Chapter XLIX: Section VI (3)

In the Connecticut Valley is produced about 500 tons of tobacco annually, the average quantity, 1,500 lbs. per acre, value from seven to ten cents per pound.

_Culture_.--Seed bed made rich and sown as cabbage early in April as possible.

Land well ploughed and manured and harrowed as for corn, laid out in rows three feet apart, and slight hills in the row about two and a-half feet apart; begin to plant about 10th of June, the ground to be kept clean with hoe and cultivator, and examine the plants and keep clear of worms.

"When in blossom and before seed is formed, the plants must be topped about thirty-two inches from the ground, having from sixteen to twenty leaves on each stalk, after this the suckers are broken off, and the plants kept clean till cut. When ripe the leaves are spotted, thick, and will crack when pressed between the fingers and thumb. It is cut at any time of the day, after the dew is off, left in the row till wilted, then turned, and if there is a hot sun, it is often turned to prevent burning; after wilting it is put into small heaps of six or eight plants, then carried to the tobacco house for hanging, usually on poles twelve feet long; hung with twine about forty plants to a pole, twenty on each side, crossing the pole with a hitch knot to the stump end of the plants; when perfectly cured, which is known by the stems of the leaves being completely dry, it is then taken in a damp time, when the leaves will not crumble, from the poles and placed in large piles, by letting the tops of the plants lap each other, leaving the butts out; it remains in these heaps from three to ten days before it is stripped, depending on the state of weather, but it must not be allowed to heat. When stripped it is made into small hands, the small and broken leaves to be kept by themselves; it is then packed in boxes of about 400 lbs. and marked "Seed Leaf Tobacco."

One acre of tobacco will require as much labor as two of corn that produce 60 bags to the acre, and requires about the same quantity of manure. If the tobacco can be cured without fire heat the quality will be improved, and if dried in the open air, should have shades of boards to keep off rain and excess of sun. The chief market for Connecticut tobacco is Bremen.

In a number of the "Charleston Southern Planter," a remedy is described for preventing the destruction of plants by the fly. The writer says: "I had a bushel or two of dry ashes put into a large tub, and added train oil enough (say one gallon of oil to the bushel of ashes) to damp and flavor the ashes completely: this was well stirred and mixed with the hand, and sown broadcast over certain patches, and proved thoroughly effectual for several years, while parts left without the remedy were destroyed."

The best ground for raising the plant, according to Capt. Carver ("Treatise on Culture of Tobacco," &c.), is a warm rich soil, not subject to be overrun with weeds. The soil in which it grows in Virginia is inclining to sandy, consequently warm and light; the nearer, therefore, the nature of the land approaches to that, the greater probability there is of its flourishing. The situation most preferable for a plantation is the southern declivity of a hill, or a spot sheltered from the blighting north winds. But at the same time the plants must enjoy a free current of air; for if that be obstructed they will not prosper.

The different sorts of seed not being distinguishable from each other, nor the goodness to be ascertained by its appearance, great caution should be used in obtaining the seed through some responsible mercantile house, or individual of character.

Each capsule contains about a thousand seeds, and the whole produce of a single plant has been estimated at 350,000. The seeds are usually ripe in the month of September, and when perfectly dry may be rubbed out and preserved in bags till the following season.

There is a large quantity of tobacco raised in the southern part of Indiana annually, equal in quality to the tobacco raised in Kentucky. In some counties the article is extensively cultivated, and generally pays the producer a handsome profit on the labor bestowed on it. The cultivation of it is becoming more extensive every year. Nearly all this crop is taken to Louisville for sale, very little being shipped south on account of the producer.

Heretofore, owing to the heaviness of tobacco and bad roads, the producer has encountered great difficulties in getting his crop to market. The hauling of a few hogsheads fifty or sixty miles, or even forty, is no light job, even over good roads. Hence, tobacco has not been as extensively cultivated as it would have been under different circumstances. But, with the facilities afforded by the railroads in carrying their crops to market, I doubt not the farmers of the interior will more generally engage in the cultivation of tobacco, and those who have been in the habit of raising small crops will extend their operations.

In Maryland the seed is sown in beds of fine mould, and the plants arising therefrom are transplanted in the beginning of May. They are set at the distance of three or four feet apart, and are hilled, and kept continually free from weeds. When as many leaves have shot out as the soil will nourish to advantage, the top of the plant is broken off, which of course prevents its growing higher. It is carefully kept clear from worms, and the suckers which put out between the leaves are taken off at proper times, till the plant arrives at perfection, which is in August. When the leaves turn of a brownish color, and begin to be spotted, the plants are cut down and hung up to dry, after having sweated in heaps one night. When the leaves can be handled without crumbling, which is always in moist weather, they are stripped from the stalks, tied up in bundles, and packed for exportation in hogsheads. No suckers nor ground leaves are allowed to be merchantable. An industrious person may manage 6,000 plants of tobacco, which will yield 1,000 lbs. of dried leaves, and also four acres of Indian corn.

