merely a producer of raw material, and is dependent upon other
countries for the manufactured article in a condition fit for
consumption. Even as regards the raw material, India might do a great
deal more than at present, for there would be a large and constant
demand on the continent of Europe for Indian leaf, if it could be
obtained of somewhat better quality. The French and Italian tobacco
departments are prepared to take Indian tobacco in large quantities, if
it can be supplied of a quality suited to their purposes; and there
would also be an extensive demand from Austria and Germany. Although the
shipments consist mainly of leaf tobacco, and that not of good quality,
tobacco manufacture is now making a promising beginning. In the
enterprise being carried on at Ghazipore, in the North-West Provinces,
and at Poosah, in Bengal, both the cultivation and manufacture are under
the supervision of skilled American growers and curers. Some of this
tobacco sent to the _Administration des Tabacs_ in Paris has been very
favourably reported on. The factory at Ghazipore is now turning out
about 500 lb. a day of all classes, the greater part being black
cavendish and honeydew, for the army. The machinery is capable of
turning out 3500 lb. a day, as soon as sufficient hands have been
trained.

Hitherto no Indian tobacco has realized any valuation approaching that
of American. The average price of the American “shipping tobacco” is
5–6_d._ a lb., higher classes of bright leaf from Virginia realize as
much as 7–13_d._ a lb., while the price of Indian tobacco has generally
been 1–2_d._ a lb. But the 15,000 lb. of Poosah leaf from the 1877 crop
reached England when American shipping leaf was at 4–5_d._ a lb., or 25
per cent. below the normal rate. The consignment was, moreover, packed
in rather damp order, and contained a quantity of moisture which caused
it to be assessed under the highest rate of the new tariff, which
imposes 3_s._ 10_d._ duty when the moisture is over 10 per cent.,
against 3_s._ 6_d._ under 10 per cent. This made a difference in the
value, estimated at 1_d._ a lb. The price obtained was 3¾_d._, which
would have been 4¾_d._ had the tobacco been drier, and the sale has been
followed by orders of large shipments.

The high prices, too, realized for the best samples of the 1876 and 1877
crops, indicate that Indian leaf can be turned out equal to the best
shipping tobacco from America. A tierce of strips from the 1876–77 crop
from Ghazipore sold for 7_d._ a lb., and the greater part of the rest
for 5_d._ or more, while a portion of the Poosah leaf of 1877–78 was
valued at 5_d._ when the market was 25 per cent. below normal rates.
These facts seem to guarantee future success, since the quantity of the
higher classes can be largely increased, and a greater portion of the
crop be brought to the same higher level. The chief point to be
ascertained was whether a sufficiently high level could be attained at
all. It has been attained. The cured leaf of 1878 is very much superior
to any hitherto turned out, especially that from Ghazipore. A new market
is not unlikely to open in France. The French Government have already
asked for a consignment for trial of 1000–1500 lb.

The reason why the manufacture of smoking-tobacco for Indian consumption
has occupied so large a share in the operations is, that the Indian
market, though small, pays far more handsome profits than the English
market.

The price paid for reasonably good American manufactured tobacco in
India ranges from one to three _rupees_ a lb. Ghazipore and Poosah
tobacco is sold at half that price, at a much higher profit than can be
obtained by sending cured leaf to England.

While Indian cured leaf can find a sale in the English market at prices
which will enable it to compete there with American cured leaf, Indian
manufactured leaf is proved to compete successfully with American
manufactured leaf in India itself, with a fair prospect of success in a
similar competition in the colonies. It may be stated in general terms
that 4_d._ a lb. for cured leaf in England, and 6–10 _annas_ for
manufactured leaf in India, will secure sufficient or even handsome
profits. The opening for profits will perhaps be better understood if it
is explained that 1_d._ a lb. represents an asset of about 5_l._ an
acre. The one great advantage which India has over America is cheap
labour. It is now proved that the leaf is, for all practical purposes,
as good as the American leaf, and there is hardly any doubt that America
cannot afford to send home leaf at the price at which India can sell.

The exports of tobacco from British India during the years 1874–5 to
1878–9 have been as follows:—

──────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ 1875. │ 1876. │ 1877. │ 1878. │ 1879.
──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────
Unmanufac- } lb.│33,411,504│22,861,711│10,508,720│10,594,604│13,279,158
tured │ │ │ │ │
Manufactured { lb.│ 425,040│ 384,909│ 395,169│ 507,629│ 444,502
No.│ 2,999,940│ ..│ ..│ ..│ ..
──────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────

The following letter from the manager of the Poosah tobacco farms,
Tirhoot, describes the system of growing and curing now adopted in
India.

“Preparation of Soil.—Tobacco land should be well-drained upland which
has lain fallow some time or that has had some light crop in it; this
land should be well manured with well-rotted manure. We plough our lands
twice monthly. Just before the time for transplanting the soil is
ploughed up and well pulverized by a henger or beam of wood drawn by
bullocks over the upturned soil so as to bend it and to break up any
lumps of earth. The soil should be sufficiently dry for this purpose so
as not to cake and harden.

“Seed-beds.—These should be made up in a suitable situation, that is,
protected from the afternoon sun, having some building or grove of trees
on the west side. The seed-beds should be raised some six inches off the
ground and have trenches dug all round so as to carry off any
superfluous moisture, the beds should be well worked with a kodalie and
good, rotted manure well worked in. After pulverizing the soil and
levelling it, pick off any stones or other rubbish and it will be ready
for sowing the seed. The size of the bed should be about 4 feet by 15
feet; this is more convenient than square beds, as it enables the plants
to be attended to without risk of destroying them by trampling on them.

“Sowing the Seed.—The seed is sown broadcast with the hand, mixed with
some sand or ashes so as to sow evenly; care should be taken not to sow
too thickly. About one chittak of seed ought to be found sufficient for
one of these beds which would furnish enough plants for one beegah of
land. After having sown and if there is a hot sun, it would be advisable
to cover the beds with light mats. This seed should germinate in seven
or ten days at least. American seed does; Sumatra takes much longer. The
plants may require watering, which should be done with a watering-can
with a rose, when the plants are well up and large. Only water seed-beds
in the evening. As soon as the seedlings have leaves of the size of a
penny, they are capable of bearing transplanting. Before taking up the
seedling to transplant, water the beds well an hour beforehand; this is
done to loosen the earth about the roots so that the plants may be taken
up without injury. To take up the seedlings they should be seized by the
under side of the two largest leaves by the finger and thumb, having one
leaf on each side, not by the stem, then pull up gently, taking care not
to break the leaves. They may then be placed in an open basket. When the
basket is full it should be covered with a cloth if the sun is hot, and
the seedlings slightly sprinkled with water and then carried off to
transplant. The seedlings are planted out in rows 3 feet by 2 feet
apart, for which purpose a knotted cord is used, the knots being 3 feet
apart. This cord is drawn by two men—one at each end. Across the field
or portion of the field at a distance of 2 feet from the outer edge, the
cord is drawn out and then trampled upon by coolies. The knots leave an
impression in the soil where the seedlings have to be planted. The cord
is then raised and put down again at another distance of 2 feet from the
first, and so on till sufficient land has been marked off. This work can
be done during the day, and the transplanting in the evening.

“Transplanting.—Transplanting should be done in the evening if there is
any sun; in cloudy weather it can be done all the day long. Rainy
weather is most suitable as it dispenses with watering and the plants
settle better. A boy takes a basket of seedlings and walks up the row,
dropping a plant here and there where the marks have been made; he is
followed by a man who makes a hole with a _kurpie_, into which he places
a seedling, and then presses the soil around the roots firmly with his
fingers, and then goes on with the rest. As transplanting can hardly be
done here without watering, a boy carrying a can without a rose follows
the man who is transplanting, and waters each plant he comes across;
but, as I mentioned above, if the transplanting could be done in rainy
weather, the watering would be unnecessary. When growing the young
plants require some attention. After the plants have been planted a week
or so, weather permitting, it is advisable to loosen and open the soil
around them with a kurpie, and also to eradicate weeds which may appear.
Later on a kodalie may be used to work the earth between the rows. As
soon as the plants have made growth and begin to throw out flower or
seed-heads, which will take place in about eight weeks or so, they
should be topped, viz. the flower heads should be broken off before they
flower in this way. The stem on which the head was found should be
seized about two to three feet from the ground and snapped clean off by
the hand or fingers. This topping will cause the plant to throw out
heavy leaves. The higher up the stem is broken off, so will the leaves
of the plant become thinner and smaller. We generally leave about ten to
twelve leaves to each plant. After topping, numerous suckers and
offshoots will spring up; these should be promptly broken off as soon as
they appear, as they take a lot of nourishment from the plant. The plant
ripens in about three months. We cut here in January, and none but ripe
plants should be cut.

“How to Cut Ripe Plants.—A tobacco plant is known to be ripe if the leaf
cracks when taken between finger and thumb and pressed, and also when
the leaves present a swollen appearance and have a heavy look. The stem
when cut is full of sap, very thin rind on edge, the leaves are carved
over and look mottled, the ribs of the plant get brittle, and are easily
broken off; when fully ripe, the plant is cut at one stroke close to the
ground. The best instrument to cut the plant with is a kurpie. When cut,
the plant is allowed to hang over on its side and wilt or droop in the
sun. This wilting takes from one to two hours according to the strength
of the sun. When sufficiently wilted (which is known when the plants
look drooping and the ribs can be bent slightly without breaking) the
plants are placed in a cart and taken to the curing-house. Plants should
not be cut in rainy or cloudy weather, as it is obvious the sun would
not be hot enough to wilt were the weather cloudy, and the rain washes
off the gum and thereby decreases the weight of the plant. Plants should
not be cut after the rain unless the gum has returned to the leaves,
which is known by their sticky, gummy feeling.”

The results of many analyses of the tobacco of South India show that the
ashes of these tobaccos seldom contain more than 5 or 6 per cent. of
potash carbonate, while the ashes of American tobacco contain from 20 to
40 per cent., proving the poverty of Indian tobacco soils in this
important plant-food—a plant-food, however, easily obtainable in the
shape of saltpetre, and at a moderate cost. But, though saltpetre is
largely exported from the tobacco-growing districts, it is never
employed as a manure for tobacco.

_Italy._—Tobacco is cultivated in Italy in the provinces of Ancona,
Benevento, Terra di Lavoro, Principato Citeriore, Terra d’Otranto,
Umbria, Vicenza, and Sardinia. The area and produce in the following
years were:—in 1870, 9544 acres, 67,192 cwt.; 1872, 12,256 acres, 82,349
cwt.; 1874, 8202 acres, 90,300 cwt. The exports from Naples in 1879 were
2006 _kilo._, value 401_l._

The British Consul at Cagliari reports that the cultivation of tobacco
is only carried on in the district of Sassari, and in the plains of
Sassari, Portotorres, Nurra, Sorso, and Sennori. No positive data on
this branch of industry can be had, it having been exclusively carried
on till 1883 by a private company, called the Regía Cointeressata.
Without fear of being wrong, it may be calculated that the tobacco
cultivators reach the number of 100, who employ during the period of
five months from 600 to 700 labourers; the plantation varies from
4,000,000 to 5,000,000 plants, producing a harvest from 2000 to 2500
_quintals_ of tobacco leaves, at a value of about 125,000 _lire_.

_Japan._—Japanese tobacco is well known in the London market, but it is
often in a soft condition, and then scarcely saleable. More care is
needed in drying it before packing.

_Java._—Tobacco, termed by the natives _tombáku_, or _sáta_, is an
article of very general cultivation in Java, but is only extensively
raised for exportation in the central districts of Kedu and Banyumas. As
it requires a soil of the richest mould, but at the same time not
subject to inundations, these districts hold out peculiar advantages to
the tobacco-planter, not to be found on the low lands. For internal
consumption, small quantities are raised in convenient spots everywhere.
In Kedu, tobacco forms, after rice, by far the most important article of
cultivation, and, in consequence of the fitness of the soil, the plant
grows to the height of 8–10 feet, on lands not previously dressed or
manured, with a luxuriance seldom witnessed in India. Cultivated here
alternately with rice, only one crop of either is obtained within the
year; but after the harvest of the rice, or the gathering of the tobacco
leaves, the land is allowed to remain fallow, till the season again
arrives for preparing it to receive the other. The young plant is not
raised within the district, but procured from the high lands in the
vicinity, principally from the district of Kalibéber, on the slope of
the mountain Diéng or Práhu, where it is raised and sold by the hundred
to the cultivators of the adjoining districts. The transplantation takes
place in June, and the plant is at its full growth in October. The
exports in the year 1877–8 were 212,500 _piculs_ to Holland, and 213 to
Singapore; in 1878–9, they were 248,566 _piculs_ to Holland, and 872 to
Singapore. The value of the export to Holland in 1879 was stated at
1,250,000_l._ The exports in 1884 were 140,351 _piculs_ to Holland, and
2490 to Great Britain.

_New Zealand._—This colony has not yet figured as a tobacco grower, but
the duty on locally produced tobacco is only 1_s._ a lb., and this is
expected to stimulate the home industry.

_Nicaragua._—It appears that the total exports of tobacco were 13,787
lb., value 4830 dollars, in 1883, but only 300 lb., value 240 dollars,
in 1884. At present it is a Government monopoly.

_Paraguay._—Consul Baker, of Buenos Ayres, states that one of the most
valuable crops of Paraguay is tobacco; in 1829, its production amounted
to only 2,675,000 lb., while in 1860, the crop amounted to 15,000,000
lb.; but the war with the allies almost ruined this source of wealth. It
has, however, somewhat recovered its importance, the exports alone last
year amounting to 8,975,000 lb. A large proportion of the crop is
annually worked up into cigars, a branch of industry which is almost
entirely in the hands of the women. The tobacco planted in Paraguay
originally came from Havana, with the exception of a particular kind
which is called in Paraguay, blue tobacco, _peti-hoby_, the origin of
which is unknown. The favourite leaf is a yellow tobacco, _peti-para_,
grown chiefly in Villa Rica, which possesses about 6 per cent. of
nicotine.

_Persia._—The whole of the eastern coast of the Black Sea, i. e.
Mingrelia, Lazistan, Abkhasia, and Circassia, is admirably suited for
tobacco cultivation. The country between Poti and Súkhúm Kalé contains
admirable sites for tobacco plantations, labour for which can be got
from Trebizond. A great demand for tobacco of good quality exists in the
country, and a practical planter should do well. A quantity of coarse,
badly-cured tobacco, of no commercial value, is produced in Imeritia and
Georgia. Great success has attended the culture in Ghilan. The first
seed introduced was from Samsoun; since then Yenija seed has been tried,
and some parcels attained the standard of the best Turkish tobacco. It
can be produced at about 20_s._ a _pood_ (of 36 lb.), giving a profit of
22_s._ a cwt. Hitherto the cultivation has been confined to the plains,
where both soil and atmosphere are damp, but it might be worth trying
the hill-skirts. About 2000 cwt. were produced in 1878. The exports of
tobacco, the produce of Ghilan, from Resht to Russia, were valued at
4615_l._ in 1878, and 6154_l._ in 1879. The values (in rupees) of the
exports in 1879 were 13,000 from Bushire, 73,500 from Lingah, and 35,000
from Bahrein.

At the time when I wrote the article on tobacco in Spons’ Encyclopædia,
the true source and history of an article called “tumbeki” was still in
doubt. From researches made at the instigation of my friend E. Morell
Holmes, F.L.S., the Curator of the Pharmaceutical Society’s Museum, it
is now clear that it is a Persian tobacco, and as such calls for mention
here. The following paragraph reproduces what I said on the subject in
Spons’ Encyclopædia.

“Tumbeki.—This word, under a multitude of forms, is the common name in
several Eastern languages (Bengali, Hindustani, Telugu, Sunda, Javanese,
Malayan, Persian, Guzerati, Deccan) for ordinary tobacco. But in Asia
Minor, it is applied to a narcotic leaf which is spoken of as distinct
from tobacco, and is separately classified in the Consular Returns.
Botanical authorities are at variance as to the plant which affords it,
some attributing it to a _Lobelia_, while others consider it a kind of
tobacco. The latter appears to be the more correct supposition. The
flower resembles the tobacco in being trumpet-shaped; the leaf is
broader, larger, and rounder than that of the tobacco raised in Turkey,
and is also wrinkled like the inner leaf of the cabbage. The plant is
raised from seed in nurseries, and when it has 4 or 5 leaves, is planted
out in April in the prepared field, and watered sparingly. It is ‘set’
in a day or two, and is then hoed occasionally to free it from weeds.
After inflorescence, and when the plant is sufficiently ‘cooked,’ it is
cut down, or pulled up bodily, and re-set in the ground till the leaves
are wilted. These leaves are dried, and, after exposure to the dew, are
pressed heavily, when they undergo a kind of fermentation which develops
the aroma. It is exceedingly narcotic: so much so, that it is usually
steeped in water before use, and placed in the pipe (a _narghilé_ or
water-pipe) while still wet. The exports of this article (the produce of
Persia) from the port of Trebizonde are considerable:—In 1877, they were
13,342 bales (of 1¾ cwt.), value 106,736_l._, to Turkey; in 1878, 11,571
bales, 92,568_l._, to Turkey; in 1879, 9659 bales, 77,272_l._, to
Turkey, and 866 bales, 6928_l._, to Greece. Aleppo, in 1878, sent 4
tons, value 320_l._, to Turkey, and 11 tons, 880_l._, to Egypt. The
exports of the article, the produce of the interior of Persia, from
Resht to Russia, were valued at 5000_l._ in 1877, and 3846_l._ in 1878.”

It will be interesting to compare this with Holmes’ paper read before
the Pharmaceutical Society on February 10, 1886:—

“Tumbeki is the name under which an article of regular commerce between
Persia and Turkey is mentioned in the consular reports, especially in
that for Trebizonde.

“Two or three years ago an inquiry was made at this institution
concerning the nature and botanical source of umbeki, and the only
information I was then able to give was that in the ‘Treasury of Botany’
tumbeky is stated to be the narcotic leaf of a species of lobelia.

“From its frequent occurrence in the Blue Books in the same list with
tobacco, and from the large quantities mentioned as an export from
Trebizonde, my correspondent suggested that it was probably something
used for smoking like tobacco. In the hope that tumbeki might prove to
be some drug possessing important narcotic or possible medicinal
properties, I wrote to Mr. A. Biliotti, Consul at Trebizonde, for
information. In reply, he forwarded samples of tumbeki of different
growths and qualities. This proved on examination to be unquestionably
some kind of tobacco, and being puzzled to know why it figured in the
Blue Books as a distinct article, I asked Mr. Thomas Christy, F.L.S., to
make inquiries for me in Persia. He received the following note through
Mr. Zanni, the well-known chemist at Constantinople, from whom I
received the following information:—

“‘There are three qualities of the teymbeki, all derived from the
_Nicotiana persica_.

“‘1. Shiraz teymbeki, valued at twenty gold piastres per oke.[A]

“‘2. Kechan teymbeki, valued at ten gold piastres.

“‘3. Teheran teymbeki, equal in value to No. 2.

“‘The Shiraz is the best quality, the leaves are four decimetres long
and half a decimetre wide. The leaves of the two other qualities are not
so large. The quantity of alkaloid in the leaves of teymbeki is more
than in the leaves of _Nicotiana Tabacum_; it is much used in
Constantinople, but more so in Egypt, Syria, and particularly in Persia.
Teymbeki is smoked in a special apparatus known as the narghileh.[B] The
apparatus is found in every coffee-house and even in a great number of
private houses. It resembles somewhat the wash bottle used in
laboratories for washing filters with distilled water, but is often made
of metal. The teymbeki is placed in a small reservoir on the top of the
flask and burns in contact with a piece of incandescent charcoal. The
vapour is drawn through the tube, which passes to the bottom of the
water and collects above it, whence it is inhaled through the longer
tube.[C] It is in fact a water-pipe.’

“Having ascertained then that tumbeki was a species of tobacco, I sought
for further confirmation of the statement that it is the produce of _N.
persica_, and wrote on the subject to Professor Hausknecht, who is well
known as one of the best authorities on the botany of Persia. He kindly
replied as follows:—

“‘Tumbeki is the produce of _Nicotiana rustica_, and is almost
exclusively used for the water-pipes called kalian or narghileh. The
plant is cultivated throughout the whole of Persia, especially in
Ispahan and Shiraz, whence the best kind comes.’

