Turkish Tobacco going to Market.
"The Turk and his family, it will seem, have now been occupied upon their tobacco crop for nearly a whole year. The leaf is just becoming a bright light yellow when it falls into the hands of the merchant, and it is during this period that the process of fermentation or heating generally occurs, before which the tobacco can not be shipped. The bales having been placed in the merchant's store, are left end up until a fermentation or baking has taken place, the ends being reversed every three or four days. In the course of a few weeks a bale is reduced to about two-thirds of its original size. It is then placed upon its sides to cool. When it is discovered to be cold it is broken open by the native tobacco-pickers, and every leaf sorted and classified. The patience with which this operation is carried out is truly astonishing. There is a good deal of difference in their rate of work. One man may pick only fifty pounds weight a day, while another does twice that quantity. It is necessary to watch them closely, or they will put a dirty brown leaf with a pale yellow. They neither know nor care about the losses that may be incurred by the merchant, whose samples may be thus spoiled. A bale of leaf purchased at five piastres per oque, when dissected by the Greek for various markets will be found to contain varieties ranging in price from 5 to 60 piastres; of these some are dispatched to Odessa, some to Smyrna, others to Constantinople, Alexandria, and England—the mixed and common qualities generally to the latter country, the price there obtained being the least remunerative to the Greek shippers. The bales are brought from the interior to the shipping ports upon mules, each animal carrying two bales; and it is a pretty sight to witness, say 150 mules at a time, crossing mountains and rugged paths with their burdens, followed by perhaps fifty camels laden with cotton, marching to the merry tinkle of the bells on their necks. When the tobacco reaches the shipping port the troubles of the exporter are intensified. The bales are first taken to the Custom House, and there weighed. The weights thus arrived at are compared with the quantity received from the interior, and if there be any material difference the shipper has to account for it. If any has been sold for consumption in Turkey, duty has to be paid upon the amount; and in order that no part of his shipment may be used in the country, he has to sign a bond that the tobacco shall not be landed in any other port of Turkey. On the arrival of the tobacco in England, the landing certificates are forwarded to Turkey. It is in this way that the trade is retained in the hands of a few Greeks, who naturally put every obstacle in the way of the foreigner, whose sole remedy is at last found to be the payment of the universal 'backshish,' to the comptroller of customs."
The merchant who buys the tobacco of the planter at a low price, and thereby takes the profit from him of cultivating it, is preyed upon in the same manner by the Greek buyers who have the sole monopoly of the trade. Like Shiraz tobacco, that of Turkey has to be handled frequently and pass through several stages of curing before it is ready to be manufactured. In this respect it is unlike most of the tobaccos of America, but its treatment is not unlike that of the varieties of the East.
Japan Tobacco Field.
The tobacco plant is cultivated with great success in many of the provinces of Japan, and is exported in large quantities to Europe. The leaf is excellent, and is in request by many buyers of Eastern tobaccos. Robertson gives the following interesting account of the Japan tobacco fields:—
"According to a native account, tobacco was introduced into Japan in the year 1605, and was first planted at Nagasaki in Hizen. It is now very generally grown throughout the country. In the province of Awa, where a great deal of tobacco is grown, the seed is sown in early spring in fields well exposed to the sun and duly prepared for its reception. Well sifted stable manure is strewn over the field, and the seedlings appear after the lapse of about twenty days. The old manure is then swept away, and liquid manure applied from time to time. If the plants are too dense they are thinned out. The larger plants are now planted out into fields well prepared for the purpose in rows, with about eight inches space between each plant, the furrows between each row being about two feet wide. They are again well sprinkled with liquid manure, also with the lees of oil at intervals of about seven days. A covering of wheat or millet bran is now laid over the furrows. The bitter taste of the leaf is in a measure an effectual safeguard against the ravages of insects, but the leaves are nevertheless carefully tended to prevent damage from such cause. If the reproduction from seed is not desired the flowers should be cut off and the stem pruned down, otherwise the leaves will lose in scent and flavor. In Osumi exceptional attention is paid to the cultivation of the tobacco plant. The lees of oil, if liberally used, and stable manure sparsely applied, have great effect on the plant, producing a small leaf with an excellent flavor; while, if the opposite course is followed, the leaves grow to an immense size, but are inferior in taste.