Miller, an American author, thus describes the mode of culture:--

When a regular plantation of tobacco is intended, the beds being
prepared and well turned up with the hoe, the seed, on account of
its smallness and to prevent the ravages of ants, is mixed with
ashes and sown upon them, a little before the rainy season. The beds
are raked, or trampled with the foot, to make the seed take the
sooner. The plants appear in two or three weeks. As soon as they
have acquired four leaves, the strongest are carefully drawn up and
planted in the field by a line, at a distance of about three feet
from each other. If no rain fall, they should be watered two or
three times. Every morning and evening the plants must he looked
over in order to destroy a worm which sometimes invades the bud.
When they are about four or five inches high, they are to be cleaned
from weeds and moulded up. As soon as they have eight or nine
leaves, and are ready to put forth a stalk, the top is nipped off in
order to make the leaves longer and thicker. After this the buds
which sprout at the joints of the leaves are also plucked off, and
not a day is suffered to pass without examining the leaves to
destroy the large caterpillar, which is often most destructive to
them. When they are fit for cutting, which is known by the
brittleness of the leaves, they are cut off with a knife close to
the ground, and, after lying some time, are carried to the
drying-shed or house, where the plants are hung up by pairs upon
lines, leaving a space between, that they may not touch one another.
When perfectly dry, the leaves are stripped from the stalks and made
into small bundles, tied with one of the leaves. These bundles are
laid in heaps and covered with blankets; care is taken not to
overheat them, for which reason the heaps are laid open to the air
from time to time, and spread abroad. This operation is repeated
till no more heat is perceived in the heaps, and the tobacco is then
ready for packing and shipping.

I have been favored by Mr. J. M. Hernandez, a Cuba planter, with some valuable instructions for the cultivation of Cuba tobacco, which I subjoin. These remarks apply principally to America, but most of the advice and information will be found generally applicable to other localities:--

The first thing to be considered in this, as in every other culture,
is the soil, which for this kind of tobacco (_N. repanda_) ought to
be a rich, sandy, loam, neither too high nor too low--that is,
ground capable of retaining moisture, the more level the better,
and, if possible, well protected by margins. The next should be the
selection of a spot of ground to make the necessary beds. It would
be preferable to make those on land newly cleared, or, at all
events, when the land has not been seeded with grass; for grass
seeds springing up together with the tobacco would injure it
materially, as the grass cannot be removed without disturbing the
tobacco plants. In preparing the ground for the nurseries, break it
up properly, grub up all the small stumps, dig out the roots, and
carefully remove them with the hand. This being done, make the beds
from three to four inches high, of a reasonable length, and from
three to three and a-half feet broad, so as to enable the hand, at
arm's length, to weed out the tender young plants with the fingers
from both sides of the bed, and keep them perfectly clean.

The months of December and January are the most proper for sowing
the seed in Florida. Some persons speak of planting it as early as
the month of November, I am, however, of opinion, that about the
latter part of December is the best time to sow tobacco seed; any
sooner would expose the plants to suffer from the inclemency of the
most severe part of the winter season. Before the seed is sown take
some dry trash and burn it off upon the nursery beds, to destroy
insects and grass seeds; then take one ounce of tobacco seed and mix
it with about a quart of dry ashes, so as to separate the seed as
much; as possible, and sow it broadcast. After the seed has been
thus sown, the surface of the bed ought to be raked over slightly,
and trodden upon by the foot, carrying the weight of the body with
it, that the ground may at once adhere closely to the seed, and then
water it. Should the nursery-beds apparently become dry from
blighting winds or other causes, watering will be absolutely
necessary, for the ground ought to be kept in a moist state from the
time the seed is planted until the young plants are large enough to
be set out.

The nurseries being made, proceed to prepare the land where the
tobacco is to be set out. If the land is newly cleared--and new land
is probably more favorable to the production of this plant than it
is to that of any other, both as respects quality and
quantity--remove as many of the stumps and roots as possible, and
dig up the ground in such a manner as to render the surface
perfectly loose; then level the ground, and in this state leave it
until the nursery plants have acquired about one-half the growth
necessary to admit of their being set out; then break up the ground
a second time in the same manner as at first, as in this way all the
small fibres of roots and their rooted parts will be more or less
separated, and thus obviate much of that degree of sponginess so
common to new land, and which is in a great measure the cause of new
land seldom producing well the first year, as the soil does not lay
close enough to the roots of the plants growing in it, so that a
shower of rain produces no other effect than that of removing the
earth still more from them.

