The exports from Baltimore were 46,239 hogsheads in 1882, 43,620 in 1883, 43,192 in 1884. The State of New York, in 1883, had 5440 acres under tobacco, producing 9,068,789 lb., value 1,178,943 dollars; and Connecticut, 8145 acres, 9,576,824 lb., 1,292,871 dollars. The production of Minnesota was 65,089 lb. in 1879, 48,437 lb. in 1880, 79,631 lb. in 1881, 62,859 lb. in 1882, 14,744 lb. in 1883.
Venezuela.—The exports from Ciudad Bolivar were, in 1884, 1318 kilo., value 1037 bolivares, to the British West Indies; 9618 kilo., 6691 bolivares, to the United States; 275,329 kilo., 192,188 bolivares, to Germany. The exports of tobacco from this port in decades have been:—7,650,656 lb. in 1850–59; 2,134,711 in 1860–69; 3,170,812 in 1870–79.
West Indies.—The Spanish possessions in the West Indies are well known for their tobacco. The best is produced on the vuelta abajo, or low-lying districts of Cuba, near Havana, which are yearly flooded during the autumn, just before the tobacco is transplanted. To this fact, and the peculiar suitability of the seasons, the excellence of this particular product is attributed. The exports from Havana in 1878 were:—93,603 bales tobacco, 75,212,268 cigars, 203,581 bundles cigarettes, to the United States; 6169 bales tobacco, 66,795,330 cigars, 5,034,774 bundles cigarettes, to England; 32,582 bales tobacco, 9,541,498 cigars, 133,008 bundles cigarettes, to Spain; 582 bales tobacco, 3,861,700 cigars, 8206 bundles cigarettes, to N. Europe; 5671 bales tobacco, 18,327,025 cigars, 797,513 bundles cigarettes, to France; 41 bales tobacco, 900,850 cigars,[cigars,] 5,709,442 bundles cigarettes, to other countries. The totals for 1878 were 7,078,904 kilo. of tobacco, 182,356 thousand cigars, and 12,816,903 packets of cigarettes; in 1879, 6,371,014 kilo. of tobacco, 145,885 thousand cigars, and 14,098,693 packets of cigarettes. The tobacco exports in 1879 from St. Jago de Cuba were 9653 bales to Bremen, 4015 to the United States (chiefly for Bremen), and 1809 coastwise, total 15,477, against 10,249 in 1878. In the island of Puerto Rico, the tobacco-plant thrives well, and the quality, especially in the Rio de la Plata district, is very good. In 1878, the island exported 8 quintals (of 101½ lb.) to the United States, 32,109 to Spain, 4198 to Germany, and 18,123 to other countries.
The British West Indies have only recently appreciated the importance of tobacco cultivation. Many portions of Jamaica seem as well fitted for it as the vuelta abajo of Cuba, and already Jamaica tobacco in the Hamburg market ranks next to the best Havana, and is considered superior to such Cuban growths as St. Jago, Manzanillo, Yara, &c. Tobacco cultivation may now be said to have a place in the industries of Jamaica, a fact mainly due to Cuban refugees. The most extensive plantations in the island are Potosi in St. Thomas Parish, and Morgan’s Valley in Clarendon. Much of the produce goes to the German market, the remainder being made into cigars for local consumption, and said to be quite equal to some of the best Cuban brands. Some experiments made with Bhilsa tobacco have given great satisfaction, on account of the robust habit and immense yield of the plant. It is especially adapted for very wet districts, and its cultivation will be widely extended, if justified by its market value. Tobacco is, and for very many years has been, grown by the peasantry in small patches; from this, they manufacture a smoke-dried leaf, which, twisted together in rope form, sells readily in the home market. The acreage occupied by the crop was 297 in 1874–5, 442 in 1875–6, 331 in 1876–7, and 380 in 1877–8. The slopes of valleys in many parts of Dominica, too, are eminently suited to this crop, particularly the district between Roseau and Grand Bay. The experiment of tobacco culture in New Providence on a large scale has not proved satisfactory, owing to the difficulties encountered in curing and preparing the leaf; the cigars made are fit only for local consumption.
The exports from San Domingo in 1884 were 10,513,940 lb., value 669,500 dollars.
According to a recent Consular Report, it would seem that “Cuban tobacco has lost its prestige through forcing and artificial manures, and has to sustain sharp competition from abroad where it formerly commanded the market; and probably some years must elapse before the soil can recover from the excessive and indiscriminate use of artificial fertilizers.
“A few years ago the leaf harvested in the Vuelta Abajo was not sufficient to meet the large demand, and in order to increase the yield, growers made use of guanos of all sorts, and with such bad results that they find it now difficult to place on reasonable terms more than half, and sometimes less, of their crops, at very low prices; in few localities only the soil has not been spoilt by spurious manures, and the leaf grown there commands very high prices and is warmly competed for by local manufacturers and buyers for the United States.
“Notwithstanding the last crop has been of a better quality than heretofore, growers were compelled to abandon the tobacco cultivation for a certain time, and devote the ground to other purposes.
“It appears that this change of cultivation is absorbing the fertilizers, and restoring to the soil its former good qualities, and, if one can judge from the splendid appearance of the leaf and the ready sale it now meets with, it would seem that the Vuelta Abajo fields are regaining their former renown.
“This has been a hard but healthy lesson the Vegueros are not likely to forget. The soil cannot and should not be taxed beyond a reasonable and natural yield; any attempt to the contrary would only be a repetition of the fable of the golden eggs, as the tobacco growers in the Vuelta Abajo have had occasion to learn to their cost.