Chapter IV: Production and Commerce (1)

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.