The ground having been prepared and properly levelled off, and the
plants, sufficiently grown to be taken up--say of the size of good
cabbage plants--take advantage of the first wet or cloudy weather to
commence setting them out. This should be done with great care, and
the plants put single at equal distances, that is, about three feet
north and south, and two and a-half, or two and three-fourths feet
east and west. They are placed thus close to each other to prevent
the leaves growing too large. The direction of the rows, however,
should alter according to the situation of the land; where it has
any inclination, the widest space should run across it, as the bed
will have to be made so as to prevent the soil from being washed
from the roots by rain when bedded; but where the land is rather
level, the three feet rows should be north and south, so as to give
to the plants a more full effect on them by passing across the beds,
than by crossing them in an oblique direction. To set the plants out
regularly, take a task line of 105 feet in length, with a pointed
stick three feet long attached to each end of it, then insert a
small piece of rag or something else through the line at the
distance of two feet and three-fourths from each other; place it
north and south (or as the land may require), at full length, and
then set a plant at every division, carefully keeping the bud of the
plant above the surface of the ground. Then remove the line three
feet from the first row, and so on, until the planting is completed.
Care ought to be taken to prevent the stretching of the line from
misplacing the plants. In this way the plants can be easily set out,
and a proper direction given to them both ways. In taking the plants
up from the nursery, the ground should be first loosened with a flat
piece of wood or iron, about an inch broad; then carefully holding
the leaves close towards each other between the fingers, draw them
up, and place them in a basket or some other convenient thing to
receive them for planting. After taking up those that can be planted
during the day, water the nursery that the earth may again adhere to
the remaining ones. The evening is the best time for setting out the
plants, but where a large field has to be cultivated it will be well
to plant both morning and evening. The plants set out in the
morning, unless in rainy or cloudy weather, should be covered
immediately, and the same should be done with those planted the
evening previous, should the day open with a clear sunshine,--the
palmetto leaf answers the purpose very well. There should be water
convenient to the plants, so as to have them watered morning and
evening, but more particularly in the evening, until they have taken
root. They should also be closely examined when watered, so as to
replace such plants as happen to die, that the ground may be
properly occupied, and that all the plants may open as nearly
together as possible.

From the time the plants are set out, the earth around them should
be occasionally stirred, both with the hand and hoe. At first hoe
flat, but as soon as the leaves assume a growing disposition, begin
gradually to draw a slight heel towards the plant. The plants must
be closely examined, even while in the nursery, to destroy the
numerous worms that feed upon them--some, by cutting the stalk and
gnawing the leaves when first set out; these resemble the grub-worm,
and are to be found near the injured plant, under ground; others,
which come from the eggs deposited on the plant by the butterfly,
and feed on the leaf, grow to a very large size, and look very ugly,
and are commonly called the tobacco-worm. There is also a small worm
which attacks the bud of the plant, and which is sure destruction to
its further growth; and some again, though less destructive, are to
be seen within the two coats of the leaf, feeding as it were on its
juices alone. The worming should be strictly attended to every
morning and evening, until the plants are pretty well grown, when
every other day will be sufficient. The most proper persons for
worming are either boys or girls from ten to fourteen years of age.
They should be made to come to the tobacco ground early in the
morning, and be led by inducements, such as giving a trifling reward
to those who will bring the most worms, to clear it thoroughly.
Grown persons would find it rather too tedious to stoop to examine
the under part of every leaf, and seek the worm under ground: nor
would they be so much alive to the value of a spoonful of sugar, or
other light reward. Beside, where the former would make the search a
matter of profit and pleasure, it would to the latter prove only a
tedious and irksome occupation. Here I will observe, that it is for
similar reasons that the culture of the Cuba tobacco plant more
properly belongs to a white population, for there are few plants
requiring more attention and tender treatment than it does. Indeed
it will present a sorry appearance, unless the eye of its legitimate
proprietor is constantly watching over it.

When the plants have acquired from twelve to fourteen good leaves,
and are about knee high, it may be well to begin to top them, by
nipping off the bud with the aid of the finger and thumb nail
(washing the hands after this in water is necessary, as the acid
juices of the plants, otherwise, soon produce a soreness on the
fingers), taking care not to destroy the small leaves immediately
near the bud: for if the land is good and the season favorable,
those very small top leaves will in a short time be nearly as large,
and ripen quite as soon as the lower ones, whereby two or more
leaves may be saved; thus obtaining from 16 to 18 leaves, in the
place of 12 or 14, which is the general average. As the topping of
the tobacco plant is all essential in order to promote the growth,
and to equalise the ripening of the leaves, I would observe that
this operation should at all events commence the instant that the
bud of the plant shows a disposition to go to seed, and be
immediately followed by removing the suckers, which it will now put
out at every leaf. Indeed, the suckers should be removed from the
plant as often as they appear. The tobacco plant ought never to be
cut before it comes to full maturity, which is known by the leaves
becoming mottled, coarse, and of a thick texture, and gummy to the
touch, at which time the end of the leaf, by being doubled, will
break short, which it will not do to the same extent when green. It
ought not to be out in wet weather, when the leaves lose their
natural gummy substance, so necessary to be preserved. About this
period, the cultivator is apt to be rendered anxious by the fear of
allowing the plants to remain in the field longer than necessary;
until experience removes those apprehensions, he should be on his
guard, however, not to destroy the quality of his tobacco, by
cutting it too soon. When the cutting is to commence, there should
be procured a quantity of forked stakes, set upright, with a pole or
rider setting on each fork ready to support the tobacco, and to keep
it from the ground. The plant is then cut obliquely, even with the
surface of the ground, and the person thus employed should strike
the lower end of the stalk, two or three times with the blunt side
of his knife, so as to cause as much of the sand or soil to fall
from it as possible, then tying two stalks together, they are gently
placed across the riders or poles prepared to receive them. In this
state they are allowed to remain in the sun or open air until the
leaves have somewhat withered, whereby they will not be liable to
the injury which they would otherwise receive, if they came suddenly
in contact with other bodies when fresh cut. Then place as many
plants on each pole or rider as may be conveniently carried, and
take them in the drying house, where the tobacco is strung off upon
the frames prepared for it, leaving a small space between the two
plants, that air may circulate freely among them, and promote their
drying. As the drying advances, the stalks are brought closer to
each other, so as to make room for those which yet remain to be
housed.