“But the statement of M. Zanni that tumbeki contains more alkaloid than
tobacco, and that of Professor Hausknecht that tumbeki is the produce of
_N. rustica_, seemed to conflict with the statements in books that _N.
rustica_ is less active than _N. Tabacum_.

“In the ‘Commercial Report,’ No. 25, 1883, p. 1056, under ‘Smyrna,’
Consul Dennis confirms M. Zanni’s statement concerning tumbeki. He
says:—‘It is much stronger than ordinary tobacco, and cannot be smoked
in the usual way, therefore it is exclusively used for the narghili.’ He
also adds that a large quantity is consumed in the district of Smyrna,
but much is also re-exported to Egypt and other parts of Turkey. It is
imported from Persia, both through Trebizonde and Bushire on the Persian
Gulf.

“Mr. J. B. Fraser, in his work on Persia (1826), remarks, ‘The tobacco
smoked in the kalian is called tumbaku in distinction to tootoon, or
that smoked in pipes or cigarettes. It is sold in the leaf, which is
packed dry in layers, and is preserved in bags sewn up in raw hide. It
improves by age, but is quite unsmokable the first year. The best comes
from Jaroum, south of Shiraz.’

“In an interesting article in ‘Harper’s Magazine’ (January 1886, p. 224)
on the ‘Domestic and Court Customs of Persia,’ the writer remarks
concerning tumbeki:—‘The kaliân or water pipe differs from the Turkish
narghileh by having a short straight stem. In it is smoked the tobacco
called tumbakee—a species grown only in Persia. That of Shiraz is very
delicate in flavour and is the best. The tumbakee must be first soaked
in water and squeezed like a sponge or it will cause vertigo. A live
coal, made from the root of the vine, is placed on the tobacco, and the
smoke is drawn through the water with a gentle inhaling, depositing the
oil in its passage through the water.’

“In De Candolle’s ‘Prodromus,’ vol. xii., pt. 1, p. 567, it is stated
under _Nicotiana persica_, that it yields the celebrated tobacco of
Shiraz. This species closely resembles _N. Tabacum_ in the form of its
leaves, which are, however, rather acute than acuminate; but the flowers
are different both in shape and colour. In _N. Tabacum_ the stem leaves
are sessile, and the corolla is funnel-shaped or inflated below the
limb, and is of a pinkish-red colour; in _N. persica_, the tube of the
corolla is club-shaped and the limb more spreading; the colour is white
inside and greenish outside. When in blossom, therefore, the two plants
are easily distinguished. _N. rustica_, on the other hand, has _stalked_
cordate leaves and a short yellowish corolla, with the tube and limb
both short.

“The leaves of tumbeki which I have received from Trebizonde and
Constantinople both correspond with _N. persica_ in character, but not
with _N. rustica_, since they have no trace of a petiole. So far as it
is possible to ascertain therefore, in the absence of flowers, the
weight of evidence is in favour of tumbeki being the produce of _N.
persica_. In order to ascertain the correctness of the statement that
tumbeki is stronger than tobacco, I handed some specimen to Messrs. E.
J. Eastes and W. H. Ince for chemical examination, which they kindly
undertook at my request.”

-----

Footnote A:

The oke equals ten kilogrames; a piastre, 2½_d._

Footnote B:

So called from its resemblance in shape to a _narghil_ or coconut.

Footnote C:

A full and interesting account of the forms and uses of the varieties
of the kalian and narghileh is given in the ‘Land of the Lion and the
Sun,’ p. 29.

-----

Following is the report of these gentlemen on the chemistry of the
subject:—

“Four samples of tumbeki were brought under our notice by Mr. Holmes,
Curator of the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society, being of interest
on account of their reported greater strength in nicotine as compared
with tobacco. The following are the results of our investigations. We
may state that so far as we have been able to ascertain no previous
researches have been undertaken on the subject.

“Preliminary Examination.—The presence of an alkaloid was demonstrated
on the addition of the usual reagents to the acid infusion.

“Isolation of Alkaloid for Physical Examination.—The powdered tumbeki
was placed in a retort with milk of lime and steam passed through it
till the distillate was no longer alkaline. Alkaloid in abundance was
found in the distillate, which had a distinct odour of nicotine. The
distillate was then extracted with ether, and the ether slowly driven
off. The residue obtained was a light straw coloured oily liquid of
powerful odour, giving off irritating fumes when heated.

“Estimation of Nicotine.—In the estimation of nicotine much difficulty
was experienced, owing to imperfect knowledge of the alkaloid, and to
the imperfect methods recommended in various papers on the subject. The
only method we found reliable was by using a standard solution of
Mayer’s reagent, obtained by mixing 13·546 grams of mercuric chloride in
solution with 49·8 grams of potassic iodide, in solution, and adding
water to make 1 litre.[D] One c.c. of this solution represents ·003945
grams of nicotine, the precipitate having the formula C₁₀H₁₆N₂I₂.HgI₂.

“The method we adopted of working with this solution was as follows:—One
or more grams of dried and powdered tumbeki were treated with diluted
sulphuric acid (2·5 per cent.) for several hours on a water-bath,
filtered, and the leaves washed with hot 1 per cent. acid till the
filtrate was colourless.

“The filtrate was then either evaporated to a low bulk and extracted
with alcohol, to get rid of albuminous matters which interfered with the
reaction, or neutralized with sodic hydrate and the alkaloid extracted
with chloroform, the chloroformic solution being shaken with diluted
sulphuric acid as in the ordinary methods of alkaloid extraction.

“The objection to the first method is that the alcohol has to be driven
off before the Mayer’s reagent can be added, which is troublesome and
lengthens the process.

“The solution of the alkaloid in excess of sulphuric acid having been
obtained, Mayer’s reagent was carefully added till no more precipitation
was observed, the end of the reaction being ascertained when on
filtering some of the nicotine solution into a watch-glass and adding a
drop of the reagent, no precipitate was formed. With careful
manipulation concordant results were obtained.

“Other methods tried were as follows:

“Volumetric method.—Ten or more grams of powdered tumbeki were distilled
with a solution of sodic or potassic hydrate, the distillate being
passed into a known volume of decinormal standard solution of sulphuric
acid, and the amount of acid neutralized by the nicotine was determined
by a standard decinormal solution of soda and the nicotine calculated.

“By this method the results obtained were invariably too high owing to
an appreciable quantity of ammonium salts contained in the leaves. Dr.
Kissling[E] has also noticed the high percentages obtained by this
method of estimating nicotine.

“Kosutány treats the leaves with milk of lime till all the ammonia is
driven off, and then extracts with water; shakes the aqueous solution
with petroleum ether and proceeds as before.

“This method was not found to give good results, for though the ammonium
salts do not interfere with the reaction, yet the petroleum ether does
not extract the whole of the alkaloid, and thus a low percentage is
obtained.

“Extraction by Ammoniacal Ether.—This consists in extracting the
powdered leaves in an upright extractor, by an ethereal solution of
ammonia, and either driving off the ether and weighing the residue as
nicotine; or volumetrically estimating the residue by decinormal
solution of sulphuric acid, or precipitating the alkaloid by platinum
perchloride. In either case, whichever way the residue is estimated, the
results are too high, owing to the difficulty of entirely getting rid of
the ammonia.

“The following are the percentages of nicotine in the tumbeki:—

‘_Ispahan._’—I. By Mayer’s Reagent.
A. (midrib) 8·156 per cent.
B. (leaf) 5·508 ” ”
C. (leaf and midrib) 5·589 ” ”
D. (leaf) 5·3865 ” ”
——————
5·4945 per cent. average.

II. By Volumetric Method.
By working on 10 grams = 7·2 per cent.
By working on 50 grams = 7·228 ” ”

‘_Hidjaz._’—I. By Mayer’s Reagent.
A. (leaf and midrib) 2·025 per cent.
B. (leaf and midrib) 2·268 ” ”
C. (leaf and midrib) 2·028 ” ”
D. (leaf and midrib) 1·863 ” ”
—————
2·046 per cent. average.
II. By Volumetric Process.
A. 2·37 per cent.

III. By Ethereal Solution of Ammonia.
3·6 per cent.

‘_Kechan._’—By Mayer’s Solution.
A. (leaf and midrib) 2·835 per cent.
B. (leaf and midrib) 3·0375 ” ”
C. (leaf and midrib) 2·85525 ” ”
——————
2·90925 per cent. average.

‘_Shiraz._’—By Mayer’s Solution.
A. (leaf and midrib) 5·8725 per cent.
B. (leaf and midrib) 5·7975 ” ”
——————
5·835 per cent. average.

-----

Footnote D:

Dragendorff, ‘Chemische Werthbestimmung starkwirkender Droguen,’ § 63,
p. 52 _et seq._

Footnote E:

The ‘Analyst,’ January 1886, p. 16; ‘Chem. Zeit.,’ ix., 1886.

-----

“Estimation of Saccharoid Matter; calculated as cane sugar.—The
fermentation process was the one adopted, not that we consider it by any
means a good one, but because it was the only one practicable. Fehling’s
solution was inadmissible, owing to the precipitation of colouring and
other matters, and the polariscope gave no indication. The objections to
the fermentation process are due to the small amount of alcohol produced
in the relatively large bulk of liquid. This renders the solution liable
to acetification, and the ultimate distillate obtained is very weak in
spirit, making it extremely difficult to obtain the correct specific
gravity; the specific gravities obtained were always between ·998 and
unity.

“We worked as follows:—200 grains of dried tumbeki were exhausted by
repeated infusion in boiling water. The filtered liquid when cool was
mixed with 100 grains of German yeast and allowed to stand three days in
a warm place to ferment.

“About one-third was then distilled, the distillate being redistilled
and three successive fractions of 500 fluid grains collected, the
alcohol in each being estimated; the third portion contained little if
any spirit.

“It being stated that basic acetate of lead removes saccharoid matter
from the kindred plant tobacco; we tried its action on the infusion of
tumbeki.

“At the onset it was found impossible to thoroughly wash the bulky
precipitate caused by the lead; so, to ensure a definite result,
sufficient basic acetate of lead was added to the infusion of 200 grains
of tumbeki and the whole made up to 30 fluid ounces with distilled water
and well mixed. An aliquot part (20 fluid ounces) was then filtered off,
excess of lead removed by sulphuretted hydrogen, the sulphide filtered
out, the solution boiled to drive off the sulphuretted hydrogen and the
infusion, when cool, was fermented in the usual way. But acetic acid was
necessarily present from the decomposition of the lead salt by the
sulphuretted hydrogen, and this on distilling would tend to raise the
specific gravity. To remedy this, slaked lime, or preferably potassic
hydrate, was added before redistilling, but considering that from one to
three per cent. of ammoniacal salt is contained in the original tumbeki,
it is probable that some might still remain and by the action of the
fixed alkali furnish a trace of free ammonia which would lower the
specific gravity, and thus apparently raise the percentage of alcohol.
As far as we can judge basic acetate of lead does not seem to remove
fermentable matter from infusion of tumbeki.

────────┬──────────────────┬──────────────────
│ I. │ II.
────────┼─────┬────────────┼─────┬────────────
│ │ Pb │ │ Pb
│ │ treatment. │ │ treatment.
Ispahan │2·64 │ 2·67 │ — │ 2·35
Hidjaz │3·00 │ 2·8 │ 2·7 │ —
Kechan │5·58 │ 5·33 │ — │ —
Shiraz │3·48 │ 3·88 │3·23 │ 3·1
────────┴─────┴────────────┴─────┴────────────

“Ash.—The following bases and acids were uniformly found in the
ashes:—Sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium, calcium, iron, aluminium,
silica, chlorine, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, carbonic acid.

GENERAL TABLE OF RESULTS.

─────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│Ispahan. │Hidjaz. │Kechan. │Shiraz.
─────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Nicotine │ 5·4945 │ 2·046 │ 2·909 │ 5·835
Saccharoid matter │ 2·64 │ 2·85 │ 5·58 │ 3·355
Saccharoid matter after │ │ │ │
Pb treatment │ 2·51 │ 2·80 │ 5·33 │ 3·49
Soluble in water │42·0 │42·3 │39·9 │55·6
Insoluble in water │58·0 │57·7 │60·1 │44·4
Ash │22·0 │28·5 │28·5 │26·15
─────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────

“The foregoing work has been carried out in the laboratories of the
Pharmaceutical Society.”

_Philippines._—The soil and climate of the Philippines are eminently
suited to tobacco culture; but the unjust Spanish monopoly cripples the
industry, and it is declining. Next to the Cuban (Vuelta abajo) and a
few prime Turkish sorts, Manilla tobacco is admitted to be the best.
Most of the Philippines produce it. According to the quality of the
produce, the provinces rank as follows:—(1) Cayagan and Ysabel, (2)
Ygorrotes, (3) Island of Mindanáo, (4) Bisayas, (5) New Ecija. On the
average, over 400 million cigars, and a quantity of tobacco sufficient
to bring up the total weight to 56,000 cwt., are annually exported. The
advantage of the plantations in Cayagan lies in the annual deposit of
alluvial matters by the overflowing of the large streams. The
cultivation in Bisayas promises to become extinct, whereas if the
natives were free to sell in the best market, the industry would
increase immensely. The yield of the Cebu district in 1878 was 8780
_quintals_, the whole of which went to the cigar factories of Cadiz and
Alicante. The exports from Manilla were:—in 1877 17,526,700 lb. tobacco,
value 525,801_l._; 87,007,000 cigars, value 243,619_l._; 1878,
15,630,400 lb. tobacco, value 468,918_l._; 136,835,000 cigars, value
383,136_l._; 1879, 9971 _quintals_ (of 101½ lb.) tobacco leaf to Great
Britain, and 74,490 _quintals_ to Spain; cigars, 10,571,000 to Great
Britain, 6,557,000 to Australia, 44,586,000 to the Straits Settlements
and India, 25,861,000 to China and Japan, 693,000 to the United States,
100,000 to California, 1,521,000 to Spain and the Continent; the total
values amounted to 480,263_l._ The exports of tobacco from Yloilo were
25,454 _piculs_ (of 133⅓ lb.) in 1878, and 20,600 _quintals_ (of 101½
lb.) in 1879, all to Spain.

_Roumania._—Tobacco was extensively cultivated at one time, with
success, near Macin and in other parts; but the monopoly has greatly
affected the condition of the industry.

_Russia._—As regards the production of tobacco, Russia ranks second
among continental countries, but the consumption is less per head than
in other lands. Consul Stanton says that smoking began in the latter
part of the sixteenth century, and the habit steadily increased,
notwithstanding the fact that it was punished by the knout, slitting of
the nostrils, and banishment to Siberia. It is most extensively
cultivated in Tshernigoff, Poltava, Bessarabia, and Samara. In Poland,
the production is not large, and is mainly confined to the vicinity of
Warsaw. It is chiefly cultivated by the peasants and is often their only
occupation.

In 1883, Riga exported 70,722 _pouds_ of leaf tobacco, valued at 194,486
_rubles_. Sevastopol shipped 59 _pouds_, value 1100 _rubles_. Tobacco is
now cultivated largely in all parts of the Crimea, and is likely to
become an export of considerable importance. In Taganrof plantations are
on the increase, and the culture promises well.

_San Salvador._—The exports of tobacco in 1884 were 16,113 dollars’
worth of leaf, 5898 dollars’ worth of manufactured, and 826 dollars’
worth of other sorts.

_Servia._—It is estimated that there are 4000 acres under tobacco
culture in Servia.

_Spain._—The port of Cadiz is a great centre of the tobacco industry.
The imports here in 1878 were:—123 _kilo._ from Germany, 304,538 _kilo._
from the United States, and 6,776,900 _kilo._ from Spanish colonies; the
exports were 15,600 _kilo._ to Germany, and 213,846 _kilo._ to France.
Corunna exported 58,280 _kilo._, value 87,420 _pesetas_, in 1884. Cadiz
exported 514,817 _kilo._, value 2,574,085 _pesetas_, in the same year.

_Sumatra._—This great island is assuming a first-rate importance in the
tobacco industry.

The year 1883 was an exceptionally favourable one, as the harvest in
Sumatra was very good, while prices for Java tobacco were higher than of
late years, in consequence of the short harvest of 1882.

Large quantities of Sumatra tobacco found buyers in the United States,
in consequence of the protectionist measure introduced in that country
in favour of the home tobacco producers. The duty was raised from 35 c.
to 75 c. per lb. on and after the 1st July, 1883, and great efforts were
made to import as much as possible at the lower duty before that date.

The principal owners of the plantations are Dutchmen, and the labour
employed is Chinese coolies, brought to the island principally from the
Malaya peninsula. The crop, according to one of these successful
planters, is scarcely ever reared two years in succession on the same
lands. The jungle is first cleared, and then the seed planted. After the
first crop of tobacco is gathered, it is the next season used for rice,
or something else, and tobacco is not planted again until the sixth or
seventh year after the jungle is cleared. By adopting this method, a
better result is obtained.

The drying-house is thus described by a recent visitor to the island:—

“The interior is very much like a rick-yard, with tobacco stalks instead
of hay-ricks, among which a perfect army of half-clad Chinese coolies,
400 strong, are hard at work sorting, ranging and stowing. So
overpoweringly strong is the scent of the half-dried tobacco leaves that
a smoker would have nothing to do but to take in an empty pipe with him
and enjoy a good hard smoke gratis, merely by inhaling the air through
it. But the Chinamen, whether habituated to it by long use, or fortified
against it by the superior power of opium, breathe this perfumed
atmosphere as easily as if it were the purest air of the sea. ‘That is
how we measure the heat, you see,’ says our host, calling our attention
to the hollow bamboos thrust through the heart of each stack, with a
stick inside it, which, when pulled out, is almost too hot to touch. ‘It
must never be above or below a certain point, you know. Instead of
stripping off the leaves at once, we hang up the whole plant to dry, and
do not strip it till it is quite dried. The Sumatra tobacco, however,
will not do for cigars. It is only used for what we call the ‘deckblatt’
(cover leaf), which covers the outside of the cigar.’”

Consul Kennedy reports that “the main cause of the prosperity in Deli is
the tobacco, the first crop of which was shipped in 1869.

“The crop for 1884 will turn out about 122,000 bales, valued at
2,080,000_l._

“The accompanying table shows the export during the last 11 years:—

Year. Bales. Value.
──────────────────────────
£
1873 9,238 208,333
1874 12,811 250,000
1875 15,147 291,666
1876 28,947 520,833
1877 36,167 541,666
1878 48,155 750,000
1879 57,544 875,000
1880 64,965 937,500
1881 82,356 1,187,500
1882 102,032 1,750,000
1883 92,000 1,583,333
[Estimated.]
──────────────────────────
NOTE.—One bale equals 176
English lb.

“Prices for Deli tobacco have ruled on the whole fairly high, the
special quality of the leaf lying in the fact of its being light and
elastic in texture, with thin fibres, so that it is admirably adapted to
serve as cover-leaf, and as such is a good substitute for Havana
tobacco. As a smoking-tobacco it lacks flavour. There is a pretty
general concurrence of opinion that the seed of the Deli tobacco was
indigenous, and obtained from Batak tribes in the interior; and although
many experiments have been made with seeds from Java, Manilla, and other
places, the planters have invariably come back to the original seed,
finding that the new kinds develop a coarseness of leaf attributed to
the extraordinary richness of the virgin soil, a soil partly alluvial
and partly volcanic, but covered throughout with dense forests.

“The tobacco estates consist of grants of land taken out by individuals
or companies, and are as a rule of such an extent that every year a new
district can be cleared and used for the coming crop, and this state of
things will continue for many years to come; indeed, hitherto only a
small portion of the ground cultivated (not one-fifth) has borne two
crops, although it is expected that, unless fresh ground is taken up by
the planters, a time will arrive when use must be made of old fallow
lands, and then guano will be required.

“The planters consist of three or four large companies, principally
Dutch—such as the Deli Company, the Amsterdam Deli, and the Batavia
Deli—as well as of individual planters of many nationalities, Germany
and Switzerland being strongly represented, while there are also a good
sprinkling of Englishmen, the principal English firm being the Langkat
Plantations Company, with its headquarters in London.

