March 



1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



625 



opened, that the importer mas' be satisfied as to its 

 quality ; the net weight is taken for the calctilatioas 

 of the custom duty before removal, the waste, which 

 is sometines large, being consigned, together with 

 the sweepings of the warehouses^ to the Queen's pipe, 

 ii furnace appropriated to the destruction of all cou- 

 trahaud tobauco. 



During the fermentation which takes place in the 

 curing, nicotine and nicotianiue are secreted from the 

 juices of the leaf, aiid during the furthnr ferment- 

 ation in the manufacture of dried tobacco these pro- 

 perties are often dissipated, and carbonate of ammonia 

 produced. The manufacturer's first business is to 

 separate the leaves. In order to do this without break- 

 age it is uecess:iry to moisten the " hands " of tobacco ; 

 for, although it is said to be impossible (doubtful) 

 to reduce the moisture below 10 per cent, yet even 

 a much larger proportion is required to render the 

 leaf pliable. The process of damping completed, the 

 leaves are spread out singly, the central rib (which 

 contain."! albuminous matters which would not be 

 agreeable to the smoUir) is removed by hand, and the 

 right and left hiilves are smojthed and laid in a separ- 

 ate pile. The largest and stoutest leave s are selected 

 for cutting and spiimiug ; the most perfect in form 

 are reserved for tiie wrappers and outside folds of 

 cigars ; broken or defective leaves arc useel as "fillers," 

 or inside.s, of cigars Xliis work of strii)piug and sorting 

 is generally done by ^;irls and women, and, simple as the 

 operation fcem', it requires tor its proper pert'ormanco 

 a degree of dexterity attained only by long practice. 

 In removing the midrib it is difficult to avoid tear- 

 ing the leaf, which seriously deteriorates its value. 



The less torn the leaf used for cutting the longer 

 and finer will be the fibre of the shag. 



Tcb.iccocutting is tli<- process by which the fer- 

 mented leaf is prepared for the pipe and the cigarette, 

 "Shag" is the gc eric name of all the variHties 

 which have passed through the cutting machine except 

 Cut Caveiidkk or other cake tobacco, so cut to save 

 the smoker th." trouble cf using bis own knife. 



Birdfa-eye differs fri m the other kinds of shug only 

 so far as it retains a gre.'.ter proportion of the mid- 

 rib of the leaf. As the leaf passes under the blade 

 of the machine it U cut tran.sversely, and the horizontal 

 section of the midrib, which is of a woody tissue 

 and lighter in colour than the softer parts of the leaf, 

 give the distinctive name of this variety. 



There have be'Cn many mechanical contrivances for 

 cutting tobacco, several of which may be found at 

 Work in Eogli^'h factorie-s, Viut it will be necessary 

 to describe only oue. I select the combined pressing 

 and cutting machine of Mr. Robert Legge. of London, 

 because it is in much more general ufe than any 

 other, and possesses the peculiarities which have been 

 most approved of in the rest. It is now employeel 

 in about fifty London hemses, all the Bristol factories, 

 and other lariie towns in the country, in the Govern- 

 ment manufactoriis of frauco and Portu>;al, and in 

 many large estblishnients in Germany, Russia, and 

 America. 



This machine, receiving the bulk of the leaf in a 

 trough or feeding-box, draws it inwards between roll, 

 ers, which subjeci; it to sufficient pi-essure to make 

 the mass tirm tor cutting. 



The lower roller is of large diameter .and made of 

 wood, so as to form a cylindrical chopping-block, on 

 which the knife de-scends. The upper rollers are small 

 and made of metal. They pn>8s the tobacco onwards 

 from the feeding-box to the knife, and are so fitted 

 as to yielel according to the thickness of the feed. 

 The rollers revolve in unison with the strokes of the 

 l"iife, which determine the fineness of the shreels inio 



lich the leaf is cut. Uno of the larijest of these, 



iven by two-horae power, will make 300 cuts per 



i.ute, ;i;k1 turn out 200 lb. of fine shag, or 4001b. 