In drying the tobacco, all damp air should be excluded, nor ought
the drying of it to be precipitated by the admission of high drying
winds. The process is to be promoted in the most moderate manner,
except in the rainy season, when the sooner the drying is effected
the better; for it is a plant easily affected by the changes of the
weather, after the drying commences. It is then liable to mildew in
damp weather, which is when the leaf changes from its original color
to a pale yellow cast, and from this, by parts, to an even brown.
When the middle stem is perfectly dry, it can be taken down, and the
leaves stripped from the stalk and put in bulk to sweat, that is, to
make tobacco of them; for before this process, when a concentration
of its better qualities takes place, the leaves are always liable to
be affected by the weather, and cannot well be considered as being
anything else than common dry leaves, partaking of the nature of
tobacco, but not actually tobacco. The leaves are to be stripped
from the stalks in damp or cloudy weather, when they are more easily
handled, and the separation of the different qualities rendered also
more easy. The good leaves are at this time kept by themselves as
wrappers, or caps, and the most defective ones for fillings, or
_tripa_. When the tobacco is put in _bulk_, the stem of the leaves
should all be kept in one direction, to facilitate the tying of them
in hanks: afterwards make the bulk two of three feet high, and of a
proportionate circumference. To guard against the leaves becoming
over-heated, and to equalise the fermentation or sweating, after the
first twenty-four hours, place the outside leaves in the centre, and
those of the centre to the outside of the _bulk_. By doing this once
or twice, and taking care to cover the _bulk_ either with sheets or
blankets, so as to exclude all air from it, and leaving it in this
state for about forty days, it acquires an odor strong enough to
produce sneezing, and the other qualities of cured tobacco. The
process of curing may then be considered as completed. Then take
some of the most injured leaves, but of the best quality, and in
proportion to the quantity of tobacco made, and place them in clean
water, there let them remain until they rot, which they will do in
about eight days; then break open your _bulks_, spread the tobacco
with their stems in one direction, and damp them with this water in
a gentle manner, that it may not soak through the leaf, for in this
case the leaf would rot. Sponge is used in Cuba for this operation.
Then tie them in hanks of from, twenty-five to thirty leaves; this
being done, spread the hanks in the tobacco house for about twelve
hours, to air them, that the dampness may be removed, and afterwards
pack them in casks or barrels, and head them tight, until you wish
to manufacture them.

The object of damping the tobacco with this water, is to give it
elasticity, to promote its burning free, to increase its fragrance;
to give it an aromatic smell, and to keep it always soft. This is
the great secret of curing tobacco for cigars properly, and for
which we are indebted to the people of Cuba, who certainly
understand the mode of curing this kind of tobacco better than other
people. It is to them a source of great wealth, and may be made
equally so to others. We have here three cuttings from the original
plants; the last cutting will be of rather a weak quality, but
which, nevertheless, will be agreeable to those who confine their
smoking to weak tobacco.

In ratooning the plant, only one sprout ought to be allowed to grow,
and this from those most deeply rooted; all other sprouts ought to
be destroyed.

The houses necessary for the curing of tobacco ought to be roomy,
with a passage way running through the centre, from one extremity of
the building to the other, and pierced on both sides with a
sufficient number of doors and windows to make them perfectly airy.

In addition to what I have said respecting the mode of cultivating
and treating the tobacco plant, I have further to state, that when
once the plant is allowed to be checked in its growth, it never
again recovers it. That in promoting the drying of the leaf, fire
should not be resorted to, because the smoke would impart to it a
flavor that would injure that of the tobacco itself.

In order to obtain vigorous plants, the seed ought to be procured
from the original stalk, and not from the ratoons, by allowing some
of them to go to seed for that express purpose. In Cuba, the seed is
most generally saved from the ratoon plants, but we should consider
that that climate and soil are probably more favorable to the
production of the plant than America, and consequently we ought to
confide in the best seed, which is had from the original stalk.

All plants have their peculiar empire: nevertheless, we should not
be deterred from planting Cuba tobacco here; for even if we should
be compelled to import the seed every third year, which would be as
often as necessary, it would still prove a profitable culture.
Taking 600 lbs., which is the average product per acre, it would
yield, if well cured, at 50 cents, per lb., 300 dollars in the leaf.

The following exhibits the profit to be derived from it when
manufactured into cigars:--

Dls. Dls.
Six hundred pounds, allowing eight pounds to the 1.000, would
produce 75,000 cigars, which at ten dollars per thousand 750.00
Cost of the leaf 300.00
Worth of manufacture, at two dollars fifty cents per thousand 187.50 487.50
--------
Difference in favor of manufacturer 262.50

This amount being the profits of the manufacturer alone, the profit
to him who could combine both pursuits would be more than doubled.