“The grants of land are taken direct from the chiefs before mentioned,
and are only valid after confirmation at Bengkalis. The term is for 75
years, and for such a grant a sum of money, by way of premium, amounting
to from 1 dol. to 2 dol. per bouw (equal to an acre and two-thirds), is
paid in cash, while an annual rent of 40 c. a bouw, payable at the
expiration of the fifth year, is also reserved. Such at least are the
terms of the last recognised agreements. The whole of the
conveniently-situated land in the three districts before-mentioned has
now been taken up, and it is only in the outlying regions that fresh
ground can be obtained; but as in such outlying regions settled
government is not so well established, the Dutch authorities are now
very chary in confirming grants in places where the tobacco-growing
community would be less under control.

“It is estimated that at least 2,000,000_l._ sterling is now invested in
the tobacco industry in the Deli districts.

“The tobacco when ready for shipment is all sent to Clambia on the L
angle at river, to the Deli river, or the Sirdang river (as the case may
be), and is despatched thence viâ Penang or Singapore to Amsterdam,
which is the tobacco mart for the continent of Europe. The United States
have also bought the Deli tobacco in the Amsterdam market in late years.
Very little of the tobacco goes to England. The leaf remains so moist
that the English import duty would press it heavily in comparison with
other tobaccos, and this circumstance operates as a check on the import
of tobacco from Sumatra into England as compared with tobacco from Java.
The principal purchasers are German manufacturers and Dutch middlemen.
The latter retail the tobacco over the continent, and supply the several
Régies, amongst others the Austrian, Italian, and French. The Americans
confine their purchases to dark-leaved, heavy tobacco, requiring 100
leaves or less to the lb.

“It is worth remarking that the whole of the carrying trade in
connection with the Deli tobaccos is in the hands of Messrs. Holt’s
line, the rate of freight from Deli to Amsterdam being about 3_l._ 2_s._
6_d._ per ton. The shipping season may be said to last from January to
June.

“The tobacco crop of 1884 is estimated to yield about 20,000 bales in
excess of that of 1883, but the crop in 1883 was a short one owing to
unfavourable weather. The 1884 crop is the best one ever obtained, both
as regards quantity and quality. Roughly speaking, the Deli tobacco in
the Amsterdam market fetches 1_s._ 4_d._ per lb. English, and the
profits realized may be judged from the dividends given by the most
flourishing companies; the shares of the Deli Company being now quoted
at 500 per cent. premium. Of course there are exceptions where
unsuitable soils have been met with, and losses have been sustained of
no inconsiderable amount. These losses have occurred principally on
Sirdang lands, where the tobacco grown is reputed not equal to that
produced in the other two districts. This comparative defect is
disclosed in the burning, the Sirdang tobacco yielding a brown instead
of a white ash, and being probably therefore lacking in potash.

“The forests when cleared for the tobacco plantations afford splendid
timber, and this is utilized for constructing drying-sheds and coolies’
quarters, but a good deal of the wood which might be exported for
building or fuel is wasted for want of conveyance and burnt on the
ground. As a compensation there can be no doubt that this burnt timber,
or rather the ashes of it, supply an excellent manure.

“The labour employed may be distributed under three classes. There are,
firstly, Malays and Batak tribesmen, who fell heavy timber, do general
clearance, and build sheds; then come the Klings from the Madras
districts, who occupy themselves with drainage and road-making; and
lastly, we have the Chinese for planting, sorting, and preparation of
the weed. The planting is conducted on a co-operative system. Coolies
have their fields allotted to them, and plant at their own risk under
supervision. Their payment depends on the yield. Reckoning from the
estimated out-turn of last year’s crop, and that one coolie will raise
seven piculs of tobacco in the season, we arrive at the figure 23,000 as
representing the total number of Chinese engaged at Deli in tobacco
cultivation, to which number 7000 extra hands must be added, employed in
pursuits incidental to the industry. 3000 additional Chinese coolies are
reported to have been engaged for the coming year. The strength of the
Kling community may be taken at about 3000. The Chinamen go into their
clearings and begin work during January and February: those not actually
in service on the tobacco estates earning money as shopkeepers, pedlars,
or gardeners, many of the latter being old hands who, under advances,
have taken to planting patches of tobacco on their own account, for
which they find a ready sale in Penang. The Klings are also to be met
with as drivers of carts and carriages.

“An industrious coolie would, on an average, net in the course of a year
100 to 150 Dutch florins, and on this sum he pays to the Dutch
Government 2 per cent. by way of income tax. The coolie, however,
arrives in the country with a debt of from 100 fl. to 150 fl., and thus
as a rule is not clear and able to leave with a balance in hand till the
end of the second year. The coolie is engaged for a year, but he
generally re-engages, and takes his departure in the beginning of the
third year.

“The Dutch Government regulations with regard to the maintenance of a
medical man by every estate and to the erection of hospitals for sick
coolies are stringent; and, on the whole, the coolie-lines, considering
their temporary nature, are adequate, so that the lot of the coolie in
Deli may be regarded as a favourable one, even when compared with places
where he is under British control.

“The importing of British Indians, as is well known, is not tolerated,
though many have found their way into the country under the stimulus of
high wages, the latter running from 7 dol. to 10 dol. a month, according
to capacity.”

The following report by Consul Eckstein on the export of Sumatran
tobacco to the United States, and Dutch dealings in the same in 1882
will be of interest.

Consul Eckstein says “it is not quite three years since a few dealers in
tobacco and manufacturers of cigars in the United States had first their
attention attracted to Sumatra tobacco, with a view of introducing and
using it for cigar-wrappers.

“From this port shipments of the article began to be made during the
latter half of the year 1880, and, considering that this trade has only
so recently taken its rise, and that by this time it has already assumed
rather important proportions, I felt called upon to prepare the present
report, giving some information concerning the same.

“In order to show, as nearly correct as possible, the course this trade
has taken from its commencement to the present time, I made up the
following statement, which exhibits the quantity and value of such
tobacco shipped from Amsterdam to the United States during each quarter
since such shipments first began to be made, viz.:—

──────────────────────────────┬────────────┬────────────
Quarters ending— │Quantities. │ Value.
──────────────────────────────┼────────────┼────────────
│ Bales. │ $
September 30, 1880 │ 311│ 37,694
December 31, 1880 │ 454│ 52,113
│ ————————│ ————————
Total │ 765│ 89,807
│ ————————│ ————————
│ │
March 31, 1881 │ None.│ None.
June 30, 1881 │ 558│ 56,958
September 30, 1881 │ 1,162│ 128,474
December 31, 1881 │ 1,059│ 114,758
│ ————————│ ————————
Total │ 2,779│ 300,190
│ ————————│ ————————
│ │
March 31, 1882 │ 496│ 52,203
June 30, 1882 │ 1,464│ 140,184
September 30, 1882 │ 2,245│ 254,372
December 31, 1882 │ 2,785│ 333,254
│ ————————│ ————————
Total │ 6,990│ 780,013
──────────────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────

“From this statement it will be observed that the export of the article
to the United States is constantly and very largely increasing; and when
it is further taken into account that certain quantities of it were
invoiced and shipped from Rotterdam and Bremen as well, it may safely be
stated that about 9000 bales of Sumatra tobacco entered our markets in
1882.

“What has created, increased, and what sustains this trade appears to
be:

“1st. That certain qualities of Sumatra tobacco in certain dark colours
have been found to be peculiarly and advantageously adaptable for
cigar-wrappers, and are gaining more and more in favour with
manufacturers of cigars in the United States; and

“2nd. The ever-increasing crops of the article, thus also increasing the
supply of the particular sorts especially suitable for the American
market.

“The recent animation in this trade has undoubtedly furthermore been
stimulated by the removal of the 10 per cent. discriminating duty,
formerly payable thereon, being a product of the East Indies, exported
from the west of the Cape of Good Hope.

“This will be clearly evident when I state that many shipments,
aggregating large quantities of this tobacco, purchased or ordered for
months last past, were purposely delayed until late in December, so as
not to arrive until after the law abolishing the discriminating duty had
gone into effect.

“This unlooked-for introduction and now so considerable export of this
staple into the United States has begun to be viewed with great
disfavour by cultivators or growers of ‘seed-leaf’ tobacco in the United
States.

“They apprehend, as I am informed, that the imports of Sumatra tobacco
into our country will increase still further in the near future, and
seem to consider this would prove greatly detrimental to their
interests.

“I am hardly in position or prepared to express an opinion as to how
well grounded or justified their fears really are, and, moreover, am
inclined to believe that the interested parties are the better judges of
this matter, but so far as I can possibly make myself serviceable by
giving information which may assist them in reaching correct conclusions
on the subject I deem it my duty to do, and do cheerfully.

“Such information may possibly also be of some value to Congress in its
present consideration of our tariff when the article of ‘leaf-tobacco’
is reached.

“Thus I would report that up to the present the production of the
article has increased from year to year without any intermission from
the beginning of its cultivation in Sumatra in 1865, when it amounted to
only 189 bales.

“In this connection I would respectfully refer and call attention to my
report on ‘The tobacco trade of the Netherlands in 1881,’ dated March 7,
1882, and printed in the volume of monthly consular commercial reports
No. 18, of April last, as it contains a statement showing the crops of
Sumatra tobacco each year from 1865 to 1880, inclusive, and the average
prices realized from its sale.

“The crop of 1881 is represented to have footed up 82,356 bales, valued
(approximately) at 5,791,880 dol., being an increase over the crop of
the previous year (1880) of 17,433 bales as to quantity, and of
1,260,000 dol. as to the approximate value thereof.

“From the foregoing it will be seen that about one-ninth of the whole
crop of 1881 has been exported to the United States.

“The entire crop, excepting about 1700 bales remaining in the hands of
the original importers or consignees here, on December 31, 1882, was
disposed of at an advance of about 1 cent, United States currency, in
the average price as compared with that realized in 1881 for the crop of
1880; or, in other words, the total crop of 1880 brought on the average
about 45¾ cents, whereas the crop of 1881 averaged about 46¾ cents,
United States currency, per half-kilogram.

“This refers to the prices originally obtained at the various sales
throughout the year by the importers or consignees, first hands.

“As regards the prices for the particular sorts which during the year
found their way to the United States, and which are usually purchased
from quite a number of firms in the wholesale tobacco trade through the
mediation of brokers, they differed all the way from about 45 cents to
95 cents, United States currency, for the half-kilogram.

“Thinking it might prove interesting, if not important, to parties in
the United States in any way concerned in this matter, to be informed as
to the extent and quality of the crop of 1882, I made inquiries relating
to it, and ascertained as follows, viz.:—‘That whilst it is impossible
to state, at this early day, with accuracy the yield of the crop, it is
generally considered and expected to have been again in excess over the
previous one, and that it amounts to about 90,000 bales.’

“Its quality is represented by the planters to be very good, as far as
they are able to judge; but this can, of course, only be determined
later on, after the tobacco has gone through the process of
fermentation.

“The first parcels of this new crop will arrive here about the month of
March next, and will be offered for sale about a month or six months
thereafter.

“In concluding this report, I would remark that the year 1882 has been a
most favourable one for tobacco planters in Sumatra and for those
interested in tobacco plantations there, and so have those connected
with the trade here realized handsomely by the year’s operations.

“I am, therefore, induced to state that so long as the present general
demand for the article continues there will be neither lack of capital
nor labour, so long as either can contribute to an increase in its
production, and it would seem to be more a question as to the extent of
acreage in Sumatra adapted for its cultivation, as only once in four or
five years a crop can be raised on the same soil without danger of
producing a very inferior quality of tobacco.”

_Turkey._—The Turkish empire has long been known as producing some of
the finest tobaccos in the world. In the sanjac of Drama, which forms
the vice-consular district of Cavalla, tobacco is the staple article of
production and industry, and some 75,000 acres were devoted to its
culture in 1873. The whole crop of 1871 was reckoned at 11,200,000 lb.,
the exports having been 7,600,000 lb., value 37,825_l._ The tobacco of
this district, though derived entirely from one species, is divided into
two classes, known as _Drama_ and _Yenidji_. The former leaf is larger,
stouter, and more potent, and generally of deep reddish-brown colour;
the latter is smaller, slighter, less narcotic, with a peculiarly
delicate aroma, and the best is of a rich yellow colour, whence its name
“golden-leaf.” The _Drama_ kind is principally grown in the western
portion of the district, and is the class supplied to European markets.
The differences in the two kinds seem to be due solely to the soil.

The plantations in the Drama district proper occupy both plain and
hill-side. The produce of the former is much the more considerable, and
superior. The best leaves, distinguished by a stronger and more
substantial texture, and a dark-red hue, go to Constantinople; the
inferior and lighter-coloured find a sale in Russia. The mountain
product is much inferior in quality and is sent chiefly to Europe. When
the leaves are petiolate, or furnished with stems, they are made up in
_manoks_ (“hands”) of 10–15, and termed _bashi-baghli_ (“head-tied”);
when the leaves are sessile, or devoid of stems, they are simply pressed
together in small numbers, and called _bassma_. The whole produce of
this locality varies from 2,100,000 to 2,450,000 lb. yearly. The growth
obtained in the Vale of Pravista is known as _Demirli_. It is inferior,
unsubstantial, and dark-coloured, and usually made up as _bashi-baghli_.
The annual production is about 2 million lb.; the exports to England
were 1,600,000 lb. in 1871. Cavalla affords yearly about 300,000 lb. of
inferior quality, chiefly as _bashi-baghli_, and mostly consumed
locally. The shipping port for all these places is Cavalla.

The district of Sarishaban produces on the average about 2,000,000 lb.
annually, but the crop of 1871 reached 2,800,000 lb. About ⅞ is as
_bashi-baghli_. That grown on the plain and hills is termed _ghynbek_,
and forms the bulk; that from the slopes, about 500,000 lb. a year, is
the best, and is known as _ghubek_. All is packed up in small _boghchas_
(parcels), of 30–50 lb., which are distinguished as _béyaz_, from the
white cotton wrappers used for the best sort, and _kenavir_, from the
canvas coverings of the inferior kinds. The best goes to Constantinople,
secondary to Smyrna and other home markets, and the worst to Europe. The
district of Yenidji, near the Gulf of Lagos, affords some 3,500,000 lb.
per annum, chiefly as _bassma_, and bearing a very general resemblance
to the produce of Sarishaban. The best goes to Constantinople and
Russia. Ghiumirgina (Ghumurdjina, or Komuldsina) grows about 300,000 lb.
yearly of dark-coloured _bassma_, of the _Drama_ class, which is used
locally; and Sultan-Yeri gives 400,000 lb. of still darker
_bashi-baghli_. The produce of these districts is shipped at Lagos
(Karagatch) or Cavalla.

The most delicate and valued of all the tobaccos raised in this portion
of European Turkey is the celebrated “golden leaf” from the caza of
Yenidji, on the Yardar (Nestus) river. After it, in declining order,
come the products of Drama, Persoccian, Sarishaban, Cavalla, and
Pravista. Of the whole Drama and Yenidji produce, it is estimated that
Austro-Hungary takes 40 per cent. Italy buys annually about
150,000–200,000 _kilo._ France, Germany, and Switzerland receive very
little. Russia is a large customer. Before the war, considerable
quantities were sent to the countries on the Lower Danube. England
imports every year some 10,000 bales, or 400,000 _okes_ (of 2·83 lb.) of
Pravista tobacco. The _refusa_, or waste leaves, &c., is sent everywhere
for making into cigarettes, most largely perhaps to Egypt. A kind of
tobacco known as _ayiasoulouk_ is grown in considerable quantities in
the opium districts, almost exclusively for export to Europe, the
natives having a strong prejudice against it.

The necessity for manuring is well understood by the Turks. They dress
the seed-beds with goat- and sheep-dung, and manure the fields during
winter with horse- and cattle-dung. In the spring, sheep and goats are
folded on the land. The soil of tobacco lands will be found quite
impregnated with, ammonia and nitrate of potash, both absorbed by the
plant; the former is thought to influence the aroma, and the latter may
be seen in crystals on the surface of the dried leaf. In order to keep
the leaves small and delicate, the planting is performed very close, the
usual distances being 5 inches apart, and 9 inches between the rows.

The district of Latakia, in the northern part of Syria, has long been
celebrated for its tobacco, which is the chief product of the
mountainous part. There are several kinds:—(1) _Abu Riha_ or _Dgebeli_,
found in its best state among the mountains of the Nesseries (Ansaries),
which possesses a peculiar and much-admired aroma, derived from its
being exposed, from November to April, to the smoke of fires of _ozer_
(_Quercus Ilex_, or _Q. Cerris_); (2) _Dgidar_, including a number of
kinds, of medium strength, and in great favour locally on account of its
low price; (3) _Scheik-el-Bent_, almost equal to _Abu-Riha_, and often
substituted for it.

The plain of Koura is remarkable for its tobaccos, which are rather
strong, but much admired. The villages of Lebail and Serai produce
better tobacco than Koura. The district of Gebail (Gebel) in Kesrasan
(Castravan) affords the best and dearest tobacco in Syria; it is very
brittle, and its ash is quite white. The country south of Lebanon yields
very ordinary qualities, known as _Salili_, _Tanoné_, and _Takibé_, or
generically as _Berraoni_; these are mixed with stronger kinds for use.
The best of the _Abu-Riha_ is yielded by the plant called
_Karn-el-Gazel_; the second quality is termed _Bonati_.

The exports of tobacco from Alexandretta in 1879 were:—To Egypt, 91
tons, value 6380_l._; Turkey, 24 tons, 1920_l._; England, 51 tons,
2550_l._; France, 1 ton, 80_l._ The exports from Aleppo in 1878 were 30
tons, value 1200_l._, to Great Britain. The yield of the crop in
Thessaly was 1,116,000 _okes_ (of 2·83 lb.) in 1877, 210,000 in 1878,
and 890,000 in 1879. The crop of Prevesa in 1878 was 4000 _okes_, value
215_l._ The exports from Dedeagatch were about 260 bales, value
1000_l._, in 1878; and 600 bales, value 2400_l._, in 1879. Considerable
quantities are grown around Sinope. Tobacco is one of the principal
products of the district of Samsoun, and is of good quality. The average
yield is 7,000,000 lb. yearly. It is grown near the sea-shore, and not
eastward of Yomurah, at Matchka and Trebizonde, and especially at
Akché-Abad. But the aggregate crop in these localities is hardly ⅓ of
the quantity produced at Samsoun, and the quality is far inferior. The
Samsoun product is usually purchased largely on account of the French
Government. The exports from Samsoun in 1878 were:—To Turkey, 2,680,000
_kilo._, value 160,800_l._; France, 583,500 _kilo._, 28,008_l._; Russia,
575,000 _kilo._, 57,500_l._; Germany, 400,000 _kilo._, 7200_l._;
Austria, 327,220 _kilo._, 31,266_l._; Great Britain, 87,567 _kilo._,
1576_l._; total, 4,653,287 _kilo._, 286,350_l._ The exports of
Turkey-produced tobacco from Trebizonde in 1879 were:—To Turkey, 14,864
cwt., value 44,592_l._; Russia, 866 cwt., 2598_l._; Great Britain, 490
cwt., 1470_l._; Austria and Germany, 204 cwt., 612_l._; total, 16,424
cwt., 49,272_l._

In 1884, Damascus imported 1313 sacks of tumbeki, value 1674_l._, from
Bagdad. In the same year Erzeroum imported 9000 _okes_, value 1090_l._,
from Persia.

The leaf grown by the Herki Kurds and other cultivators in and around
the district of Shemdina is highly prized in Persia. In 1884, the first
year of their operations, the employés of the tobacco Régie only
succeeded in registering a yield of 25,000 _okes_, but this amount
represents less than a fifth of the estimated produce of the vilayet. It
is believed, however, that 8000–10,000_l._ Turkish worth of Shemdina
tobacco annually crosses the frontier into Persia.

Trebizonde exports in 1884 were 20,167 cwt., value 56,849_l._ Inferior
qualities are sent to Europe, good ones remain in Turkey, and the best
go to Egypt.