 80 



of the description called French cut, in a single hour. 

 The cut tobacco, when removed from the machine, is 

 placed on tr.iys (usually of copper) heated by gas- 

 flames, and these tossecl about and shaken by hand 

 until it is sufficiently lightened to be fit for smoking. 

 The chief ditficulty to be overcome in all attempts to 

 expedite toliacco-cutting is the clogging of the machinery 

 by the mucilaginous juices of the leaf, and the strict 

 Excise regulations, intended to prevent adulteration, 

 forbid the admixture of any substance that might 

 reduce the obstacle. 



ROLL, OR TWIST. 



This is a preparation of tobacco which is made by 

 first spinning the leaf into the form of a rope. There 

 are sever.al varieties, some coarse and thick, like pig-tail 

 or Limerick twist, others thinner and of finer grain, 

 called "ladies' twist," or, because of its lighter colemr, 

 "brown twist." 



CAKE CAVENDISH. 



This was until recently a forbidden manufacture in 

 this country, its importation being legalised only as 

 lately as \B6o ; anri so long as the Kxcise laws exclude 

 sweetening matter from the preparation of tobacco, it 

 is not likely to become general. Under a special Act 

 of Parliament the Richmond Cavendish Company is 

 permitted to produce sweetened cake toliacco, but, as 

 all its operations are carrieil on in bood, the manufacture 

 is limited. Where, as in the Riciimond Company's 

 works at Liverpool, the hweet ingredients are adeled 

 there is no essenti.il difference between the foreign- 

 made and tlie British-^nade article. This sweetened 

 Cavendish is made from the best Virginian leaf cured 

 in the ordinary way, with tlie a.ldition of treacle, 

 sugar, liquorice, and other fluonrings, and pressed 

 info cakes of various sizes. Unsweetened Cavendishi 

 is Droduced in various factories under the same legul- 

 ations as other kinds. In this case the tobacco is quite, 

 eepial to foreign Cavendish for all smoking purposes;, 

 but ohewers prefer the sweet taste of tha' prepared': 

 with sugar. The process of ni,inuf.iciure is exceediuglj;' 

 simple, but to meet the mechanical diffieulties .attend.ant 

 upon expelling a r and moisture from the leuf, and 

 forcing the fibrous pxrticles into a more or less 

 hoTiogeneous mass, hydraulic and oth'r contrivances 

 have been brought int) play. Cake toliacco is made 

 from ordinary shag, whch is wetted and made into 

 a mass, then pressed into moulds to ensure uniformity 

 of weight until the parts adhere firmly together ; girls 

 next enfold it firmly in wrappers of perfect leaves; 

 the cakes are then passed through a series of moulds, 

 each snialler than its predecessor, increasing [irosaure 

 being enployed by hydraulic-power until each cake 

 is turned out dry and haid, leadyfor the ornamental 

 wrapper which finally receives it. 



By this time the juices of the mass have been 

 evenly distributed throughout the whole, giving it the 

 rich, dark colour which smokers prefer. 



Those kinds of Cavendish which are lighter in colour 

 are prepared in precisely the same way, but in a dryer 

 state . 



CIOARS. 

 In giving some account of the manufacture of cigars 

 I luay be "allowed to point out the fallacy whioh_ lies 

 at the root of the popular preference for the ciyars 

 of Havana. It will be granted that some Cuban to- 

 bacco is the best tobacco, and, of oour.ie, when worked 

 by the best maiuifucturers, makes the best cigars ; but 

 it c.nunot. be said that the cigar-makers of ( uIki are 

 more skilful than those of Great Britain, or that they 

 have a monopoly of the best tobacco. It i.s a known 

 fact that only a very small quantity is importe.i trom 

 Cuba in any shape, and it is notorious that much of 

 that which is exported from Cuba is not grown I here. 

 Cargoes of loaf are shipped from America and from 