As to the quantity of land which can be cultivated to the hand,
there is some difference in the practice of planters; however, I
think that I am within the usual calculation in saying, that an acre
and a half would not exceed the quantity that an able hand can
easily cultivate and manage properly.

"With reference to the cultivation of Spanish tobacco from the seed, the following remarks are also made by a gentleman residing in Maryland:--

My experience for some years in the cultivation and manufacture of
Spanish tobacco into cigars, convinces me that the first-rate
variety of Spanish tobacco--that is, the most odorous and fine--will
bear reproduction in our climate twice, without much deterioration;
by that time it becomes acidulated and worthless as Spanish tobacco.
For seven years I have imported annually first seed from Cuba, but
have occasionally made experiments with reproduced seed, and I have
arrived at the conclusion above stated. I have obtained, annually, a
cigar maker from Baltimore, who has made for me on my farm, and from
Spanish tobacco. These produced about the average of 70,000 cigars,
per year; they have been sold in Baltimore and Philadelphia for five
dollars the half box, that is ten dollars the thousand. The tobacco
has been uniformly admired, but in former years they have been very
badly made; for the last two years, (writing in 1843,) my crops were
destroyed by the unfavorable weather. This growth and manufacture do
not interfere with my cultivation of other crops; in fact they are
wholly unconnected with the other operations of the farmer." He
mentions having obtained a premium from an agricultural society, for
having produced on one and a half acres, growth and manufacture
included, of Spanish tobacco 504 dollars net profit.

The following letter from Mr. Clarke, to the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, Washington, speaks favorably of a new variety of tobacco:--

Willow Grove, Orange County, Virginia,

Feb. 13, 1844.

Dear Sir,--Agreeably to my promise I enclose you the Californian
tobacco seed. It grew from the small parcel given to me by Mr. Wm.
Smith, in your office in March last. On getting home, although late,
I prepared a bed, and sowed the small parcel, the first week in
April, and not having seed enough to finish the bed, sowed the
balance of the bed in Oronoko tobacco seed, and to my astonishment
the Californian plants were soon ready to set out, as soon as the
other kinds of tobacco sown in the month of January; and the Oronoko
seed, that was sown with the Californian, did not arrive to
sufficient size until it was too late to set out. The Californian
tobacco, if it continues to ripen and grow for the time to come, as
it did for me on the first trial, must come into general use--first,
because the plants are much earlier in the spring (say ten days at
least), than any kind we have; secondly, when transplanted, the
growth is remarkably quick, matures and ripens at least from ten to
fifteen days earlier than any kind of tobacco we have in use amongst
us. It is a large broad, silky leaf, of fine texture, and of a
beautiful color, and some plants grow as large as seven feet across,
from point to point; upon the whole, I consider it a valuable
acquisition to the planting community.

Tobacco is one of the chief staples of Cuba. There are many qualities, but it is usually classed into two kinds. That which is raised on the western end of the island and is unequalled for smoking, is called "Vuelta abajo." That which is raised east of Havana, is called "Vuelta arriba," and is far inferior to the former.

The best Havana tobacco farms are confined to a very narrow area on the south west part of Cuba. This district, twenty-seven leagues long and only seven broad, is bounded on the north by mountains, on the south and west by the ocean, whilst eastward, though there is no natural limit, the tobacco sensibly degenerates in quality. A light sandy soil and rather low situation suit the best.

The "Vuelta abajo" is usually divided into five classes.

Calidad or Libra.
Ynjuriado Principal or Firsts.
Segundas or Seconds.
Terceiras or Thirds.
Cuartas or Fourths.

Calidad is the best tobacco, selected for its good color, flavor, elasticity and entireness of the leaves. The bales contain sixty hands of four gabillas, or fingers of twenty-five leaves each, and are marked L.60. Ynjuriado Principal has less flavor, and is usually of a lighter color. The leaves should be whole and somewhat elastic. The bales contain eighty hands of four gabillas, or thirty leaves each, and are marked B. 80. Segundas is the most inferior class of wrapper. There are many good leaves in it, but the hands are usually made up of those which are stained, have a bad color, or have been slightly touched by the worm. The bales contain eighty hands of four gabillas of thirty-six to forty leaves each, and are marked Y. 2a. 80.

Terceiras is the best tilling, and much wrapper can usually be selected from it when new. The bales contain eighty hands of four gabillas of more than forty leaves each, and are marked 3a. 80.

Cuartas is the most inferior class, fit only for filling. The bales contain eighty hands of four gabillas of no determined number of leaves, and are marked 4a. 80.

The Vuelta arriba tobacco is prepared in a similar manner, but neither its color or flavor is good, and it does not burn well.

The crop is gathered in the spring, and usually begins to appear at market in July. Good tobacco should be aromatic, of a rich brown color, without stains, and the leaf thin and elastic. It should burn well and the taste should be neither bitter nor biting. The best is grown on the margins of rivers which are periodically overflowed, and is called "De rio." It is distinguished from other tobacco by a fine sand, which is found in the creases of the leaves.

The tobacco plantations in Cuba increased in number from 5,534 in 1827, to 9,102 in 1846. The production of tobacco has nearly doubled in the province, of which St. Jago is the port, in the last ten years.