The shipments from Samsoun in 1884 were as follows:—

────────────────┬────────┬────────┬────────
│ │ Price. │
│ cwt. │£. s. d.│ £
To Turkey │ 29,210│4 0 0 │ 116,840
Austria │ 8,540│5 0 0 │ 42,700
France │ 5,756│1 4 2 │ 11,512
Egypt │ 4,176│4 0 0 │ 16,704
Germany │ 3,579│1 8 6 │ 5,096
Russia │ 1,730│6 0 0 │ 10,380
Great Britain│ 832│1 4 2 │ 1,002
Holland │ 712│1 12 0 │ 1,140
Greece │ 416│3 0 0 │ 1,248
│ ———————│ │ ———————
│ 54,951│ │ 206,622
────────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────

_United States._—The United States of America occupy the foremost rank
among tobacco-growing countries. The areas and productions have been as
follows:—1875, 559,049 acres, 379,347,000 lb.; 1876, 540,457 acres,
381,002,000 lb.; 1877, 720,344 acres, 489,000,000 lb.; 1878, 542,850
acres, 392,546,700 lb. The crop of 1875 (in millions of lb.) was thus
contributed:—Kentucky, 130; Virginia, 57; Missouri, 40; Tennessee, 35;
Maryland, 22; Pennsylvania, 16; N. Carolina, 14¾; Ohio, 13½; Indiana,
12¾; Connecticut, 10; Massachusetts, 8½; Illinois, 8. The average yields
(in lb. per acre) of the various districts in 1875 were:—Connecticut,
1600; Pennsylvania, 1600; New Hampshire, 1600; Massachusetts, 1350;
Missouri, 850; Arkansas, 822; New York, 800; Florida, 750; Ohio, 700; W.
Virginia, 680; Maryland, 675; Tennessee, 675; Kansas, 670; Texas, 650;
Kentucky, 630; Virginia, 630; Illinois, 550; Georgia, 550; N. Carolina,
500; Indiana, 500; Wisconsin, 500; Alabama, 465; Mississippi, 317. The
exports from New York in 1878 were:—37,484 hogsheads, 2561 bales, and
2,218,200 lb. manufactured, to Great Britain; 15,570 hh., 207 bales, and
14,800 lb. manufactured, to France; 35,700 hh., 78,331 bales, and
147,400 lb. manufactured, to N. Europe ; 23,150 hh., 6058 bales, and
120,000 lb. manufactured, to other Europe; 4628 hh., 14,360 bales, and
4,780,200 lb. manufactured, to S. America, E. and W. Indies, &c.
Baltimore exported 66,039 hh. in 1878. The shipments from New Orleans in
1877–8 were:—1226 hh. to Great Britain, 743 to France, 4552 to N.
Europe, 3222 to S. Europe, Mexico, &c., and 4500 coastwise.
Philadelphia, in 1879, exported 9,564,171 lb. of leaf tobacco, 52,000
cigars, and 515 lb. of snuff. The total American export of
unmanufactured leaf in 1879 was 322,280,000 lb.

The census bulletin on this branch of industry, recently issued, is of a
very interesting nature. The tobacco product in the United States is
divided into classes, types and grades, the basis of a class being its
adaptation to any specific purpose; of a type, to certain qualities or
properties in the leaf, such as colour, strength, elasticity, body or
flavour. It also applies to the method of curing, such as sun, air or
flue curing. Grades represent the different qualities of a type, and
vary much in the several types. The classification of American tobacco
is threefold, viz. domestic cigar tobacco and “smokers,”
chewing-tobacco, export tobacco. The domestic tobacco trade comprises
the various kinds of seed-leaf of Connecticut, New England,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Florida and Ohio, as well
as the sorts known as White Burley “lugs,” fine-fibred wrappers, Indiana
kite foot, and American-grown Havana. In the chewing class are included
the fine-cut and the plug fillers, principally of the White Burley type
from Kentucky, while under the head of export tobacco are the Virginian
bird’s-eye cutting leaf, and the spinning fillers or shag. It is curious
to notice how each market for export tobacco differs in its
requirements. The “closed” markets, or those in which the tobacco trade
is a monopoly of the Government, are France, Italy, Austria and Spain.
The French “Régie” is supplied by wrappers, binders and fillers from
Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio; the Italian Régie from Kentucky and
Virginia; the Austrian Régie by “strips” from the same States, and the
Spanish Régie by common “lugs.” The open markets are Germany, to which
are sent the tobaccos known as German saucer and spinners; Ohio and
Maryland, spangled cigar-wrappers and “smokers” fat lugs; Switzerland,
which is supplied with Virginian or Western wrappers and fillers;
Holland, with Dutch saucer (a mottled Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee
leaf); Belgium, with Belgian cutter (a light, yellowish-brown leaf, well
fired); Norway and Sweden, with heavy types, mainly used for spinning
and “saucing.” Kentucky, which stands first of all the States for
production, the annual produce being 171,120,784 lb., gains her chief
profits from the white burley and yellow wrapper; Illinois, from the
production of the seed-leaf; Missouri, from sweet fillers and white
burley; Virginia, from yellow wrappers, bright “smokers,” sun, air and
flue-cured fillers. Decidedly the most prosperous tobacco States are
those that grow types suitable for domestic consumption, while those
that grow it mainly for exportation stand low in the scale, the margin
of profit under this head being reduced very low. According to the
researches of Dr. Gideon Moore, the largest amount of nicotine is
contained in the Virginian heavily manured lots (5·81 per cent.), while
the Virginian heavy English shipping has 4·72, the New York domestic
Havana but 2·53, the Connecticut seed-leaf 1·14, while the smallest
amount of all is found in the little Dutch tobacco of the Miami valley,
0·63. Profits in the culture of tobacco have been in direct
proportion—first to its suitableness to domestic consumption; and,
secondly, to the amount of fertilization practised by the growers in its
cultivation. This is true in every case, except the yellow tobacco
districts of North Carolina and Virginia, where poverty in the soil is a
condition of success in the production of quality.

Professor J. T. Rothrock is of the opinion that the early natives of
California smoked the leaves of _Nicotiana clevelandii_—a species only
quite recently described by Professor Asa Gray. It is a small plant with
small flowers, and it was found by Professor Rothrock only in
association with the shell heaps which occur so abundantly on the coasts
of Southern and Central California. He states that perhaps of all the
remains of extinct races so richly furnished by that region, none were
so common as the pipes, usually made of stone resembling serpentine. The
tobacco of _N. clevelandii_ Professor Rothrock found by experience to be
excessively strong.

A recent report of the Commissioner of Agriculture contains a few pages
of sound advice to American planters on the management of this crop,
which is worthy of reproduction here.

“The principal points to be attended to if the best results are to be
attained may be stated in a few paragraphs—paragraphs which, while
referring mainly to shipping, manufacturing, and smoking tobacco as
constituting nine-tenths of the tobacco grown in the United States,
embody principles and prescribe modes of management nearly identical
with those to be considered in the treatment of other tobaccos.

“I. Select good land for the crop; plough and subsoil it _in autumn_ to
get the multiplied benefits of winter’s freezes. This cannot be too
strongly urged.

“II. Have early and vigorous plants and _plenty of them_. It were better
to have 100,000 too many than 10,000 too few. They are the corner-stone
of the building. To make sure of them give personal attention to the
selection and preparation of the plant-bed and to the care of the young
plants in the means necessary to hasten their growth, and to protect
them from the dreaded fly.

“III. Collect manure in season and out of season, and from every
available source—from the fence corners, the ditch-banks, the urinal,
the ash-pile. Distribute it with a liberal hand; nothing short of
princely liberality will answer. Plough it under (both the home-made and
the commercial) in _February_, that it may become thoroughly
incorporated in the soil and be ready to answer to the first and every
call of the growing plant. Often (we believe generally) the greater part
of manure applied to tobacco—and this is true of the ‘bought’ fertilizer
as well as of that made on the farm—is lost to that crop from being
applied too late. Don’t wait to apply your dearly-purchased guano in the
hill or the drill from fear that, if applied sooner, it will vanish into
thin air before the plant needs it. This is an exploded fallacy.
Experience, our best teacher, has demonstrated beyond cavil that stable
and commercial manure are most efficacious when used in conjunction. In
no other way can they be so intimately intermixed as by ploughing them
under—the one broadcasted on the other—at an early period of the
preparation of the tobacco lot. This second ploughing should not be so
deep as the first; an average of three to four inches is about the right
depth.

“IV. Early in May (in the main tobacco belt to which this article
chiefly refers, that is to say, between the thirty-fifth and fortieth
parallels of north latitude), re-plough the land to about the depth of
the February ploughing, and drag and cross-drag, and, if need be, drag
it again, until the soil is brought to the finest possible tilth. Thus
you augment many fold the probabilities of a ‘stand’ on the first
planting, and lessen materially the subsequent labour of cultivation.
Plant on ‘lists’ (narrow beds made by throwing four furrows together
with the mould-board plough) rather than in hills, if for no other
reason than that having now, if never before, to pay wages in some shape
to labour, whenever and wherever possible horse-power should be
substituted for man-power—the plough for the hoe.

“V. Plant as early as possible after a continuance of pleasant spring
weather is assured. Seek to have a _forward_ crop, as the benefits
claimed for a late one from the fall dews do not compensate for the many
advantages resulting from early maturity. Make it an inflexible rule to
plant no tobacco after the 10th of July—we mean, of course, in the
tobacco belt we have named. Where one good crop is made from later
planting ninety-nine prove utter failures. Far better _rub out and start
afresh the next year_. Take pains in transplanting, that little or no
replanting may be necessary. The cut-worm being a prime cause of most of
the trouble in securing a stand, hunt it assiduously and particularly in
the early morning when it can most readily be found.

“VI. Keep the grass and weeds down, and the soil loose and mellow by
frequent stirring, avoiding as much as possible cutting and tearing the
roots of the plant in all stages of its growth, and more especially
after _topping_. When at all practicable—and, with the great improvement
in cultivators, sweeps, and other farm implements, it is oftener
practicable than generally supposed—substitute for hand-work in
cultivation that of the horse. The difference in cost will tell in the
balance-sheet at the close of the operation.

“VII. Attend closely to ‘worming,’ for on it hinges in no little degree
the quality and quantity of tobacco you will have for sale. A worm-eaten
crop brings no money. So important is this operation that it may
properly claim more than a passing notice. Not only is it the most
tedious, the most unremitting, and the most expensive operation
connected with the production of tobacco, but the necessity for it
determines more than all other causes the limit of the crop which in
general it has been found possible for a single hand to manage.
Therefore bring to your aid every possible adjunct in diminishing the
number of worms. Use poison for killing the moth in the manner so
frequently described in treatises on tobacco, to wit, by injecting a
solution of cobalt or other deadly drug into the flower of the Jamestown
or ‘jimson’ weed (_Datura stramonium_), if necessary planting seeds of
the weed for the purpose. Employ at night the flames of lamps, of
torches, or of huge bonfires, in which the moth may find a quick and
certain death.

“In worming, spare those worms found covered with a white film or
net-like substance, this being the cocoon producing the ichneumon-fly,
an enemy to the worm likely to prove a valuable ally to the planter in
his war of extermination.

“Turn your flock of turkeys into the tobacco-field, that they, too, may
prey upon the pest, and themselves grow fat in so doing.

“If these remedies should fail, sprinkle diluted spirits of turpentine
over the plant through the rose of a watering-pot, a herculean task
truly in a large crop, but mere child’s play to the hand-picking
process, for the one sprinkling suffices to keep off the worms for all
time, whereas the hand-picking is a continual round of expensive labour
from the appearance of the first worm until the last plant has been
carried to the barn. We have no idea that such sprinkling will at all
affect the odour or flavour of the tobacco when cured.

“If, as stated by a writer in a California paper, the well-known
‘yellow-jacket’ be useful in destroying tobacco-worms, by all means win
it as an ally. As proving its usefulness, the writer asserts that one of
his neighbours, a Mr. Culp, daring fifteen years growing tobacco, has
never expended a dollar for labour to destroy the worm, trusting all to
this little workman, who, he says, carefully searches the plants for the
worms, and never allows one to escape its vigilance.

“We cannot speak from our own experience as to many of these suggested
means for overcoming the horn-worm, but we have no hesitation in saying
to the farmer, try any, try all of them rather than have your crop eaten
to shreds, and the labour of more than half the year brought to naught
in a few days, it may be, by a single ‘glut’ of worms.

“VIII. ‘Prime high and top low.’ While open to objection in particular
cases, even with the character of tobacco chiefly under consideration,
and altogether inadmissible, it may be, in the management of other
varieties of tobacco, this is a safe rule, we think, to follow in
general practice.

“We favour ‘priming’ by all means; for when no priming is done the lower
leaves (made worthless by constant whipping on the ground) serve only as
a harbour for worms, which are the more difficult to find because of the
increased burden of stooping. Moreover, if the bottom leaves be saved on
the cut stalk, as most likely they will be, there is always the
temptation to put them on the market; and against a _sacrilege_ like
this we are firmly set, let others say and think what they may.

“Yet another advantage to be gained by the removal of these bottom
leaves, which is what the planter terms ‘priming,’ is the increased
circulation of air and distribution of light thereby afforded, both
essential factors, the merest tyro knows, to the full development of
plant life.

“‘Topping’ (the pinching off with the finger-nail the bud at the top of
the plant) is an operation requiring considerable skill and judgment.
Let it be performed only by hands having these prerequisites.

“That as many plants as possible may ripen at the same time (a
desideratum not to be undervalued in aiming, as all should, at a
_uniform_ crop) wait until a large number of plants begin to button
before commencing to top. Going about through the crop, topping a plant
here and there because it may chance to have buttoned before its
fellows, is a damaging process not to be tolerated.

“No inflexible rule can be given for the number of leaves that should be
left on a plant. All depends upon the variety of tobacco, the strength
of the soil, the promise of the particular plant, the probable seasons
and time left for ripening, &c.

“One of the most successful growers of heavy dark tobacco we have ever
known, once stated to us his conviction, after years of observation and
practice, that one year with another, taking the seasons as they come,
eight leaves would give a better result than any other number. Our own
experience has tended to confirm this judgment.

“IX. See to it that the suckers are promptly removed. It is work quickly
done, and with worming may constitute a single operation.

“X. We come now to consider the last operation in the field, ‘cutting’
the crop. In this, as in topping, a man of judgment, experience, and
fidelity is needed. An inexperienced hand, one without judgment, and
particularly one who is indifferent to the interests of his employer,
will slash away, right and left, not knowing or not caring whether the
tobacco he cuts be ripe or green, doing more damage in a few hours than
his whole year’s wages would compensate for, even could they be
garnished.

“Therefore, be on hand to see for yourself, and do not delegate the duty
to any less interested party, that a crop managed well, it may be, so
far, from the initial plant-bed, should not be spoiled in the closing
work by an incompetent or unfaithful cutter.

“Be there, too, to see, in this supreme hour, that injury from sunburn
is warded off by the timely removal, to the shade, of the plants that
have been cut, or by a proper covering, where they lie, against the
scorching rays of the sun. The neglect of this precaution has played
havoc with many a crop when brought under the auctioneer’s hammer.

“XI. We should have no space to describe the different methods of
‘curing’ tobacco, as, for instance, ‘sun-curing,’ ‘air-curing,’
‘flue-curing,’ ‘open-fire-curing,’ &c., even though the whole subject
had not been gone over again and again in previous reports of this
Department. We can only say of this operation, as of all others
connected with the production of tobacco, that much depends on its
proper doing, and that, as much as possible, it should have the personal
superintendence of the owner.

“But the crop may have been brought along successfully even to the
completion of this operation and ‘lack one thing yet,’ if it be not now
properly manipulated.

“Therefore, go yourself, brother planter, into your barns, see with your
own eyes, and not through the medium of others; handle with your own
hands, and _know of a surety_ that the tobacco hanging on the tier-poles
is in proper order for ‘striking’ and ‘bulking,’ and act accordingly.

“When, later on, it is being ‘stripped,’ ‘sorted,’ and tied into
bundles, or ‘hands,’ as they are often called, be there again, _propria
persona_, to see that it is properly classed, both as to colour and to
length, the ‘lugs’ going with lugs, the ‘short’ with short, the ‘long’
with long, &c. Instruct those sorting that when in doubt as to where a
particular leaf should be put, to put it at least one grade lower than
they had thought of doing. Thus any error will be on the safe side.

“Prize in hogsheads to weigh what is usually called for in the market in
which you sell, and, above all, ‘let the tobacco in each hogshead be as
near alike as possible, uniform throughout, so that the ‘sample,’ from
whatever point it may be taken, can be relied on as representing the
whole hogshead,’ and that there be left no shadow of suspicion that
‘nesting’ has been attempted, or any dishonest practice even so much as
winked at.

“We sum up the whole matter by repeating:

“1. That overproduction, the production at all, of _low_ grade tobacco
is the chief cause of the present extremely low price of the entire
commodity.

“2. That the planters of the United States have the remedy in their own
hands; that remedy being the reduction of area, this reduction to
result, from the employment of the means here suggested, in increased
crops; and, paradoxical as it may seem, these increased crops to bring
greatly enhanced values.

“The whole world wants good tobacco, and will pay well for it. Scarcely
a people on earth seeks poor tobacco or will buy it at any price.

“In a word, then, one acre must be made to yield what it has hitherto
taken two or three acres to produce; and this double or treble quantity
must be made (as, indeed, under good management it could not fail to be)
immeasurably superior in quality to that now grown on the greater number
of acres. Either this or the abandonment of the crop altogether—one or
the other.”

The exports from Baltimore were 46,239 hogsheads in 1882, 43,620 in
1883, 43,192 in 1884. The State of New York, in 1883, had 5440 acres
under tobacco, producing 9,068,789 lb., value 1,178,943 dollars; and
Connecticut, 8145 acres, 9,576,824 lb., 1,292,871 dollars. The
production of Minnesota was 65,089 lb. in 1879, 48,437 lb. in 1880,
79,631 lb. in 1881, 62,859 lb. in 1882, 14,744 lb. in 1883.

_Venezuela._—The exports from Ciudad Bolivar were, in 1884, 1318
_kilo._, value 1037 _bolivares_, to the British West Indies; 9618
_kilo._, 6691 _bolivares_, to the United States; 275,329 _kilo._,
192,188 _bolivares_, to Germany. The exports of tobacco from this port
in decades have been:—7,650,656 lb. in 1850–59; 2,134,711 in 1860–69;
3,170,812 in 1870–79.

_West Indies._—The Spanish possessions in the West Indies are well known
for their tobacco. The best is produced on the _vuelta abajo_, or
low-lying districts of Cuba, near Havana, which are yearly flooded
during the autumn, just before the tobacco is transplanted. To this
fact, and the peculiar suitability of the seasons, the excellence of
this particular product is attributed. The exports from Havana in 1878
were:—93,603 bales tobacco, 75,212,268 cigars, 203,581 bundles
cigarettes, to the United States; 6169 bales tobacco, 66,795,330 cigars,
5,034,774 bundles cigarettes, to England; 32,582 bales tobacco,
9,541,498 cigars, 133,008 bundles cigarettes, to Spain; 582 bales
tobacco, 3,861,700 cigars, 8206 bundles cigarettes, to N. Europe; 5671
bales tobacco, 18,327,025 cigars, 797,513 bundles cigarettes, to France;
41 bales tobacco, 900,850 cigars, 5,709,442 bundles cigarettes, to other
countries. The totals for 1878 were 7,078,904 _kilo._ of tobacco,
182,356 thousand cigars, and 12,816,903 packets of cigarettes; in 1879,
6,371,014 _kilo._ of tobacco, 145,885 thousand cigars, and 14,098,693
packets of cigarettes. The tobacco exports in 1879 from St. Jago de Cuba
were 9653 bales to Bremen, 4015 to the United States (chiefly for
Bremen), and 1809 coastwise, total 15,477, against 10,249 in 1878. In
the island of Puerto Rico, the tobacco-plant thrives well, and the
quality, especially in the Rio de la Plata district, is very good. In
1878, the island exported 8 _quintals_ (of 101½ lb.) to the United
States, 32,109 to Spain, 4198 to Germany, and 18,123 to other countries.

