The exports of tobacco from British India during the years 1874–5 to 1878–9 have been as follows:—
| 1875. | 1876. | 1877. | 1878. | 1879. | |||
| Unmanufac- tured | } | lb. | 33,411,504 | 22,861,711 | 10,508,720 | 10,594,604 | 13,279,158 |
| Manufactured | { | lb. No. | 425,040 2,999,940 | 384,909 .. | 395,169 .. | 507,629 .. | 444,502 .. |
The following letter from the manager of the Poosah tobacco farms, Tirhoot, describes the system of growing and curing now adopted in India.
“Preparation of Soil.—Tobacco land should be well-drained upland which has lain fallow some time or that has had some light crop in it; this land should be well manured with well-rotted manure. We plough our lands twice monthly. Just before the time for transplanting the soil is ploughed up and well pulverized by a henger or beam of wood drawn by bullocks over the upturned soil so as to bend it and to break up any lumps of earth. The soil should be sufficiently dry for this purpose so as not to cake and harden.
“Seed-beds.—These should be made up in a suitable situation, that is, protected from the afternoon sun, having some building or grove of trees on the west side. The seed-beds should be raised some six inches off the ground and have trenches dug all round so as to carry off any superfluous moisture, the beds should be well worked with a kodalie and good, rotted manure well worked in. After pulverizing the soil and levelling it, pick off any stones or other rubbish and it will be ready for sowing the seed. The size of the bed should be about 4 feet by 15 feet; this is more convenient than square beds, as it enables the plants to be attended to without risk of destroying them by trampling on them.
“Sowing the Seed.—The seed is sown broadcast with the hand, mixed with some sand or ashes so as to sow evenly; care should be taken not to sow too thickly. About one chittak of seed ought to be found sufficient for one of these beds which would furnish enough plants for one beegah of land. After having sown and if there is a hot sun, it would be advisable to cover the beds with light mats. This seed should germinate in seven or ten days at least. American seed does; Sumatra takes much longer. The plants may require watering, which should be done with a watering-can with a rose, when the plants are well up and large. Only water seed-beds in the evening. As soon as the seedlings have leaves of the size of a penny, they are capable of bearing transplanting. Before taking up the seedling to transplant, water the beds well an hour beforehand; this is done to loosen the earth about the roots so that the plants may be taken up without injury. To take up the seedlings they should be seized by the under side of the two largest leaves by the finger and thumb, having one leaf on each side, not by the stem, then pull up gently, taking care not to break the leaves. They may then be placed in an open basket. When the basket is full it should be covered with a cloth if the sun is hot, and the seedlings slightly sprinkled with water and then carried off to transplant. The seedlings are planted out in rows 3 feet by 2 feet apart, for which purpose a knotted cord is used, the knots being 3 feet apart. This cord is drawn by two men—one at each end. Across the field or portion of the field at a distance of 2 feet from the outer edge, the cord is drawn out and then trampled upon by coolies. The knots leave an impression in the soil where the seedlings have to be planted. The cord is then raised and put down again at another distance of 2 feet from the first, and so on till sufficient land has been marked off. This work can be done during the day, and the transplanting in the evening.
“Transplanting.—Transplanting should be done in the evening if there is any sun; in cloudy weather it can be done all the day long. Rainy weather is most suitable as it dispenses with watering and the plants settle better. A boy takes a basket of seedlings and walks up the row, dropping a plant here and there where the marks have been made; he is followed by a man who makes a hole with a kurpie, into which he places a seedling, and then presses the soil around the roots firmly with his fingers, and then goes on with the rest. As transplanting can hardly be done here without watering, a boy carrying a can without a rose follows the man who is transplanting, and waters each plant he comes across; but, as I mentioned above, if the transplanting could be done in rainy weather, the watering would be unnecessary. When growing the young plants require some attention. After the plants have been planted a week or so, weather permitting, it is advisable to loosen and open the soil around them with a kurpie, and also to eradicate weeds which may appear. Later on a kodalie may be used to work the earth between the rows. As soon as the plants have made growth and begin to throw out flower or seed-heads, which will take place in about eight weeks or so, they should be topped, viz. the flower heads should be broken off before they flower in this way. The stem on which the head was found should be seized about two to three feet from the ground and snapped clean off by the hand or fingers. This topping will cause the plant to throw out heavy leaves. The higher up the stem is broken off, so will the leaves of the plant become thinner and smaller. We generally leave about ten to twelve leaves to each plant. After topping, numerous suckers and offshoots will spring up; these should be promptly broken off as soon as they appear, as they take a lot of nourishment from the plant. The plant ripens in about three months. We cut here in January, and none but ripe plants should be cut.
“How to Cut Ripe Plants.—A tobacco plant is known to be ripe if the leaf cracks when taken between finger and thumb and pressed, and also when the leaves present a swollen appearance and have a heavy look. The stem when cut is full of sap, very thin rind on edge, the leaves are carved over and look mottled, the ribs of the plant get brittle, and are easily broken off; when fully ripe, the plant is cut at one stroke close to the ground. The best instrument to cut the plant with is a kurpie. When cut, the plant is allowed to hang over on its side and wilt or droop in the sun. This wilting takes from one to two hours according to the strength of the sun. When sufficiently wilted (which is known when the plants look drooping and the ribs can be bent slightly without breaking) the plants are placed in a cart and taken to the curing-house. Plants should not be cut in rainy or cloudy weather, as it is obvious the sun would not be hot enough to wilt were the weather cloudy, and the rain washes off the gum and thereby decreases the weight of the plant. Plants should not be cut after the rain unless the gum has returned to the leaves, which is known by their sticky, gummy feeling.”
The results of many analyses of the tobacco of South India show that the ashes of these tobaccos seldom contain more than 5 or 6 per cent. of potash carbonate, while the ashes of American tobacco contain from 20 to 40 per cent., proving the poverty of Indian tobacco soils in this important plant-food—a plant-food, however, easily obtainable in the shape of saltpetre, and at a moderate cost. But, though saltpetre is largely exported from the tobacco-growing districts, it is never employed as a manure for tobacco.
Italy.—Tobacco is cultivated in Italy in the provinces of Ancona, Benevento, Terra di Lavoro, Principato Citeriore, Terra d’Otranto, Umbria, Vicenza, and Sardinia. The area and produce in the following years were:—in 1870, 9544 acres, 67,192 cwt.; 1872, 12,256 acres, 82,349 cwt.; 1874, 8202 acres, 90,300 cwt. The exports from Naples in 1879 were 2006 kilo., value 401l.