The following figures show the exports from the Havana:--

Leaf tobacco. Cigars.
1840 1,031,136 lbs. 147,818 thousand.
1841 1,460,302 " 161,928 "
1842 1,053,161 " 135,127 "
1843 2,125,805 " 153,227 "
1844 1,197,136 " 147,825 "
1845 1,621,889 " 120,352 "
1846 4,066,262 " 158,841 "
1847 1,936,829 " 1,982,267 "
1848 1,350,815 " 150,729 "
1849 1,158,265 " 111,572 "

The class of tobacco shipped at the port of Havana, is not the same as that gathered in the districts from which the manufacturers of cigars there receive their supplies--it would cost too dear. However, it is not a rare occurrence to find among a number of bales a few of a quality about equal to that employed there, and this happens in years when the crop has been very abundant, as in 1846 and 1848. The various classes are paid in proportion to the capa, or outside leaves, which are found in an assortment; the three first classes are employed as covers, and often, if the tobacco is new, they may be found in the fourth and even in the fifth. In parcels well assorted, one-fourth is composed of capa--say, first, second, and third, and the rest is composed of tripa, or interior of the cigar. In the first-named, there generally comes more of the _capa_ than is necessary to use; the remaining bales, which contain the inferior class, are fit only for fillings.

The following is an analysis of the ashes of Havana tobacco:--

Salts of potash 24.30
Salts of lime and magnesia 67.40
Silica 8.30
-----
100.00

Hayti exported in 1836 1,222,716 lbs.
Porto Rico, in 1839 43,203 cwt.

The French have been so successful in cultivating tobacco, in their possessions in Northern Africa, that they hope soon to be independent of the foreign grown article. The mode of preparing it, however, is not very well understood by the colonists. In 1851, the number of planters in Algeria was only 137, whereas in 1852, it was 1,073. The number of hectares under culture with the tobacco plant was 446 in 1851, and 1,095 in 1852. The total of the present year's crop is estimated at 1,780,000 kilogrammes, of which 700,000 kilogrammes have been grown by the natives, and the rest by Europeans.

In the province of Algiers alone, the quantity of tobacco sold will amount to 550,000 kilogrammes, which is nearly three times as much as in 1851, and an equal progression has taken place in the provinces of Oran, and Constantina.

The cultivation of tobacco in Algeria has proved most successful; in 1851, only 264,912 kilogrammes were produced; in 1852, the quantity had risen to 735,199 kilogrammes. There are two crops in the year, the first being the best, but even this is capable of almost indefinite augmentation.

CULTURE OF TOBACCO IN THE EAST.

Having touched upon the practice of culture in the western world, we will now bend our steps towards the east, and it may be curious to notice the method pursued in cultivating and curing the celebrated Shiraz tobacco of Persia (_Nicotiana Persica_), which is so much esteemed for the delicacy of its flavor, and its aromatic quality. It is thus described by an intelligent traveller. The culture of the plant, it will be seen, is nearly the same; it is only the preparation of the tobacco that forms the difference:--

In December the seed is sown in a dark soil, which, has been
slightly manured (red clayey soils will not do). To protect the
seed, and to keep it warm, the ground is covered with light, thorny
bushes, which are removed when the plants are three or four inches
high; and during this period, the plants are watered every four or
five days, only however in the event of sufficient rain to keep the
soil well moistened not falling. The ground must be kept wet until
the plants are six to eight inches high, when they are transplanted
into a well moistened soil, which has been made into trenches for
them; the plants being put on the top of the ridges ten or twelve
inches apart, while the trenched plots are made, so as to retain the
water given. The day they are transplanted, water must be given to
them, and also every five or six days subsequently, unless rain
enough falls to render this unnecessary. When the plants have become
from thirty to forty inches high, the leaves will be from three to
fifteen inches long. At this period, or when the flowers are
forming, all the flower capsules are pinched or twisted off. After
this operation and watering being continued, the leaves increase in
size and thickness until the month of August or September, when
each plant is cut off close to the root, and again stuck firmly into
the ground. At this season of the year, heavy dews fall during the
night; when exposed to these the color of the leaves change from
green to the desired yellow. During this stage, of course no water
is given to the soil. When the leaves are sufficiently yellow, the
plants are taken from the earth early in the morning, and while they
are yet wet from the dew, are heaped on each other in a high shed,
the walls of which are made with light thorny bushes, where they are
freely exposed to the wind. While there, and generally in four or
five days, those leaves which are still green become of the desired
pale yellow color. The stalks and centre stem of each leaf are now
removed, and thrown away, the leaves are heaped together in the
drying house for three or four days more, when they are in a fit
state for packing. For this operation the leaves are carefully
spread on each other and formed into sorts of cakes, the
circumference from four to five feet, and three to four inches
thick, great care being taken not to break or injure the leaves.

Bags made of strong cloth, but thin and very open at the sides, are
filled with these cakes, and pressed very strongly down on each
other; the leaves would be broken if this were not attended to. When
the bags are filled, they are placed separately in a drying house,
and turned daily. If the leaves were so dry that there would be a
risk of their breaking during the operation of packing, a very
slight sprinkling of water is given them to enable them to withstand
it without injury. The leaf is valued for being thick, tough, and of
a uniform light yellow color, and of an agreeable aromatic smell.