The British West Indies have only recently appreciated the importance of
tobacco cultivation. Many portions of Jamaica seem as well fitted for it
as the _vuelta abajo_ of Cuba, and already Jamaica tobacco in the
Hamburg market ranks next to the best Havana, and is considered superior
to such Cuban growths as St. Jago, Manzanillo, Yara, &c. Tobacco
cultivation may now be said to have a place in the industries of
Jamaica, a fact mainly due to Cuban refugees. The most extensive
plantations in the island are Potosi in St. Thomas Parish, and Morgan’s
Valley in Clarendon. Much of the produce goes to the German market, the
remainder being made into cigars for local consumption, and said to be
quite equal to some of the best Cuban brands. Some experiments made with
Bhilsa tobacco have given great satisfaction, on account of the robust
habit and immense yield of the plant. It is especially adapted for very
wet districts, and its cultivation will be widely extended, if justified
by its market value. Tobacco is, and for very many years has been, grown
by the peasantry in small patches; from this, they manufacture a
smoke-dried leaf, which, twisted together in rope form, sells readily in
the home market. The acreage occupied by the crop was 297 in 1874–5, 442
in 1875–6, 331 in 1876–7, and 380 in 1877–8. The slopes of valleys in
many parts of Dominica, too, are eminently suited to this crop,
particularly the district between Roseau and Grand Bay. The experiment
of tobacco culture in New Providence on a large scale has not proved
satisfactory, owing to the difficulties encountered in curing and
preparing the leaf; the cigars made are fit only for local consumption.

The exports from San Domingo in 1884 were 10,513,940 lb., value 669,500
dollars.

According to a recent Consular Report, it would seem that “Cuban tobacco
has lost its prestige through forcing and artificial manures, and has to
sustain sharp competition from abroad where it formerly commanded the
market; and probably some years must elapse before the soil can recover
from the excessive and indiscriminate use of artificial fertilizers.

“A few years ago the leaf harvested in the Vuelta Abajo was not
sufficient to meet the large demand, and in order to increase the yield,
growers made use of guanos of all sorts, and with such bad results that
they find it now difficult to place on reasonable terms more than half,
and sometimes less, of their crops, at very low prices; in few
localities only the soil has not been spoilt by spurious manures, and
the leaf grown there commands very high prices and is warmly competed
for by local manufacturers and buyers for the United States.

“Notwithstanding the last crop has been of a better quality than
heretofore, growers were compelled to abandon the tobacco cultivation
for a certain time, and devote the ground to other purposes.

“It appears that this change of cultivation is absorbing the
fertilizers, and restoring to the soil its former good qualities, and,
if one can judge from the splendid appearance of the leaf and the ready
sale it now meets with, it would seem that the Vuelta Abajo fields are
regaining their former renown.

“This has been a hard but healthy lesson the Vegueros are not likely to
forget. The soil cannot and should not be taxed beyond a reasonable and
natural yield; any attempt to the contrary would only be a repetition of
the fable of the golden eggs, as the tobacco growers in the Vuelta Abajo
have had occasion to learn to their cost.

“Towards the end of the year buyers, influenced by the pending
negotiations of the Spanish-American Treaty, entered the market and
operated extensively in the expectation of a great reduction of duties
in the United States, paying prices above the established one, and
which, a few weeks later, they were utterly unable to obtain.

“Cuban growers complain much of heavy purchases made in the United
States for account of the Spanish Government for Peninsular consumption;
they say that however low the class of the Cuban leaf may be, it must
necessarily be superior to that of the Virginia and Kentucky tobacco,
and that they might easily cultivate here the quality required, and
place it in the markets at as low a price as any other country.

“Growers are unanimous in denouncing the action of some local merchants
and cigar manufacturers in forwarding at the opening of the last season
samples of leaf tobacco and cigars in condition that by no means gave a
true idea of the quality of the crop, and which necessarily gave a
result contrary to the interests of all parties engaged in the trade;
and they earnestly protest against a repetition of this injudicious
haste.

“The total tobacco production is estimated at between 400,000 and
500,000 _quintals_ (one _quintal_ about 100 lb.), chiefly from the
following districts:—

Tercios.

Vuelta Abajo and semi Vuelta Abajo 150,000 to 200,000
Parlida 30,000 50,000
Remedios 60,000 85,000
Cuba and Java 25,000 35,000
Gibara 20,000 30,000
Total 285,000 400,000
(One tercio about 124 lb.)

“As is well known, that grown in the Vuelta Abajo or district west of
Havana is the best kind, and has given Cuba its well-earned reputation.
About 67,000 acres are cultivated under the denomination.

“I have no reliable statistics to show how much of the raw produce is
manufactured in the island, probably not more than one-fourth. Very
large quantities of the leaf are exported in bales and rolled abroad.

“It is evident, however, that, given the total production and
corresponding result in the manufactured form, but a small portion of
the cigars sold in Europe and elsewhere as Havana cigars have the
slightest claim to a connection with Cuba.

“The chief and only important manufactories of these cigars are in
Havana, and much care and money is expended in producing a
handsome-looking article. As much as 40 dollars gold are paid to skilled
labourers per 1000 for making up first-class goods. About 17,000
operatives are employed in this manufacture in Havana alone. One of the
largest establishments here is that supplying the Henry Clay brands,
which is stated to turn out from 80,000 to 120,000 cigars daily; and
there are many others of considerable importance with a well-earned and
old-established reputation for fine goods.

“The quality of tobacco, like other agricultural produce, depends on
seasons, soil, and many natural causes, which may baffle the most
careful cultivator.

“There are good and bad years; abundant and scanty crops in succession.

“Except in the case of the few rich owners of plantations in the best
districts, brands and names are no guarantees for a permanently good
article. Even these favoured few are exposed to bad seasons, if in a
minor degree than less fortunate holders.

“There has been no really fine-flavoured aromatic leaf harvested since
1881. Much of that since garnered has been simply bad.

“Great hopes are entertained of the coming 1885 crop, and present
indications are in favour of this assumption.

“The manner in which the wholesale trade is carried on in Havana is
incomprehensible to an ordinary outsider, to whom it would appear that
the manufacturers prefer a prospective loss abroad to a present and
certain gain here. They will only execute orders, large or small, for
cash over the counter, giving no, or in some cases the smallest,
discount. No manufactured goods are kept in stock, but are made to order
after sample, and, unless examined in warehouse before delivery, and
that means little, must be paid in full on delivery, and the consequence
but too frequently is that, on arrival at their destination, they do not
correspond with the sample, and the deluded buyer finds that he has made
a bad bargain, and (if an Englishman) discovers that he could have
bought the same article cheaper in the English market with the
additional advantage of examining and testing the goods before purchase.

“I leave the solution of this enigma to the initiated: it probably is
that the makers consign very largely, and London importers are too
experienced and too wary to pay the full invoice price until well
acquainted with the wares, or they get large discounts refused to the
cash purchaser in Havana.

“Complaints are heard of the depressed state of the Cuban tobacco trade
and of the large unsold stocks on hand. I do not think the traders
deserve sympathy, nor have they done anything to earn the confidence of
foreign customers. My experience leads me to advise intending purchasers
to put (I do not advise regular traders) themselves in the hands of
reliable London dealers and avoid all direct purchases.

“Intelligent smokers with sensitive palates will find no cheap tobacco
here fit to smoke; 50_s._ per 100 and upwards is what must be paid at
present for really fine-flavoured aromatic cigars; beyond 80_s._ or
85_s._ prices become fancy ones, and are paid for the smart cases and
envelopes. Even at the rates I quote it is not easy to find what is
wanted. There is abundance of dark powerful tobacco of fine quality at
much lower rates, but not light tobacco with flavour or aroma or without
strength, such as the educated (I allude to taste) Englishman seeks. I
believe that only about 10 per cent. of the tobacco harvested in
ordinary years is of the light colour I refer to, hence the difficulty
in supplying the demand, and the artifices resorted to to supply the
deficiency.

“Cuba’s annual tobacco crop may be estimated as between 300,000 and
400,000 _tercios_ of 125 lb. each. About 30,000 persons are employed in
its cultivation, and its value when harvested may be fixed (according to
year’s quality) at between 8,000,000 and 12,000,000 dol. of 4_s._

“I cannot estimate the number of persons engaged in working plantation
(Vegueros) and other cigars for home consumption, nor the quantity thus
consumed; but the higher class of operatives employed in cigar-making
for export number about 20,000, and turn out at present probably
200,000,000 cigars annually.

“The export trade has fallen off considerably of late years. In the five
years, 1870 to 1874, about 350,000,000 cigars were annually shipped to
foreign ports, whereas in the period between 1879 and 1884 the annual
average export was only 200,000,000.

“Probably larger quantities have been exported in each period owing to
under valuations to escape export duty; but relative bulk proportions
between the two export periods will hardly be affected by this.”

The exports from Havana in 1884 were 11,767,200 lb. to the United
States, 613,000 to Spain, 252,600 to France, 37,500 to Mexico and South
America, 70,000 to Belgium, and 500 to the Mediterranean.

CHAPTER V.
PREPARATION AND USE.

This chapter embraces the manufacture of cut, cake and roll tobacco,
cigars, cigarettes, and snuff. It is impossible to indicate the precise
form in which each kind of tobacco-leaf is manufactured for use; indeed,
no well-defined line marks the qualifications of each sort, and the
great art of the manufacturer is to combine the various growths in a
manner to produce an article suited to the tastes of his customers, at a
price suited to their pockets. But, in a general way, it may be said
that Havana and Manilla are probably exclusively consumed in the form of
cigars; Virginia is a favourite for cavendish, negrohead, and black
twist, and is largely converted into returns, shag, and snuff; Kentucky,
Missouri, and Ohio are used for cavendish, brown twist, bird’s-eye,
returns, and shag; Dutch and German make the commonest cigars, k’naster,
moist snuffs, and smoking-mixtures; Java and Japan are selected for
light cigars, mixtures, and light moist shag; Latakia, Turkey, Paraguay,
Brazil, China, and the remainder, are used up in cigarettes, mixtures,
imitations, and substitutes.

_Damping._—The tobacco-leaves are received by the manufacturer in all
kinds of packages, from a hogshead to a seron (raw hide), and of all
weights from 1 to 12 cwt. The first process they undergo is “damping,”
which is necessary to overcome their brittleness, and admit of their
manipulation without breaking. For this purpose, the bunches (“hands”)
are separated, and the leaves are scattered loosely upon a portion of
the floor of the factory, recessed to retain the moisture. A quantity of
water, which has been accurately proportioned to the absorbing qualities
of the leaf used, and to the weight present, is applied through a
fine-rosed watering-pot, and the mass is left usually for about 24
hours, that damped on one morning being ready for working on the
following morning. In England, water alone is admissible (by legislative
enactment) for damping, except in special cases to be noted
subsequently; but abroad, many “sauces” are in vogue, their chief
ingredients being salt, sal ammoniac, and sugar.

_Stripping and Sorting._—Quantities of leaf-tobacco are shipped in a
condition deprived of their stem and midrib, and are then known as
“stripts.” Those which are not received in this state, after having been
damped, are passed through the hands of workmen, who fold each leaf edge
to edge, and rip out the midrib by a deft twirl of the fingers,
classifying the two halves of each leaf, and ranging the sorts in
separate piles as smooth as possible. The value of the leaf greatly
depends upon the dexterity with which the stripping is done, as the
slightest tear deteriorates it. Stripts require sorting only. The
largest and strongest leaves are selected for cutting and spinning; the
best-shaped are reserved for the wrappers of cigars; broken and
defective pieces form fillers for cigars; and the ribs are ground to
make snuff. For the manufacture of “bird’s-eye” smoking-tobacco, the
leaves are used without being previously stripped.

[Illustration: FIG. 14.]

[Illustration: FIG. 15.]

[Illustration: FIG. 16.]

[Illustration: FIG. 17.]

_Cutting._—Cutting is the process by which the damped leaves, whether
stripped or not, are most extensively prepared for smoking in pipes and
cigarettes. The tobacco-cutter which is in general use in this country
is shown in Figs. 14 (side elevation), 15 (sectional elevation), 16
(front elevation), and 17 (plan). The main frames _a_ are united by
stretcher-bolts _b_; _d_ is a wooden-surface feeding-roller, on which
the tobacco is pressed and cut; _c_ are the upper compressing- and
feeding-rollers, mounted in _e_, carriage-plates extended backwards,
forming the sides of the feeding-trough, and hinged to the axle _m_; _f_
are levers; _g_, links by which the weight _w_ presses down the upper
rollers; _h_, a crank, and _i_, a connecting-link for working; _j_, the
cross-head to which the knife _k_ is fixed; _l_, side-levers or
radius-bars for guiding the knife, hinged on the eccentric ends of the
axle; _m_, an axle held in bearings at the back of the machine; on its
middle part, which is concentric with its own bearings, are hinged the
top roll carriage-plates _e_, whilst on its projecting ends, which are
slightly eccentric, the knife-levers _l_ are hinged; _n_ is a worm-wheel
segment; _o_, a worm; _p_, a hand-wheel for turning the eccentric
spindle _m_ through a part of a revolution in its bearings, for
adjusting the contact of the knife with the nose-plate _q_; _r_, a worm;
_s_, a worm-wheel; _t_, a worm-pinion for giving simultaneous movement
to all the rollers; _u_, a spindle, “universal jointed” at both ends,
for driving the upper rollers in positions varying with the thickness of
the feed; _v_, a saw-toothed ratchet-wheel, moved intermittently by a
catch _x_, link _y_, and stud-pin _z_, _v_ being changeable, and the
eccentricity of _z_ variable, for the purpose of regulating the fineness
of the cutting. Both ends of the knife move at the same speed, and its
surface is made to clear the work by describing a slight curve. The
knife is adjusted accurately to the nose-plate, while the machine is in
motion, by varying the direction of eccentricity of the axis of the
knife-levers to that of the roller-levers. The fineness of the cutting
is regulated by varying the eccentricity of a movable stud-pin in a
plate on the crank-shaft which gives motion, through a train of
speed-reducing gear, to the several rollers. The knives are easily
removed and replaced, and require sharpening after every 4–6 hours’
working. Two men attend the machine, one to keep the feed-rollers
supplied, the other to watch that the knife is doing its work, and to
remove the tobacco as fast as it is cut.

_Drying._—The cut tobacco, as removed from the machine, is placed
loosely in a layer several inches deep in a large trough, provided with
a canvas false bottom; steam is introduced between the true and false
bottoms, and finds its way up through the tobacco, which is thus
rendered more easily workable. It is next transferred to a similar
trough having no false bottom, but a steam-jacketed floor instead; here
the tobacco is dry-heated, and at the same time lightened up by hand.
Finally, it is taken to a third trough, where cold air is forced through
the canvas false bottom, by means of a blower or fan. This last
operation dries the tobacco ready for use in the course of some hours;
but it has the disadvantage of dispersing part of the aroma, and is
therefore generally resorted to only when time presses. In other cases,
the drying is conducted on canvas trays. However performed, the drying
operation needs the greatest attention, to prevent the moisture being
extracted to such a degree as to destroy the profit which its presence
confers upon the manufacturer. With drying, the preparation of cut
tobacco for smoking in pipes is completed.

_Cake or Plug._—The manufacture of “cake” or “plug” is little carried on
in this country, as the Excise laws exclude the use of sweetening
matters, except when carried on in bond. The process is sufficiently
simple. Virginian leaf, with or without the addition of flavourings, is
sweated for a day or two, to deepen the colour, worked into a soft mass,
and next placed in moulds, and subjected to sufficient pressure to
ensure the cohesion of the mass. Each cake is then separately wrapped in
perfect leaf, and passes through a series of moulds, each smaller than
the last, and under increasing pressure in steam-jacketed
cupboard-presses, of which there are many forms. The combined effect of
the heat and pressure is to thoroughly impregnate the whole mass with
the natural juices of the leaf and the flavouring (if any has been
used), and to produce a rich dark colour.

A machine for turning out plug-tobacco in ribbons, made by the McGowan
Pump Co., New York, is shown in Fig. 18. The tobacco is first weighed
out in the proper quantities, and spread in a box placed in spaces in a
heavy iron table a. When the latter is filled, it is passed to and fro
under the heavy iron wheels b, which are loose on the shaft, and which
can be adjusted to exert any desired pressure. Twice passing through
suffices. The ribbon is made in lengths of 10 feet, and either 5¾ inches
or 2⅞ inches wide, as desired.

[Illustration: FIG. 18.]

_Roll or Twist._—Roll- or twist-tobacco is made by spinning the leaf
into a rope, and then subjecting it to hot pressure. Until recently, the
spinning was performed by hand, much after the manner of ordinary
rope-making by hand. But this slow process is now superseded by a
machine made by Robinson and Andrew, of Stockport; it is spoken of in
very favourable terms by English manufacturers, and received a diploma
of merit at the Philadelphia Exhibition. The machine consists of a
combination of 3 rollers, whose surfaces are made of segments, to which
lateral to-and-fro motions are given by cams attached to the stands on
which the axles of the rollers rotate. The tobacco occupies the central
space between the 3 rollers, and it is carried through the machine by
the lateral to-and-fro motions given to the segments. The fillers and
wrappers are laid on a table joined to the machine. The filler is placed
in the cover, and they pass together between the rollers, whose action
twists and compresses the tobacco into a roll; this is carried forward
and wound on a bobbin, revolving in an open frame, and provided with a
guide for equalizing the distribution of the tobacco.

[Illustration: FIG. 19.
FIG. 20.]

[Illustration: FIG. 21.]

The machine is shown in Figs. 19 (elevation), 20 (plan), and 21 (end
view). The tobacco is laid on the table _a_, provided with a rib _n_, on
which the sliding rest _b_ is free to move to and fro; _c d_ are the two
lower segmental rollers, the axles of which revolve in stationary
bearings; _e_ is the top roller, the axle of which revolves in sliding
bearings, fitting in the swing-frame _f_, and each acted upon by a
spring _o_, pressing on a pin communicating with the bearing, and
putting an elastic pressure on the tobacco.

[Illustration: FIG. 22.
FIG. 23.]

Each segment-roller consists of an axle with four segments, best shown
in Figs. 22 and 23. The outer shell of the segments is made of hard
wood, fitting an inner shell of malleable cast-iron, the projections on
which suit grooves on the cast-iron axle. The segments of the rollers _c
d_ are moved laterally to and fro by the wedge-shaped cams _p q r s_,
fixed to the bearings of the roller-axles; and the segments of the
roller _e_ are moved in the same manner by cams _t u_, fixed to the
swing-frame _f_. The tobacco occupies the central space between the 3
rollers, and the cams _p r t_ move the segments in the direction of the
arrow where they touch the tobacco, while the cams _q s u_ move them
back. After the tobacco has passed beyond the segment-rollers, it goes
through the hollow trunnion of the open frame _g_, in which the bobbin
_h_ revolves; the other trunnion of the frame _g_ is provided with fast
and loose pulleys, by which the whole machine is driven. To this
trunnion, are also fixed an ordinary friction-break pulley, and a
grooved pulley, around which latter passes a band for driving the pulley
on the axle of the bobbin _h_. To the other end of the axle of the
bobbin, is fixed a pinion, which, by means of a toothed chain, gives
motion to another pinion fixed to the double screw _i_; this double
screw gives a traversing to-and-fro motion to the guide _j_, for
distributing the tobacco evenly on the bobbin, by means of a swivel
=Ｔ=-headed stud, connected with the guide, and taking into the thread of
the double screw. The guide is provided with two horizontal grooved
rollers, between which the tobacco passes, and with two other rollers to
guide the tobacco on to the bobbin.

Rotary motion is communicated to the segment-rollers _c d e_ as
follows:—To the hollow trunnion of the open frame _g_, is affixed a
pinion, which drives the wheel _k_, on the same shaft as the
change-pinion that drives the wheel gearing into the pinions on the
axles of the rollers _c_ and _d_, and one of which pinions gears into
the intermediate pinion _l_, which drives the pinions on the axle of the
roller _e_. The driving-strap is held upon the fast pulley by a
drop-catch acting on a weighted lever, one arm of which is connected by
a link to the lower end of a strap fork-lever. When it is requisite to
stop the machine, the attendant kicks the point of a catch off the end
of the lever, which is then raised by the weight, and so moves the
driving-strap from the fast to the loose pulley, the stoppage being
virtually instantaneous. The mode of working is as follows:—The spinner
and assistants stand at opposite sides of the table; the fillers and
wrappers being placed on the table, one assistant spreads out the
wrapper and pushes the end towards the filler, which the spinner
supplies and holds against the sliding-rest _b_; the rotary motion of
the segment-rollers _c d e_ twists the tobacco, and causes the wrapper
to be wound over the filler, and the rest _b_, being movable, enables
the spinner to regulate its position according to the quantity and
quality of the filler and wrapper. The lateral motion of the
segment-rollers passes the roll towards the bobbin, on which it is
wound, as described. The combined rotary and traversing motions of the
rollers consolidate the tobacco, and put the desired face upon the
twist. The roller _e_ is supported in a swing-frame, which is lifted off
the tobacco when starting the machine. When the machine is at work, the
swing-frame is held down by the stud _m_ (Fig. 19). The figures
represent a machine suitable for manufacturing Limerick roll; for
pigtail and other small descriptions, it is necessary to reduce the
diameter of one or more of the segment-rollers.