In India, the Surat, Bilsah, and Sandoway (Arracan) varieties of tobacco are the most celebrated. The two first are found to be good for cultivation in the district about Calcutta, but the Cabool is still more to be preferred. Tobacco requires in the East, for its growth, a soil as fertile and as well manured as for the production of the poppy or opium. It is, therefore, often planted in the spaces enriched by animal and vegetable exuviæ, among the huts of the natives. I have tried seed in different soils, says Capt. C. Cowles,--namely a light garden mould with a large portion of old house rubbish, dug to a good depth, which had a top dressing of the sweepings of the farm-yard and cow-houses; a rather heavy loam, highly manured with burnt and decayed vegetables, and old cow dung; the third was a patch of ground, which was originally an unwholesome swamp, from being eighteen inches to two feet, lower than the surrounding land; the soil appeared to be a hard sterile clay, and covered with long coarse grass and rushes. As there was a tank near it, I cut away one side of it, and threw the soil over the ground, bringing it rather above the level. Such was its appearance, (a hard compost marly clay,) that I expected no other good from it than that of raising the land so as to throw the water off; contrary, however, to my expectations, it produced a much finer crop of tobacco than either of the other soils, and with somewhat less manure. The agricultural process is limited to some practical laws founded on experience, and these are subject to two principal agents; viz., the soil and climate. With respect to the former, it is the practice amongst the growers in tobacco countries, such as Cuba, the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and the Philippine Islands, to select a high and dry piece of land, of a siliceous nature, and combined with iron, if possible; and with respect to the latter, there are seasons of the year too well known to the planters to need any explanation. The only difference (if there is any) depends on the geographical situation of the place, with respect to its temperature, or in the backwardness or advancement of seasons, and even on the duration of the same--in which circumstances the planter takes advantage of the one for the other.

The influence of a burning climate may be modified by choosing the coolest month of the year, whereas the soil cannot be altered without incurring great expense. I have seen tobacco lose its natural quality and degenerate by transplanting from one soil to another, although of the same temperature, and _vice versa_.

Mr. Piddington has analysed several Indian soils, distinguished for the production of superior tobacco. These are the table soils from Arracan, (Sandoway,) a soil from Singour, in Burdwan, near Chandernagore, the tobacco of which, though of the same species as that of the surrounding country, sells at the price of the Arracan sort; and the soil of the best Bengal tobacco, which is grown at, and about Hingalee, in the Kishnagur district.

The best tobacco soils of Cuba and Manila, are for the most part red soils. Now, the red and reddish soils contain most of their iron in the state of peroxide, or the reddish brown oxide of iron; while the lighter grey soils contain it only in the state of protoxide, or the black oxide of iron. Mr. Piddington believes the quality of the tobacco to depend mainly on the state and quantity of the iron of the soil, while it is indifferent about the lime, which is so essential to cotton. None of the tobacco soils contain any lime. Their analysis show them to contain:--

Arracan soil. Singour soil. Hingalee soil.
Oxide or iron, (peroxide) 15,65 10,60 6,00
Water and saline matter 1,10 75 1,50
Vegetable matter and fibre 3,75 1,10 75
Silex 76,90 80,65 87,25
Alumina 2,00 4,50 1,50
------- ------- -------
99,40 97,60 97,00
Water and loss 60 2,40 3,00
------- ------- -------
100 100 100

From which it will be seen that the best tobacco soil hitherto found in India contains about sixteen per cent., or nearly one-sixth, of iron, which is mostly in a state of peroxide; and that the inferior sort of tobacco grows in a soil containing only six per cent., or one-sixteenth of iron, which is, moreover, mostly in the state of protoxide, or black oxide. Mr. Piddington thought it worth examining what the quantity of iron in the different sorts of tobacco would be, and found that while the ashes of one ounce, or 480 grains of Havana and Sandoway cheroots gave exactly 1.94 grains, or 0.40 per cent., of peroxide of iron the ashes of the same quantity of the Hingalee, or best Bengal tobacco, only gave 1.50 grains, or 0.32 per cent.; and it appears to exist in the first two in a state of peroxide, and in the last as a protoxide of iron; rendering it highly probable that the flavor of the tobacco to the smoker depends on the state and quantity of the iron it contains! Green copperas water, which is a solution of sulphate of iron, is often used by the American and English tobacconists and planters, to colour and flavor their tobacco; and this would be decomposed by the potass of the tobacco, and sulphate of potass and carbonate of iron is formed. Carbonate of iron is of an ochre-yellow color. Mr. Piddington says he took care to ascertain that this process had not been performed with the tobacco used for this experiment; and adds that Bengal cheroot makers do not know of this method. Mr. Laidley, of Gonitea, dissents from the idea suggested by Mr. Piddington that ferruginous matter in the soil is essential to the successful growth of tobacco. He observes that if we attend only to the iron contained, why every plant will be found to require a ferruginous soil; but tobacco contains a notable quantity of nitrate of potass and muriate of ammonia (the latter a most rare ingredient in plants), and these two salts are infinitely more likely to affect the flavor of the leaf than a small portion of oxide of iron, an inert body. Now as neither of these can be supplied by the atmosphere, we must search for them in the soil, and accordingly he imagined that a compost similar to the saltpetre beds which Napoleon employed so extensively in France, would be a good manure for tobacco lands; namely, calcareous matter, such as old mortar, dung, and the ashes of weeds or wood. He was aware that good tobacco might be grown in Beerbhoom, having raised some himself several years ago from American seed. The plants grew most vigorously, and he further observed, in confirmation of his opinion about the proper manure, that in other districts in which he had resided the natives always grew the tobacco (each for his own use) upon the heap of rubbish at his door, consisting of ashes, cow-dung, and offal of all kinds. While the soil of the Gangetic diluvium almost always contains carbonate of lime, the Beerbhoom soil does not, as far at least as Mr. Laidley had examined it.