[Illustration: FIG. 24.]

[Illustration: FIG. 25.]

A more recent improvement in this machine, by J. E. A. Andrew, is shown
in Figs. 24 (side view), 25 (transverse section), and 26 (plan). The
table _a_, rib _n_, and sliding-rest _b_, and two lower segment-rollers
_c d_, are constructed as usual; but the axles of the segment-rollers
revolve in bearings _g h_, bolted to the flanges of swivel-frames _i k_,
hinged upon the fulcrum-shaft _x_; the object of thus supporting the
bottom rollers _c d_ is to be able to vary the distance between them
according to the thickness of the twist of tobacco that is being rolled.
When the distance between the rollers is fixed, the bearings are secured
by bolts passing through segmental slots. The solid top roller _e_
revolves in centres in sliding bearings fitting in the swing-frame _f_.

[Illustration: FIG. 26.]

As the bobbin is filled, it is removed, and replaced by an empty one.
The rope is then unwound, and formed into rolls, by the aid of a spindle
with flanges at the sides, worked by a treadle, under a cushioned weight
which squeezes the coils closely together as they are wound. The
completed rolls are subjected to great pressure in steam-jacketed
presses, in the same way, and with the same object, as the cakes or
plugs.

_Cigars._—Cigars are composed of two parts, a core formed of pieces of
leaf placed longitudinally, known as “fillers,” and a covering formed of
perfect leaf, called the “wrapper.” Probably all the best cigars are
made by hand, the only tools required being a short-bladed sharp knife,
a receptacle containing an emulsion of gum, and a square wooden disc or
“cutting-board.” A portion of perfect leaf is first shaped to form the
wrapper of the cigar; then a bunch of fillers is moulded in the hand,
and rolled up tightly in the wrapper, the taper end being secured by
gumming. Expert workmen make the cigars remarkably uniform in weight and
shape. When made, they are sorted according to colour, deftly trimmed at
the thick end, and placed in their boxes in cupboards heated by
gas-stoves to finally dry or season before being stored for sale.

In America, machinery is introduced wherever possible. Moulds for
shaping the cigars are made of hard wood, sometimes partially lined with
tin, and of every possible size and form. A machine is made by Dubrul
and Co., of Cincinnati, for working 3 sets of moulds at once, 2 being
kept filled up under pressure while the 3rd is being filled, or the
bunches are being rolled up. A handy little machine for rolling the
fillers for cigars is that known as Henneman’s, made by Dubrul and Co.
The demand for scrap-made cigars, or those manufactured with short
fillers, has caused the introduction of machines for cutting and sifting
scrap. One made by Dubrul and Co. is shown in Fig. 27. It consists
essentially of a cylinder formed of hook-shaped, double-edged steel
blades, revolving against 3 series of fixed but adjustable steel blades,
thus permitting the size to be regulated at will.

[Illustration: FIG. 27.]

_Cigarettes._—Cigarettes consist of paper tubes filled with cut tobacco,
with or without an external wrapper of leaf tobacco. Preference is
usually given to those made by hand, but machines have been introduced
with some success for making the commoner kinds. A French machine for
making cigarettes is shown in Fig. 28. Its work consists in making the
paper tubes, and filling them with tobacco. The paper, previously
prepared, in a band about 3 inches wide, is unrolled from the coil _a_
by means of the carriage _b_, and cut off in pieces about 1 inch long
for presentation to the mandrel _c_, temporarily introduced into one of
the tubes of the mould-carrier _d_. The mandrel has a clamp which grasps
the paper and rolls it, and, at the moment when the latter escapes from
the carriage, its free end is brought upon a rubber pad covered with
gum, hidden in the illustration. The paper tube is left in the mould,
the mandrel being extracted by means of the cam _e_; the mould-carrier
is then turned ⅟₉ revolution by the cam _f_, a new tube comes
into line, and the operation is repeated. When 6 paper tubes are
completed, the first one is pushed by a small piston, actuated by the
cam _g_, upon the end of the filling-tube; and immediately the rod _h_,
actuated by the cam _e_, drives into this tube a portion of tobacco
already prepared in the compressor _i_. In preparing the tobacco, a
workman, occupying the seat _m_, is necessary to dispose the material in
regular layers on a carrier, by which it is transported into the
compressor. When the cigarette-envelope is filled, the mould-carrier
again makes part of a revolution, and the finished cigarette is pushed
out of the mould by the rod _k_, also actuated by the cam _e_; a device
finally lodges the cigarettes in the box _l_. One workman is said to be
able to turn out 9600 cigarettes in 10 hours by the aid of the machine.

[Illustration: FIG. 28.]

_Snuff._—Snuff is entitled to the last place in the series of tobacco
manufactures, as it is largely made up of the scraps, cuttings, and
rejections of the preceding processes. The materials are chopped very
fine, placed in heaps in warm damp cellars, “doctored” with various
flavourings, left to ferment for several weeks, and then ground to
powder in edge-runner mills, some kinds even undergoing a slight
roasting. When ground, the mass is passed through “mulls,” wood-lined,
bottomless bowls, let into a bench, where the snuff is softened and
rendered less powdery by means of pointed pins, resembling domestic
rolling-pins, which slowly travel around the sides of the bowls. Snuff
represents a highly profitable article manufactured from materials that
are otherwise useless, and depending for its flavour chiefly upon the
perfumes and flavourings used. Hence these last are kept profoundly
secret by the manufacturer.

From refuse tobacco which is unfit for any other purpose, is made a
decoction for washing sheep and destroying vermin; often the waste is
ground very fine, and used by gardeners, presumably to keep noxious
insects away.

[Illustration: FIG. 29.]

_Miscellaneous Appliances._—The customary ingenuity of the Americans has
invented a profusion of admirable labour-saving machines for almost all
the operations of the tobacco manufacturer. A few of these only can be
noticed in the present article.

Fig. 29 shows a portable resweating-apparatus, intended for darkening
the colour of tobacco to suit the dealer’s market. It measures 4 feet
long, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet high, being just large enough for one case
(400 lb.) of tobacco, including the case; it consists of a water-tank
_a_, a pipe _b_ for conducting the water into the metallic pan _c_, at
the bottom of the apparatus, which is heated by gas-jets _d_. The
tobacco is introduced by the door _e_, which is fitted with a
thermometer. The roof is sloped so as to determine the flow of the water
of condensation. The steaming occupies 3–5 days, and needs occasional
watching. The apparatus is made by C. S. Philips and Co., 188 Pearl
Street, New York.

[Illustration: FIG. 30.]

Fig. 30 illustrates a complicated machine, introduced by C. C. Clawson
and Co., of Raleigh, N. Carolina, for putting up large quantities of
tobacco in parcels of 2 oz. upwards. It consists of a central table
provided with automatic scales for weighing out the portion; four
equidistant guides which determine the form of the package; a plunger
for packing, and a follower for raising the package; a side-table
carrying tongs for holding the empty bags; and another to receive the
packages, and hold them during tying. The hopper being supplied with
tobacco, and the machine put in motion, each form takes a bag from the
tong-table, and the article having been weighed, is carried to the form
by a shute, when it drops into the bag, is packed by the plunger, and
transferred to the tying-table. With 2 girls or boys, it is said to
weigh, pack, and tie 30 bags a minute.

The New York Tobacco Machine Co. make two forms of machines for
granulating tobacco, chiefly for making “Killickinick” and cigarettes,
their working capacity ranging from 200 to 2000 lb. a day. The
cutting-rollers are covered with cross-millings at right angles to each
other, those running lengthwise being deep; the fixed cutters are
adjustable, so that the cutting may be either coarse or fine. When
working, the action is like that of a pair of shears, except that the
cross-millings reduce the strips to a granular state. Both stems and
leaves may be worked up. The great advantage claimed for these machines
is that, though the tobacco should be dry, the percentage of dust
escaping is reduced to a nominal figure.

A cutting-machine made by the same Co. is shown in Fig. 31. It is
adapted to cut leaf, stem, scrap, plug, or any form of tobacco, to any
required degree of fineness, turning out 300–400 lb. a day. The action
is almost precisely that of a chaff-cutter. The Co.’s sifting-machine
consists of an adjustable cylindrical wire sieve, with a rattan-broom
screw-roller revolving inside. The stems are stripped and worked out at
one end, while the remainder is broken up, and passed through the sieve,
falling upon a perforated tray, through which pass the finest particles
for snuff-making. A machine largely used in America is the stem-roller,
for crushing and flattening the stems so that they may be used like
leaves for making cigars. Great benefit is anticipated in the United
States from the adaptation of Ryerson’s “attrition mill” to
snuff-grinding, owing to the fact that the pulverization is accomplished
without the particles being heated in the least degree. Of
cigarette-making machines, there are many kinds; the best are those
which deal with the tobacco in a comparatively dry state, thus
preventing shrinkage after packing.

[Illustration: FIG. 31.]

Indebtedness is acknowledged to Hy. Archer and Co., Borough, S.E., and
T. Brankston and Co., Carter Lane, Doctors’ Commons, for opportunities
of inspecting their thoroughly representative works, and for much
information readily given concerning the manufacture in this country; to
W. Jollyman, of W. D. and H. O. Wills’ London house, for having revised
these sheets before going to press; and to Hy. A. Forrest, 61 Broadway,
agent of the New York Tobacco Machine Co., for valuable material
relating to American machines and processes.

CHAPTER VI.
NATURE AND PROPERTIES.

The active principle of tobacco is a volatile, highly poisonous
alkaloid, called Nicotine (C₁₀H₁₄N₂). Although green tobacco-plants
contain generally more nicotine than the leaves after they have been
prepared for the market, yet the odour is only perceptible after the
fermentation of the leaves has set in. It has been ascertained that
young leaves 2 inches long contained 2·8 per cent., and leaves 10½
inches broad and 16 inches long, as much as 5·6 per cent. of their
weight of nicotine. The amount increases as the plants become ripe, and
decreases on their becoming overripe.

Though the narcotic effects of tobacco experienced by the smoker must
partly be attributed to nicotine, it cannot be said that they are solely
due to it. It is well known that the products of combustion of quite
harmless substances are often stupefying. Good Syrian tobacco contains
no nicotine, yet smokers consider cigars made from this tobacco to be
strong. It is evident that the strength of a cigar, as judged by the
smoker, depends greatly on the circumstance whether the tobacco burns
well or not. If it burns well, a greater amount of nicotine is consumed
and decomposed, and less of the narcotic products of combustion are
created, than when it burns badly. Cigars of the latter description,
containing little nicotine, are more narcotic in their effects when
smoked than well-burning cigars containing much nicotine.

The amount of nicotine in tobacco varies very much, according to the
sort of plant, the climate, the nature of the soil in which the plant
grew, the treatment received during its growth, and the course adopted
to prepare the leaf for the market. Dr. Nessler found that good Syrian
tobacco contained no nicotine, Havana tobaccos between 0·6 and 2·0 per
cent., and German tobaccos between 0·7 and 3·3 per cent. Schlösing found
in French tobacco nearly 8·0 per cent. of nicotine. Fine tobaccos
contain generally little or no nicotine. Broughton found that the amount
of nicotine in Indian tobaccos varies very much. The conditions
favourable to the development of nicotine in the plants are:—Soil in a
bad physical state, strong nitrogenous manure, a dry atmosphere, and
probably a low temperature during the growth.

According to Nessler, green and newly-cut tobacco-plants contain no
ammonia; it is developed during the drying and fermentation of the
leaves, especially when they assume a brown colour. Tobacco-leaves,
which have undergone a strong fermentation, contain more ammonia than
those slightly fermented. Fine tobaccos contain generally less ammonia
than coarser ones. In various smoking-tobaccos, Nessler found:—Havana,
0·2 per cent. of ammonia; Cuba, 0·3; Syrian, 0·6; German, 0·9 per cent.
Schlösing found Havana tobacco to contain 0·8 per cent.

Nitric acid, consisting of nitrogen and oxygen, is formed in animal and
plant substances when decomposed under the influence of atmospheric air
and a sufficiently high temperature; whereas ammonia, consisting of
nitrogen and hydrogen, is formed when those substances decompose in the
absence, or nearly so, of atmospheric air. Organic substances
decomposing under the latter condition emit an objectionable pungent
odour, which must partly be attributed to the formation of ammonia.
Tobacco, soon after harvesting, commences, according to the conditions
under which it is placed, one of these decompositions. The extent of the
decomposition the tobacco has gone through may be partly judged from the
colour the leaves have attained. If leaves be dried so rapidly as to
remain green, the decomposition is probably confined to the formation of
carbonic acid. A yellow colour indicates the formation of nitric acid;
and a dark-brown or black colour, that of ammonia. The conditions under
which nitric acid and ammonia are formed being known, it is possible to
control their development. When the tobacco is hung far apart, so that
the air has free access, the formation of nitric acid will take place;
but if the air be excluded more or less, by hanging the tobacco very
close, or pressing it in heaps or pits, the formation of ammonia is
engendered.

Nitric acid generally promotes the combustion of plant substances, by
supplying a portion of the needed oxygen, and has undoubtedly a similar
effect in tobacco; its occurrence in the tobacco is therefore a
desideratum with the cultivator and manufacturer, and to supply any
deficiency, the manufacturer often resorts to impregnating his tobacco
with a solution of saltpetre. From this, however, it must not be
concluded that every tobacco containing a large amount of nitric acid
will necessarily burn well. Schlösing and Nessler have shown that the
well-burning of a tobacco does not always correspond with a great amount
of nitric acid, thus indicating that other substances or other
conditions also affect the combustibility. The effect of the nitric acid
will most probably vary with the base with which it is in combination.

The nitrogen in the forms of nicotine, ammonia, and nitric acid,
constitutes only a small portion of the total amount present in tobacco;
by far the greater portion (⅔–⅞) exists in the form of albuminoids.
Nessler found that the nitrogen under this form varies from 2 to 4 per
cent., which is equal to 13–26 per cent. of albuminoids. Substances rich
in albuminoids generally burn badly, and emit a pungent noxious odour.
On the condition of these albuminoids, and on the presence of other
substances, as nitric acid, alkalies, &c., in the tobacco, mostly depend
the burning qualities of the leaf, and the flavour of a cigar. The
Eastern habit in smoking, from Malaysia, Japan and China, through India,
Persia and Turkey, even to Hungary, is to inhale the smoke into the
lungs, and natives of these countries maintain that a tobacco should be
of full flavour without burning the throat or catching the breath.
Western nations do not admit the smoke further than the mouth, and
therefore require a strong, rank flavour.

Whilst drying and fermenting, the tobacco undergoes great changes. Some
substances are decomposed, others are newly formed. The highly
complicated compounds, the albuminoids, undergo first decomposition, and
in doing so give rise to more simple combinations. Nitric acid, ammonia,
and other substances less known are chiefly, if not entirely, derived
from the products of the decomposition of albuminoids. The substances
that cause the objectionable pungent smell in tobacco are formed from
the broken-up constituents of these high combinations. The conditions
under which these bad-smelling combinations originate are not properly
known; but it is probable that they are developed with, and under the
same conditions that cause the formation of, ammonia, as the
disagreeable pungent flavour is found generally in tobacco that has
undergone fermentation to a great extent. It is believed that the
conditions that favour the development of nicotine are also conducive to
the formation of albuminous substances in the leaf, viz. fresh
nitrogenous manure, bad physical state of the soil, &c.

According to Nessler, the quality of tobacco depends to a great degree
on the amount of cellulose it contains. He found that a good tobacco
invariably contained more than a bad one, Havana yielding as much as 46
per cent. The fact that tobacco burns better after being stored for a
time may be partly due to an increase of cellulose in it.

Every tobacco contains more or less fat, gum, ethereal oil, &c. It is
not properly known in what way fatty matters affect the quality of
tobacco. Many other organic matters exist in tobacco in combination with
substances from which it is most difficult to separate them; they have
not as yet been quantitatively ascertained, and are therefore little
known. Most of them are only developed during the drying and fermenting
of the leaf; their presence, however, considerably affects the quality
of the tobacco.

The amount of ash constituents in the tobacco is considerable, varying
between 16 and 28 per cent. There cannot be said to exist a definite
relation between the total amount of ash in the tobacco and its quality,
as tobaccos yielding much ash are sometimes of good, and at other times
of bad, quality; a good tobacco may yield much or little ash. The
relative proportion in which the ash constituents exist is, however, of
the greatest importance. It has been ascertained that the presence of
some special mineral elements modify to a great extent the quality of
the tobacco. Of all ash constituents, potash (K₂O), more correctly
speaking potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃), affects the quality of tobacco in
the highest degree. Schlösing has pointed out that the good burning
qualities of a tobacco depend on the presence in it of potash in
combination with a vegetable acid; that a soil deficient in potash is
unfit to produce tobacco of good quality. Numerous analyses have tended
not only to corroborate the assertion made by Schlösing, but to
demonstrate also, that it is not the total amount of potash, but the
potash found as a carbonate, which existed in the plant in combination
with a vegetable acid, that is the constituent chiefly affecting the
combustibility of a tobacco. The complete analyses of Nessler have shown
that, although a tobacco may contain a great amount of potash, it does
not necessarily follow that the tobacco burns well. He found that some
German tobaccos contained more potash than Havana, although the latter
burned much better than the former; and that a great amount of potash
did not always indicate a great amount of carbonate of potash. Although
tobaccos yielding a great amount of carbonate of potash in their ash
generally burn well, there may be conditions which neutralize the good
effect of this combination, as a large proportion of albuminoids. It may
therefore be said that the combustibility of a tobacco is improved in
proportion as its ash yields more carbonate of potash, other conditions
being equal.

Among the minor salts, the chlorides deserve most attention. It has been
found that they generally retard the burning of tobacco, and, that as
they increase, carbonate of potash decreases. Lime is invariably found
more or less in the ash, but it has not been ascertained to what extent
its presence affects the quality of the tobacco; good tobacco may
contain much or little, so that its presence is probably not of great
importance. The same may be said of soda, magnesia, and phosphoric acid.
According to Nessler, their proportions may vary thus:—Potash, 1·95–5
per cent.; lime, 6·5–9·2; soda, 0–1·63; magnesia, 0·12–0·99; phosphoric
acid, 0·57–1·39.

In connection with the chemistry of tobacco, and the rational manuring
of the crop, the name of Prof. S. W. Johnson, Chemist to the Connecticut
State Board of Agriculture, must be placed in the foremost rank.
Indebtedness is acknowledged to Prof. Johnson for a copy of his valuable
report, quoted in the Bibliography at the end of this work.

In November, 1884, a paper was read by Dr. John Clark, on the
composition of tobacco, before the Society of Chemical Industry, which
is sufficiently interesting to be quoted at length.

Dr. Clark remarks that the “tobacco plant is very extensively cultivated
in various parts of the world, and after it has reached its maturity it
is cut and dried on poles. When the plant is in proper condition, the
leaves are stripped from the stalk, sorted and cured, by which means
they are converted into the tobacco of commerce. The good leaves are
called ‘wrappers,’ and the infirm or defective ones, which are separated
from the others, are called ‘mediums and fillers.’ The term ‘strips’ is
applied to tobacco leaves, from which 20 to 25 per cent. of the stem or
midrib has been removed to suit the requirements of manufacturers in
this country more especially. Tobacco is largely imported into the
United Kingdom, partly in the manufactured state, but principally in the
unmanufactured or leaf form.

“Through the kindness of a well-known firm of tobacco manufacturers, I
have been furnished with authentic samples of the principal varieties of
leaf tobacco, imported into this country, and the accompanying table
gives the proportions of mineral matter or ash, alkaline salts, and
sand, which these contain. For the sake of comparison the results are
all stated in the dry tobacco, and in order to ensure greater accuracy,
the analysis was, in each case, made with several leaves, which were
separated into laminæ and stem, and the whole of each incinerated. The
difference in the composition of the laminæ and the stem is very marked,
especially as regards alkaline salts, and is of importance more
especially to the snuff manufacturer.

COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS KINDS OF LEAF TOBACCO.
──────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────
│ Whole Leaf. │ Laminæ. │ Stem.
│Dried at 212° F.,│Dried at 212° F.,│Dried at 212° F.,
│ per cent. │ per cent. │ per cent.
──────────────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼─────┬─────┬─────
│ Ash.│ Alk.│Sand.│ Ash.│ Alk.│Sand.│ Ash.│ Alk.│Sand.
│ │Salt.│ │ │Salt.│ │ │Salt.│
──────────────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────
U. S. Kentucky │19·11│ 6·84│ 2·57│18·93│ 5·43│ 3·06│21·69│13·51│ ·68
do. │18·50│ 6·68│ 1·82│15·50│ 2·77│ 2·39│26·07│16·68│ ·38
do. │25·99│ 9·69│ 3·51│24·88│ 6·70│ 4·17│29·36│20·01│ 1·10
do. Strips │15·73│ 4·31│ 2·61│15·57│ 4·07│ 2·71│16·95│ 6·35│ 1·37
U. S. Missouri │20·96│ 5·07│ 4·63│20·46│ 2·62│ 5·27│22·61│12·72│ 1·90
do. │22·01│ 6·32│ 3·51│21·36│ 4·96│ 3·88│23·62│12·37│ 1·53
do. │18·88│ 4·81│ 2·61│17·18│ 2·88│ 3·21│22·17│10·68│ ·92
do. │18·36│ 4·60│ 3·44│17·05│ 2·50│ 4·07│22·39│11·10│ 1·49
U. S. N. Carolina │14·50│ 5·99│ ·63│12·98│ 3·92│ ·74│18·64│11·72│ ·23
Paraguay │30·80│ 8·15│12·32│31·07│ 6·37│14·41│30·37│14·78│ 4·91
Brazil—Carmen │20·54│ 7·81│ ·42│20·42│ 7·24│ ·46│20·86│ 9·37│ ·31
Holland │21·83│11·37│ ·13│20·16│ 8·99│ ·55│25·15│17·20│ ·12
Turkey—Cavallo │13·79│ 5·05│ 3·06│21·86│ 8·28│ ·72│15·44│ 7·73│ ·24
do. Latakia │19·50│ 7·19│ ·55│21·86│ 8·28│ ·72│15·44│ 7·73│ ·24
do. Samsoun │18·39│ 6·98│ ·49│17·59│ 5·32│ ·44│21·72│13·42│ ·60
Japan │15·67│ 6·86│ ·50│14·60│ 5·59│ ·54│19·84│11·55│ ·35
China │18·58│ 2·40│ 6·30│17·94│ 1·66│ 6·94│20·57│ 5·27│ 3·61
Havana │20·99│ 8·19│ 1·02│20·91│ 7·51│ 1·04│21·02│10·33│ ·92
Manilla │21·80│ 6·54│ ·14│21·25│ 5·49│ ·13│22·50│ 9·09│ ·14
German │22·27│ 3·76│ 1·79│22·12│ 2·78│ 1·87│23·13│ 4·63│ 1·39
Sumatra │18·61│ 7·20│ ·13│18·71│ 6·59│ ·09│18·14│ 9·11│ ·28
──────────────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────

────────────────┬───────────┬───────────┬───────────
│ Average │ Average │ Average
│ of │ of │ of
│Whole Leaf,│ Laminæ, │ Stem,
│ per cent. │ per cent. │ per cent.
Ash or Inorganic│ 20·32 │ 19·21 │ 21·92
Alk. Salts │ 6·47 │ 4·98 │ 11·41
Sand │ 2·48 │ 2·86 │ 1·15
────────────────┴───────────┴───────────┴───────────

“The unmanufactured tobacco which is imported into this country, is
converted into roll or spun tobacco, cut tobacco and cigars, and the
refuse is used for making snuff. Roll tobacco is the staple manufacture
in Scotland and Ireland, and cut tobacco the staple article in England.

“In the manufacture of roll tobacco, the leaves are moistened with
water, spun into various sizes of twist, made up into rolls, and
pressed. The liquid or juice which exudes under pressure is used as a
sheep dip. Cut tobacco is made by moistening the leaves, cutting them
into the desired size, and drying on plates. Sometimes it is made into
cakes in the first instance, and afterwards cut.

“When we compare the composition of roll and cut tobaccos with that of
the leaf from which they are made, we find that the difference lies
almost entirely in the amount of moisture, and as manufacturers are not
allowed to add anything but water and a little oil to tobacco, you will
not err very much in assuming that as a rule the cheapest qualities of
roll and cut tobaccos contain most water. Thus in 15 samples of the
cheapest roll tobacco I found an average of 41·66 per cent. of water.

“The lowest qualities of cut tobacco, such as are largely manufactured
and consumed in England, contain as much water as the cheapest roll
tobacco, whereas the finer qualities of cut tobacco contain as a rule
from 14 to 22 per cent. Cigars, even the cheapest, are comparatively
dry, and contain, as a rule, only from 10 to 12 per cent. of water.

“The difference in cheap cigars is due chiefly to the weight of the
material, but also to the quality of the tobacco and the labour,
machinery being used in the manufacture of the lower qualities, whereas
the higher qualities are nearly all hand made.

“The large quantity of water contained in the cheapest tobacco, and
which frequently amounts to about 50 per cent., is not, in my opinion,
introduced to please the palate of the working man, but simply on
account of the keen competition between rival manufacturers, and the low
price at which tobacco is sold; and in the interest both of the working
classes and of tobacco manufacturers themselves, I think it is very
desirable that some limit should be placed to the amount of water which
may be sold as tobacco.

“Snuff.—I stated that the refuse tobacco was employed in the manufacture
of snuff. This refuse consists of stems, tobacco smalls, and sweepings.
These are moistened with water, subjected to a process of fermentation,
which lasts from about six weeks to two months, then ground, mixed with
alkaline salts to preserve the snuff, and flavoured when desired.
Nothing is allowed to be added to snuff except the carbonates,
chlorides, and sulphates of potash and soda, and carbonate of ammonia.
It is also provided by Act of Parliament that any snuff found to
contain, after being dried at 212° F., more than 26 per cent. of such
salts, including those naturally in the tobacco, will be liable to
forfeiture and a penalty of 50_l._ From my table of analyses you will
observe that not only does the proportion of alkaline salts vary in
different tobaccos, but the stem contains a much larger proportion than
the leaf. On this account it is necessary that the snuff manufacturer
should know the quantity of alkaline salts in his snuff material, in
order to obtain an article of uniform composition. Some manufacturers go
by rule of thumb, and in attempting to work close to the legal limit,
they run a serious risk of unintentionally incurring the penalty. As a
matter of fact, three samples of snuff, in 1883, were condemned by the
Somerset House authorities because they contained an excessive
proportion of alkaline salts, and the manufacturers were prosecuted. The
more intelligent of the snuff manufacturers, however, analyse their
snuff material, and are thus able to keep within the legal limit.

“The principal alkaline salts which are added to snuff are chloride of
sodium or common salt, carbonate of potash, and carbonate of ammonia,
all of which are allowed by Act of Parliament, and therefore no
exception can be taken to their addition, so long as the total quantity
does not exceed 26 per cent. in the dry snuff. In addition to alkaline
salts, snuffs usually contain from 25 to 45 per cent. of water, with the
exception of a kind of snuff called ‘High Toast or Irish Blackguard,’
which is very dry and contains from 5 to 8 per cent. Sometimes they also
contain a considerable quantity of sand. In the several hundred samples
of snuff which I have had occasion to examine for different
manufacturers the average quantity of sand was about 5 per cent. in the
dry snuff, and sometimes fell as low as a half per cent., but in many
samples the quantity exceeded 10 per cent., and in one case I found as
much as 30·94 per cent. of sand in the dry snuff. The greater part of
this sand is probably derived from the sweepings of tobacco, on which
duty has been paid, and I have no doubt the snuff manufacturer considers
himself justified in selling it as snuff. But it appears to me to be
very desirable in the interest of snuffers, that some limit should be
placed on the quantity of sand which may be sold as snuff: more
especially as the particles of sand are frequently very sharp, and have
a tendency to produce inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nose,
and it is to this, probably, that we owe the popular notion that snuff
is sometimes mixed with ground glass to give it additional piquancy.

“When from any cause snuff is spoiled, the manufacturer may export it,
and obtain a drawback of 3_s._ 7_d._ per lb. on the real tobacco which
it contains.

“The Government standard for tobacco is as follows:

Per cent.
Organic matter 70·52
Inorganic 15·48
Water 14·00
——————
100·00

“This is equal to 18 per cent. of ash or inorganic matter in the dry
tobacco. This standard is in my opinion too high, as the average
percentage of inorganic or ash in the dry leaf tobaccos which I have
examined is 20·32, and the stem from which snuff is largely made
contains still more. The result is that the tobacco manufacturer not
only loses the value of the tobacco over and above the duty, but also a
part of the duty which he has paid. This matter concerns the tobacco
manufacturer alone, but I would point out that the authorities in
Somerset House in fixing such a high standard for tobacco are benefiting
the public at the expense of the manufacturer, whereas in the case of
milk the low standard which they employ is a loss to the public and gain
to the dishonest dealer.”

CHAPTER VII.
ADULTERATIONS AND SUBSTITUTES.

It is said that in Thuringia, over 1000 tons yearly of dried
beetroot-leaves are passed off as tobacco. These leaves, and those of
chicory and cabbage, are similarly employed in Magdeburg and the
Palatinate. Many of the _Vevey_ cigars of S. Germany are entirely
composed of cabbage- and beetroot-leaves which have been steeped in
tobacco-water for a long time. Other leaves, such as rhubarb, dock,
burdock, and coltsfoot are also used. These are all principally for
cigars. For smoking-tobacco, chamomile flowers, exhausted in water, then
dyed and sweetened with logwood and liquorice, and dried, have been
mixed with tobacco in such proportions as 70–80 per cent. In America, a
specially-prepared brown paper, saturated with the juice expressed from
tobacco-stems and other refuse, is most extensively used, not only for
the “wrappers” of cigars, but also for “filling.” Various ground woods,
starches, meals, and pigments are introduced into snuff.

A New York paper mentions that a great quantity of brown straw paper
lately reached Havana, which was to be employed in the manufacture of
Havana cigars. Straw paper impregnated with the juice of tobacco stalks
is wound up with the leaf in such a way that it is often impossible to
detect the adulteration. Dr. Jacobson, writing in the _Industrie
Blätter_, remarks that there is no difficulty in escaping detection, if
the paper be specially prepared for the purpose out of suitable raw
materials. It has long been known that cigar paper soaked in a solution
of soluble glass gives forth no smell of paper on being burnt.

Patent No. 210,538, issued from the United States Patent Office,
December 3, 1878, states the ingredients of a “substitute” to
be—spikenard, red clover, hyssop, hops, slippery-elm bark, tarred rope,
pennyroyal, mullein leaves, kinnikinic, wild cherry bark, and ginseng.
This is an ingenious combination intended to approach in effect,
appearance, and aroma, tobacco; and in so far it might be said to be a
success: as mullein leaves are reputed to be feebly narcotic, hops are
known to possess anodyne properties, clover and hyssop are pectoral in
effect, and slippery-elm febrifuge. Ginseng is aromatic and pungent, and
has a great reputation among the Chinese as a stimulant and restorative.
The tarred rope, we presume, is intended to add to the pyrognostic value
of the mixture. The great point in selecting material for the
fabrication of a mixture of this description is to get leaves containing
a fair percentage of nitrate of potass, as does tobacco; on this depends
its pyrognostic value, and that, next to aroma, is everything.

“Tobacco, like those who smoke it, is credited with many sins of which
it is guiltless. The ‘loss of health’ so often laid at its door is
probably due in many instances not to tobacco itself, but to some
villainous compound bearing its name. A story told by the principal of
the laboratory of the Inland Revenue Department in his report for the
past year shows how easily this may happen. The supervisor at
Birmingham, observing that an article was being sold at a very cheap
rate in packets, under the name of ‘smoking mixture,’ sent a sample to
the Inland Revenue laboratory for examination, and it being found to
contain a large proportion of vegetable matter resembling the broken-up
heads of camomile flowers, further inquiry led to the discovery of the
manufactory. The process of manufacture consisted in exhausting the
bitter principle of camomile flower-heads with water, and then dyeing
and sweetening them with a solution of logwood and liquorice, which
brought them, when dried, somewhat to the colour of tobacco. The heads,
when broken up, were then mixed with from 20 to 30 per cent. of cut
tobacco, according to the price at which the mixture was to be sold. The
mixture was supplied to retailers in packets labelled ‘The New Smoking
Mixture, Analysed and Approved,’ and as agencies had already been
established in several towns, an extensive trade would no doubt soon
have arisen had the manufactory not been suppressed at an early stage of
its existence.”

The United States Consul at Smyrna puts the following statement in his
report of January 15, 1883.

Since the establishment of the tobacco monopoly in Turkey, snuff may be
said to be one of the several articles that undergo the most
unscrupulous adulteration. Owing to the high amount of duties imposed on
tobacco by the Turkish Government, and the large profits licensed
manufacturers expect to make on the same, the poorer classes cannot
afford to use the products of doubtful purity coming from the factories,
and so are altogether at the mercy of the clandestine manufacturer and
retailer, who, in order to make the most he can of his vile industry,
adulterates his snuff to such an extent that it can be safely said that
his products contain on an average from 60 to 70 per cent. of inferior
Persian tobacco (tumbeki), fragments of country tobacco leaf, and
tobacco of cigarettes picked up in the streets by beggars, the 30 to 40
per cent. consisting of walnut sawdust, terra umbra, fine sifted sand,
and scum of lead (lead oxide), covered with inferior black writing-ink.

The snuff is manufactured in Smyrna, as follows:

The conscientious manufacturer uses Persian hookah tobacco (tumbeki) and
the fragments of country tobacco-leaf coloured with black ink. These
tobaccos, ground as fine as possible and mixed with grape molasses, are
put in a covered barrel to ferment. Two or three days later the snuff is
taken out and spread in the sun to dry partly, and then rubbed with the
hands and passed through iron wire sieves to be granulated.

The product is afterwards scented with powdered orris root, tonka beans,
and geranium oil; the superior qualities are scented with essences of
roses and jessamine and put up in packages.

The adulterated article is manufactured in the same manner with the
addition of the above-named substances.

The only persons using genuine snuff in this city are the Catholic
priests, who import it directly from France, Italy, Spain and Holland,
and enjoy the privilege of paying no custom-house duties.

CHAPTER VIII.
IMPORTS, DUTIES, VALUES, AND CONSUMPTION.

A comparison of the taxation of the chief nations of the world for the
consumption of tobacco has been published in the _Imperial Statistics of
Germany_. Of the countries where the sale is a Government monopoly,
France last year stood first, the gross duty, with profits, amounting to
7_s._ 1½_d._ per head of the population annually, the net revenue from
the article being 5_s._ 8¼_d._ per head. In Austria the gross was 5_s._
5¾_d._, the net, 3_s._ 5_d._; in Hungary, the gross 3_s._ 3½_d._, the
net 1_s._ 7_d._; in Italy, the gross 3_s._ 11_d._, and the net 2_s._
8¼_d._ In Great Britain, the duty and licenses brought in 4_s._ 10¾_d._
per head of the population for the year, and in the United States 4_s._
4½_d._ In Germany, on the other hand, where the duty was very light, the
average was no more than 7¾_d._ per head of the population.

The duties on unmanufactured tobacco are 3_s._ 6_d._ a lb. when it
contains 10 per cent. or more of moisture; 3_s._ 10_d._ a lb. when it
contains less than 10 per cent. of moisture. Snuff containing no more
than 13 per cent. of moisture, 4_s._ 10_d._ a lb.; 13 per cent. and
upwards, 4_s._ 1_d._ a lb. Cigars pay 5_s._ 6_d._ a lb. Cavendish of
foreign manufacture pays 4_s._ 10_d._ a lb.; that manufactured in bond,
4_s._ 4_d._ Other sorts, including cigarettes, pay 4_s._ 4_d._ a lb.

The approximate relative values in the London market are as
follows:—Maryland, fine yellow, fine, and good coloured, 7–9½_d._ a lb.;
colory, 5–7_d._; light-brown and leafy, 5–(7½)_d._; ordinary and brown,
4–4½_d._ Virginia: Fine Irish and Scotch spinners, 7–10_d._; good and
middling, ordinary light and dry, 6–10_d._; fine black sweet scent, and
middling do., (6½)–(7½)_d._; part blacks, 5–6_d._; ordinary and heated,
3–5_d._; mixed parcels, ordinary and good, middling and fine,
(5½)–(6½)_d._; stripped leaf, 4_d._–1_s._ Kentucky: fine long light
leaf, 7–11_d._; good to middling do., (5½)-(7½)_d._; fine and middling
blacks, 6–8_d._; ordinary and mixed, 2–5_d._; stripped leaf, fine, light
leafy, middling and ordinary, (4½)–11_d._ Negrohead, 11_d._–1_s._ 6_d._
Cavendish, 4½_d._–1_s._ Amersfort and German, 2¾_d._–1_s._ 6_d._ St.
Domingo, 5–(7½)_d._ Havana, Cuba, and Yara, 1_s._ 2_d._–6_s._ Turkish
and Greek, (2½)–9_d._ E. India, Japan, and China, 2–9_d._ Java,
5_d._–2_s._ Colombia (New Granada), 5_d._–2_s._ 6_d._ Manilla,
8_d._–4_s._ Manilla cheroots, 4_s._–7_s._ 6_d._ Havana cigars, 5–40_s._

_Imports, Duties, and Values._—Our imports of tobacco in 1879 were as
follows:—

(_a_) Unmanufactured: From United States, 25,743,880 lb., value
682,253_l._; Holland, 6,215,930 lb., 266,109_l._; China, 1,444,192 lb.,
36,265_l._; Turkey, 1,214,319 lb., 32,627_l._; Japan, 805,928 lb.,
24,003_l._; France, 651,350 lb., 14,585_l._; Belgium, 515,009 lb.,
15,501_l._; Argentine Republic, 470,309 lb., 10,870_l._; Germany,
426,139 lb., 25,602_l._; Straits Settlements, 267,258 lb., 29,718_l._;
British India, 246,305 lb., 3605_l._; New Granada, 241,638 lb.,
9621_l._; Canada, 121,920 lb., 3473_l._; other countries, 497,043 lb.,
14,256_l._; total, 38,861,220 lb., 1,165,488_l._

(_b_) Snuff: From all countries, 7719 lb., value 92_l._

(_c_) Cigars: From Spanish W. Indies, 495,518 lb., value 494,974_l._;
Germany, 150,460 lb., 46,318_l._; Holland, 116,218 lb., 31,348_l._;
Philippines, 80,199 lb., 21,738_l._; France, 73,348 lb., 24,071_l._;
Straits Settlements, 51,191 lb., 13,822_l._; China, 48,762 lb.,
11,240_l._; Belgium, 46,536 lb., 14,211_l._; British India, 33,208 lb.,
10,898_l._; United States, 14,625 lb., 5461_l._; other countries, 43,978
lb., 19,184_l._; total, 1,154,043 lb., 693,265_l._

(_d_) Cavendish or Negrohead: From United States, 2,247,557 lb., value
84,422_l._; other countries, 45,052 lb., 1964_l._; total, 2,292,609 lb.,
86,386_l._

(_e_) Cavendish, manufactured in bond: 33,069 lb., 7126_l._

(_f_) Other sorts, including cigarettes: From United States, 52,206 lb.,
value 7999_l._; Holland, 25,273 lb., 1372_l._; Channel Islands, 15,470
lb., 1279_l._; Germany, 14,474 lb., 4472_l._; France, 9497 lb.,
2368_l._; Belgium, 7939 lb., 2086_l._; other countries, 12,328 lb.,
3845_l._; total, 137,187 lb., 23,421_l._

Following are statistics of the imports of tobacco for the year 1884,
being the latest available.

UNMANUFACTURED TOBACCO.