The following is the mode of culture pursued about the city of Coimbetore. Between the middle of August and the same time in September, a plot of ground is hoed and embanked into small squares; in these the seed is sown, and covered by hand three times at intervals of ten days. To secure a succession of seedlings water is then given, and the sun's rays moderated by a covering of bushes. Watering is repeated every day for a month, and then only every fifth day. The field in which the seedlings are transplanted, is manured and ploughed at the end of August. Cattle are also folded upon the ground. Four or five ploughings are given between mid September and the middle of October, when the field is divided as above into small squares. These are watered until the soil is rendered a mud. Plants of the first sowing are then inserted at the end of September, about a cubit apart, the transplanting being done in the afternoon. At intervals of ten days the seedlings of the other two sowings are removed. A month after being transplanted the field is hoed, and after another month the leading shoot of each plant is pinched off, so as to leave them not more than a cubit high. Three times during the next month all side shoots thrown out are removed. When four months old, the crop is ready for cutting. To render the leaves sweet the field is watered, and the plants cut down close to the surface, being allowed to remain when cut until next morning. Their roots are tied to a rope and suspended round the hedges. In fine weather the leaves are dry in ten days, but if cloudy they require five more days. They are then heaped up under a roof, which is covered with bushes and pressed with stones for five days. After this the leaves are removed from the stems, tied in bunches, heaped again, and pressed for four days longer. They are now tied in bundles, partly of the small leaf and partly of the large leaf bundles, and again put in heaps for ten days--once during the time the heaps being opened and piled afresh. This completes the drying. A thousand bundles, weighing about 570 lbs., is a good produce for an acre.

In 1760, Ceylon produced a considerable quantity of tobacco, principally about Jaffna, a demand having sprung up for it in Travancore, and on the Malay coast. The cultivation spread to other districts of the island, Negombo, Chilaw, and Matura. Not long after the possession of the island by the British, a monopoly was created by an import duty of 25 per cent., _ad valorem_, and in 1811 the growers were compelled to deliver their tobacco into the Government stores at certain fixed rates. The culture and demand thereupon decreased. In 1853, the duty on the exports of tobacco from this island amounted to £8,386, and in 1836 to £9,514.

Ceylon now exports a considerable quantity of tobacco. The value of that exported in 1844 was nearly £18,000: it went exclusively to British colonies. The shipments since have been as follows:--

1848 £17,992 ----
1849 22,300 ----
1850 20,721 22,184 cwts.
1851 21,422 22,523 "
1852 20,531 21,955 "

About 96,000 piculs of cigars, of five different qualities, are exported annually from Siam. A good deal of very fine tobacco is grown in the Philippines, and the Manila cheroots are celebrated all over the globe. The quantity of raw tobacco shipped from Manila in 1847 was 92,106 arrobas (each about a quarter of a cwt.); manufactured tobacco, 12,054 arrobas; and 1,933 cases of cigars. 5,220 boxes of cigars were shipped from Manila in 1844. 73,439 millions of cigars were shipped in 1850, and 42,629 quintals of leaf tobacco.

The manufacture of cigars in Manila is a monopoly of the government, and not only is this the case, but it is a monopoly of the closest description, and any infringement of the assumed rights of the Spanish Indian government is visited by the most severe penalties. Public enterprise, however little of that commodity there now exists in the Spanish character, is thus kept down; and this is not only detrimental to the nation itself, but is also unjust towards those persons who are the purchasers of the article, enhanced in price, as is always the case, by monopoly. The cheroot, which now costs, free of duty, about one halfpenny, could be rendered for half that sum, according to well-authenticated opinions. To protect itself from illicit manufacturers, or smuggling of any kind in connection with cigars, the government is compelled to maintain an army of gendarmes, in order to adopt the most stringent means which despotic states alone tolerate. No person is, therefore, permitted to have even the tobacco leaf in its raw state on his premises, and gendarmes pay, at stated intervals, domiciliary visits to the habitations of the people, in search of any contraband materials. There are several extensive manufactories of cigars and cheroots belonging to the government in and near Manila. Mr. Mac Micking, in his recent work on the Philippines, thus describes the mode of manufacture by those employed by the government:--