────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ Quantity.│ Value.
│——————————│——————————
│ lb. │ £
From Germany │ 1,464,350│ 57,435
” Holland │ 5,728,744│ 246,795
” Belgium │ 299,863│ 10,994
” France │ 733,207│ 23,975
” Spain │ 1,265,347│ 24,370
” Malta │ 81,026│ 1,160
” Turkey │ 1,114,143│ 46,545
” Algeria │ 85,580│ 3,081
” British East Indies │ 918,066│ 11,082
” Philippine Islands │ 45,989│ 3,785
│——————————│——————————
Carried forward │11,736,315│ 429,222
│ │
” China and Hong Kong │ 1,813,221│ 63,566
” Japan │ 1,876,787│ 46,081
” British North America │ 150,056│ 5,188
” United States of America │37,186,980│ 1,183,102
” Spanish West India Islands │ 361,095│ 17,972
” United States of Colombia │ 122,570│ 3,589
” Ecuador │ 76,642│ 2,085
” Argentine Republic │ 131,013│ 2,970
” Other Countries │ 75,728│ 2,476
│——————————│——————————
TOTAL │53,530,407│ 1,756,251
────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────

CIGARS.

────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ Quantity.│ Value.
│——————————│——————————
│ lb. │ £
From Denmark │ 2,349│ 1,243
” Germany │ 151,650│ 46,512
” Holland │ 78,471│ 22,231
” Belgium │ 109,388│ 32,789
” Channel Islands │ 2,501│ 1,645
” France │ 49,313│ 24,061
” Gibraltar │ 1,437│ 982
” Malta │ 1,008│ 390
” Greece │ 1,750│ 600
” British Possessions in South Africa │ 1,615│ 687
” British East Indies │ 188,354│ 45,218
” Philippine Islands │ 201,652│ 56,208
” China and Hong Kong │ 25,659│ 6,242
” Australasia │ 3,740│ 883
” United States of America │ 166,740│ 98,510
” British West Indies and Guiana │ 2,313│ 1,198
” Spanish West India Islands │ 467,315│ 453,610
” Danish West India Islands │ 2,448│ 1,519
” Mexico │ 59,727│ 37,249
” United States of Colombia │ 1,004│ 686
” Brazil │ 4,519│ 2,089
” Other Countries │ 4,127│ 2,008
│——————————│———————————
TOTAL │ 1,527,080│ 836,560
────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────

CAVENDISH OR NEGROHEAD.

────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ Quantity.│ Value.
│——————————│——————————
│ lb. │ £
From Channel Islands │ 78,569│ 5,156
” British North America │ 64,910│ 3,244
” United States of America │ 1,243,720│ 59,780
” British West India Islands │ 16,332│ 2,764
” Other Countries │ 32,315│ 1,646
│——————————│——————————
TOTAL │ 1,435,846│ 72,590
────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────

SNUFF.

────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ Quantity.│ Value.
│——————————│——————————
│ lb. │ £
From Brazil │ 4,099│ 830
” Other Countries │ 96│ 24
│——————————│——————————
TOTAL │ 4,195│ 854
────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────

OTHER MANUFACTURED TOBACCO.

────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────
│ Quantity.│ Value.
│——————————│——————————
│ lb. │ £
From Germany │ 9,993│ 2,920
” Holland │ 20,657│ 1,173
” Belgium │ 7,740│ 1,616
” France │ 17,985│ 2,818
” Malta │ 5,968│ 1,592
” Turkey │ 5,444│ 1,674
” Egypt │ 31,662│ 13,306
” Algeria │ 6,410│ 1,580
” United States of America │ 76,472│ 20,039
” Spanish West India Islands │ 6,259│ 865
” Other Countries │ 9,625│ 1,968
│——————————│——————————
TOTAL │ 198,215│ 49,551
────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────

CHAPTER IX.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.

J. Neander.
Tabacologia. Lugduni-Batavorum: 1622.
B. Stella.
Il Tabacco. Rome: 1669.
S. Paulli.
Treatise on Tobacco, &c. London: 1746.
P. Winther.
Tobaks-plantning. Kjoebenhavn: 1773.
J. Carver.
Culture of the Tobacco-plant. London: 1779.
Villeneuve.
Culture, Fabrication et Vente du Tabac. Paris: 1791.
W. Tatham.
Culture and Commerce of Tobacco. London: 1800.
Jens Fr. Becker.
Kort anviisning til tabaks-platning. Viborg: 1809.
J. E. Normann.
Tobaksplantens dyrkning i Norge. Christiania: 1811.
M. de Truchet.
Culture du Tabac en France. Paris: 1816.
M. R. Flor.
Om Tobakavl. Christiania: 1817.
Hermbstädt.
Gründliche Anweisung zur Cultur der Tabakpflanzen.
Berlin: 1822.
T. Brodigan.
Art of Growing and Curing Tobacco in the British Isles.
London: 1830.
J. Jennings.
Practical Treatise on Tobacco. London: 1830.
H. J. Meller.
Nicotiana. London: 1832.
K. C. Antz.
Tabachi historia. Berolini: 1836.
L. A. Demersay.
Du Tabac du Paraguay. Paris: 1851.
Babo und Hofacker.
Der Tabak und sein Anbau. Karlsruhe: 1852.
V. P. G. Demoor.
Culture du Tabac. Luxembourg: 1853.
F. Tiedemann.
Geschichte des Tabaks. Frankfurt: 1854.
C. Fermond.
Monographie du Tabac. Paris: 1857.
A. Steinmetz.
Tobacco. London: 1857.
H. B. Prescott.
Tobacco and its Adulterations. London: 1858.
F. W. Fairholt.
Tobacco; its History. London: 1859, 1876.
M. C. Cooke.
The Seven Sisters of Sleep. London: 1860.
H. Raibaud L’Ange.
Du Tabac en Provence. Paris: 1860.
Nessler.
Der Tabak. Mannheim: 1860.
J. L. P. Fèvre.
Le Tabac. Paris: 1863.
C. E. Guys.
Culture of Latakia Tobacco.
_Technologist_, London: 1863.
Maling.
Tobacco Trade and Cultivation of the District of Cavalla.
_Technologist_, London: 1863.
R. de Coin.
History and Cultivation of Cotton and Tobacco.
London: 1864.
Holzschuher.
Der Tabakbau. Gotha: 1864.
G. A. Henrieck.
Du Tabac. Paris: 1866.
A. Imbert-Courbeyre.
Leçons sur le Tabac. Clermont-Ferrand: 1866.
S. W. Johnson.
Tobacco; Report of Chemist to the
Connecticut State Board of Agriculture. 1873.
A. de Bec.
Culture du Tabac en France. Aix: 1875.
F. A. Allart.
Culture du Tabac. Abbeville: 1876.
B. T. Creighton.
Culture of Tobacco in Ohio.
_Pharmaceutical Journal_, London: 1876.
D. Décobert.
Culture du Tabac. Lille: 1876.
Hofacker und Babo.
Der Tabakbau. Berlin: 1876.
A. Nouvel.
Le Tabac. Brive: 1876.
Notes sur la Culture des Tabacs. Paris: 1876.
R. E. Burton.
Cultivation of Tobacco.
_Sugar Cane_, Manchester: 1877.
G. Cantoni.
L’Industria del Tabacco.
_Annali di Agricoltura_, Rome: 1879.
K. Schiffmayer.
Tobacco and its Culture; Report of Agricultural Department,
Madras Presidency.
Madras: 1879.
F. Alfonso.
Tabacchi della Sicilia. Palermo: 1880.
F. Anderegg.
Tabakbau in der Schweiz. Chur: 1880.
O. Comes.
Tabacco in Italia.
_L’agricolt. meridionale_, Portici: 1881.
K. W. van Gorkom.
De Oost-Indische Cultures. Amsterdam: 1881.
J. H. Zimmermann.
Tabaksbaubüchlein. Aarau: 1881.
J. Clark.
Composition of Tobacco.
_Journal Soc. Chem. Industry_, Manchester: 1884.

A series of Prize Essays on Tobacco Culture in the Southern States of
America, published in pamphlet form by the Orange Judd Co., and
containing much valuable information.

INDEX.

Adulterations of tobacco, 267–70
Afghanistan, tobacco in, 137
African tobacco, 138
After-cultivation, 54–60
Albuminoids in tobacco, 256
American tobacco, 210–22
Amersfort tobacco, 6
Ammonia in tobacco, 255
Analyses of tobacco, 261
—— —— —— plants, 22
Area of nursery, 59
—— to plant, 53
Artificial heat for drying tobacco, 89, 91
Ash of tobacco, 258
Australian tobacco, 141
Austro-Hungarian tobacco, 141

Barrels for tobacco, 125, 127
Best kind of tobacco to grow, 33
Betun, 117
Bibliography of tobacco, 276
Big Frederic tobacco, 34, 37
—— Orinoco tobacco, 35, 37
Black soil for tobacco growing, 10
Blue prior tobacco, 37
—— stalk tobacco, 35
—— vitriol for killing caterpillars, 58
Books on tobacco, 276
Bornean tobacco, 142
Bourbon tobacco, 143
Boxes for tobacco, 126
Brazilian tobacco, 143–7
British tobacco, 164–6
Brittle stem tobacco, 35
Building drying-sheds, 86, 90, 95
Bulking tobacco, 121–5
Bull tongue tobacco, 35

Cake tobacco, 236
Calabrian tobacco, 3
Californian tobacco, 3
Canary Island tobacco, 148
Cases for tobacco, 129
Caterpillars, destroying, 55–60
Cellulose in tobacco, 257
Central Asian tobacco, 3
Chemical ingredients of tobacco soils, 9
Chemistry of tobacco, 259–66
Chinese tobacco, 148
Chlorine compounds to be avoided in tobacco manures, 25
Choosing sort of tobacco, 31–7
Cigarettes, 246–8
Cigars, 244
Classifying tobacco, 109–21
Clay as a tobacco soil, 9, 10
Climate for tobacco growing, 7
Cochin China tobacco, 149
Commerce in tobacco in Afghanistan, 137
—— Africa, 138
—— Australia, 141
—— Austro-Hungary, 141
—— Borneo, 142
—— Bourbon, 143
—— Brazil, 143–7
—— Canary Islands, 148
—— China, 148
—— Cochin China, 149
—— Costa Rica, 149
—— Ecuador, 149
—— Fiji, 150
—— France, 150–6
—— Germany, 156–64
—— Great Britain, 164–6
—— Greece, 166
—— Holland, 166
—— India, 167–76
—— Italy, 176
—— Japan, 176
—— Java, 176
—— New Zealand, 177
—— Nicaragua, 177
—— Paraguay, 178
—— Persia, 178–91
—— Philippines, 191
—— Roumania, 192
—— Russia, 192
—— San Salvador, 192
—— Servia, 192
—— Spain, 192
—— Sumatra, 193–205
—— Turkey, 205–10
—— United States, 210–22
—— Venezuela, 222
—— West Indies, 223–30

Conditions of drying-house, 78
Connecticut seed-leaf, 34
Consumption of tobacco, 271
Corn as a shelter for tobacco, 65
Costa Rica tobacco, 149
Crops adapted for rotation with tobacco, 31
Cuban drying practices, 101
—— harvesting practices, 83–6
—— manuring practices, 15
—— planting practices, 51–4
—— tobacco, 2, 3, 34, 37
Cultivation of tobacco, 7–66
Curing practices in Cuba, 83–6
—— tobacco, 67–136
Cutting machine, 251
—— tobacco for smoking, 233–5
—— —— plants, 68

Damping tobacco, 231
Destroying insects, 55–60
Distance in planting, 50
Doctoring tobacco, 133–6
Drying-house, 75
—— -sheds, building, 86, 90, 95
—— ——, sizes of, 90
—— tobacco, 86–104
—— —— for smoking, 235
Dung for tobacco soils, 14
Dutch tobacco, 166
Duties on tobacco, 271
Dyeing the leaves, 119

Ecuador tobacco, 149
Elements needed by tobacco, 11–29
European tobacco plant, 4
Examining tobacco while drying, 88

Fermenting tobacco, 121–5
Fertilizers, principles of, 18–22
Field, preparing, 48–50
Fiji tobacco, 150
Filling vacancies, 53
Flavouring tobacco, 133–6
Flowers of tobacco plants, 3–6
Foliage of tobacco plants, 3–6
Fowls, protecting seed-beds from, 46
French tobacco, 150–6
Frost at harvest time, 79
——, protecting seed-beds from, 43, 47

German tobacco, 156–64
Grades of tobacco, 109–21
Graham tobacco, 35
Granulating machine, 251
Greek tobacco, 166
Green-soiling for tobacco, 14
Guano for tobacco soil, 16
Gypsum for tobacco soil, 26

Hands of tobacco, 107
Hanging leaves in sheds, 88, 93, 95
—— split leaves, 81
—— tobacco, 72
Harvesting for small planters, 76
—— tobacco, 67–86
Hoeing plants, 54
Hogsheads for tobacco, 126, 128
Hot-bed for seedlings, 44
Hungarian tobacco, 3

Imports of tobacco, 271–5
Improving tobacco, 133–6
Indian tobacco, 167–76
Italian tobacco, 176

Japanese tobacco, 176
Javanese tobacco, 176
Judging condition of leaf, 74

Kainit for tobacco soil, 24
Kentucky leaf, 36

Latakia tobacco, 2, 3
Levant tobacco, 3
Lime for tobacco soil, 28
Literature on tobacco, 276
Little Frederic tobacco, 34, 37
—— Orinoco tobacco, 35, 37
Loading cut tobacco leaves, 70
Loam as a tobacco soil, 10

Magnesia for tobacco soil, 28
Manilla tobacco, 3
Manuring, principles of, 18–22
—— seedlings, 41
—— tobacco, 11–29
Maryland tobacco, 1
—— —— as a crop, 33
Mat for keeping frost off, 47
Mexican tobacco, 3
Moth of tobacco worm, 56

Nature of tobacco, 253–66
New Zealand tobacco, 177
Nicaraguan tobacco, 177
Nicotine, 253
Nitrates for tobacco soils, 13
Nitric acid in tobacco, 255
Nurseries, 38–48
——, shelter for, 38
——, situation for, 38
——, soil for, 38
Nursery, area of, 39

Organic matter in tobacco soils, 8

Packing tobacco, 125–33
Paraguay tobacco, 178
Pegging tobacco, 71
Pennsylvania seed-leaf, 37
Persian tobacco, 3, 178–91
Philippine tobacco, 191
Picking tobacco, 104–9
Planting out, 50–4
Plug tobacco, 236
Pole-burn, 78
Potash for tobacco growing, 11, 27
Preparation of tobacco, 231–52
Preparing field, 48–50
—— seed-beds, 38, 41, 43, 44
Pressing tobacco in casks, 128, 131, 133
Priming, 62, 65
Principles of manuring, 18–22
Production of tobacco in Afghanistan, 137
—— Africa, 138
—— Australia, 141
—— Austro-Hungary, 141
—— Borneo, 142
—— Bourbon, 143
—— Brazil, 143–7
—— Canary Islands, 148
—— China, 148
—— Cochin China, 149
—— Costa Rica, 149
—— Ecuador, 149
—— Fiji, 150
—— France, 150–6
—— Germany, 156–64
—— Great Britain, 164–6
—— Greece, 166
—— Holland, 166
—— India, 167–76
—— Italy, 176
—— Japan, 176
—— Java, 176
—— New Zealand, 177
—— Nicaragua, 177
—— Paraguay, 178
—— Persia, 178–91
—— Philippines, 191
—— Roumania, 192
—— Russia, 192
—— San Salvador, 192
—— Servia, 192
—— Spain, 192
—— Sumatra, 193–205
—— Turkey, 205–10
—— United States, 210–22
—— Venezuela, 222
—— West Indies, 223–30
.sp 1
Properties of tobacco, 253–66

Qualities of tobacco, 109–21
Quantity of manure for tobacco, 12
Quicklime for tobacco soil, 24
Quincunx planting, 52

Rate of growth of tobacco, 24
Removing superfluous leaves, 62, 65
Resweating apparatus, 249
Ridging land, 49
Ripeness, influence on tobacco, 61
—— of tobacco, judging, 70
Ripening, 61
River bottoms for tobacco growing, 10
Roll tobacco, 236–44
Rotation for tobacco soils, 29–31
Roumanian tobacco, 192
Russian tobacco, 192

Saltpetre as tobacco manure, 13
Salts added to snuff, 264
—— in tobacco, 259
Sandy bottoms for tobacco growing, 9
San Salvador tobacco, 192
Saving seed, 37
Scaffolding for tobacco, 75
Seed, 37
—— -beds, 38–48
—— ——, area of, 39
—— ——, preparing, 38, 41, 43, 44
—— ——, protecting from fowls, 46
—— ——, —— —— frost, 43, 47
—— ——, shade frames for, 48
—— ——, shelter for, 38
—— ——, situation for, 38
—— ——, soil for, 38
—— ——, time for sowing, 41
Seedlings, hot-bed for, 44
——, planting out, 50–4
——, thinning out, 40, 48
——, top-dressing, 41
—— , watering, 40
—— , weeding, 40, 46
Seed required for an acre, 39
——, sowing, 39, 45
Servian tobacco, 192
Setting out plants, 50–4
Shade frames for seed-beds, 48
Sheds for holding tobacco as gathered, 68
Shelter for nurseries, 38
Sheltering tobacco from wind, 10
—— —— lands with corn, 65
Shiraz tobacco, 3
Signs of ripening, 72
Situation for nurseries, 38
—— —— plantations, 10
Sizes of tobacco barns, 90
Snuff, 248, 263
—— tobacco, 61
Soil for nurseries, 38
—— —— plantations, 8–10
Sorting tobacco, 109–21
—— —— for use, 232
Sort of tobacco to grow, 31–7
Sorts of tobacco grown in America, 33–7
Sowing seed, 39, 45
Spanish tobacco, 37, 192
Spearing tobacco, 72
Species of tobacco, 1–3
Splitting tobacco, 72
Sponging the leaves, 119
Stacking gathered tobacco leaves, 67
Straw mat for keeping frost off, 47
Stripping tobacco, 104–9
—— —— for use, 232
Substitutes for tobacco, 267–70
Suckering plants, 60–6
Sumatran tobacco, 193–205
Sun-curing shed, 83
—— -drying cut tobacco leaves, 68
Sweating tobacco, 121–5

Tauari wrappers, 143
Temporary hanging for tobacco, 68
Teymbeki, 179–91
Thinning out seedlings, 40, 48
Time for harvesting tobacco, 69
—— —— topping, 60, 61, 63
—— of day for cutting tobacco, 77
—— required for curing, 92
Tobacco horse, 72
—— plant, 1–6
Top-dressing seedlings, 41
Topping plants, 60–6
Tumbeki, 178–91
Turkeys as grub-eaters, 55
Turkish tobacco, 2, 3, 205–10
Twist tobacco, 236–44
Tying tobacco for hanging, 97

United States tobacco, 210–22
Use of tobacco, 231–52

Values of tobaccos, 271
Varieties of tobacco, 1–3
Venezuelan tobacco, 222
Ventilating drying-sheds, 88
Virginian tobacco, 2, 34–7

Washing tobacco when sorting, 117
Watering plants when setting out, 51
—— seedlings, 40
Water in tobacco, 262
Weeding seedlings, 40, 46
Weighing and packing machine, 250
West Indian tobacco, 223–30
Windrowing tobacco, 124
Wind shelter for tobacco, 10
Wood-ashes as tobacco manure, 14
Worms, destroying, 55–60

Yellow prior tobacco, 37

LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

USEFUL BOOKS FOR THE COLONIES.

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=COFFEE AND CHICORY;= the Culture, Chemical Composition, Preparation for
Market, and Consumption, with simple tests for detecting
adulteration, and practical hints for the Producer and Consumer, by
P. L. SIMMONDS, F.S.S., author of ‘The Commercial Products of the
Vegetable Kingdom,’ ‘Dictionary of Products,’ etc., etc.,
_illustrated by numerous wood engravings_, post 8vo, cloth, 2_s._

=THE YOUNG FARMER’S MANUAL,= detailing the manipulations of the farm in
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The same in cloth, 6_s._

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---------------------

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------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transcriber’s Note

Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and
are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original.
The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.

3.1 _N. rustica[.]_ Added.

54.18 they grow rapidly[.] Added.

223.18 900,850 cigars[,] 5,709,442 bundles Added.
cigarettes,

231.25 The first process they undergo is Replaced.
“damping,[’/”]

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