AUGU ST I, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



141 



heavy rain. A small diteh is o\it between the beds to dram 

 off the rain. Tatties made of straw or arliar twigs are 

 put over the beds, and are raised 3 feet from tlie ground. 

 The seed is sown in July, and a second sowing is made 

 in August in case of acxidents. The seed is sown at a 

 different season to the French season and differs in soil, 

 and in not having a stony hard under-surface which would 

 not drain off well. 



Sowinif ill seed beds. — Two table-spoonfuls of seed are 

 sown over 100 square feet of seed beds. It is sown mixed 

 with ashes. It is not left to germinate before being sown 

 as in France (this plan has not yet been tried.) It is .sown 

 by a man who stands in the ditch riuming between the 

 seed beds. After the seed is sown, the bed is beaten down 

 gently with a plank or the naked feet of coolies. TTie 

 seed germinates in eight days. The land is kept clean from 

 weeds. The tatties are kept on for at least a fortnight. 

 They are left off gradually, that is to say, they are first 

 taken otf for a few hours ilaily, in the morning and even- 

 ing and at night, till the young plants get accustomed to 

 the sun. They are a protection to the plants from the 

 sun and also from heavy rain which often washes out the 

 earth from the roots of unprotected seedling. This is also 

 done in France. The tatties must not be left on mrtil the 

 young plants are transplanted, or else the plants will be 

 weak and unable to bear the sun. 



'rransj'hintini/. — The land having been well ploughed and 

 cleaned from the middle of June to the middle of August, 

 is smoothed over with a linu/a (harrow), and the young 

 plants being now large enough, they are transplanted when 

 the leaves are not quite the size of a rupee. A cloudy or 

 rainy afternoon is selected for the planting (the afternoon 

 is better than the morning, as it gives the plants the whole 

 yight in which to take liold.) 



The field is either marked out beforehand, by mems of 

 a long rope laid on the field, along and on which a few 

 coolies are made to walk, and which leaves a clearly de- 

 fined line marked on the field ; these lines are made first 

 down the field and then across, each line being the same 

 distance apart, or el.se a lighter rope marked with knots 

 is thus laid on the field at the time of planting, and a 

 plant is put in opposite each knot. It is very necessary 

 for facilitating the after working of the tobacco that the 

 plants should be equidistant from each other. In rich land 

 the plants are put three feet apart. In poorer soils they are 

 only two feet and two and-a-half feet apart. No plants 

 whose stems have become at all hard should be planted ; 

 they will certainly be stunted. Grubs should be looked 

 for in the roots and stems and all affected plants thrown 

 away. If the ground is hard and clayey it is desirable to 

 stir the earth with a klnirpee a little round the young plants 

 three or four days after the planting. 



Huthu/ and eurtlnny up.— The land is usually hoed about 

 10 days after planting. \^'hen the plants are from a foot 

 to IJ feet high, the eaith is thrown up round the roots 

 of each plant. This is the same process apparently as that 

 described as ridging by Kumar Gozendra Narayau junr., 

 in his memorandum. 



Irrigation. — This is carried on whenever, from the ap- 

 pi arance of the plants, it is required. The ground is hoed 

 and the plants earthed up after each watering until the plants 

 become too big to allow of men working in the field. 



Tappinij ajtd pidlintj off siu-ker.-i. — "When the plants are 

 about 3 feet high, or, if weakly-looking, 2 feet, the top 

 shoot is plucked off (this shoot is plucked off directly it 

 makes its appearance in small or sickly plants), also the 

 lower leaves which are du-ty and draggled, and from 7 to 

 14 leaves are left, according to the strength and growth 

 of the plant, the principal object being to get a few large 

 and well-developed leaves in preference to a quantity of 

 small ones. The side shoots or suckers are plucked off 

 the instant they appear, and are left on the field for manure. 



Frcnchiiig urd grifhs in the Jjtants. — In frenchiug, the leaf 

 puckers np and is only fit for the native mai-ket. If a grub 

 be found in a large plant, it should be cut off with all the 

 affected part and all the portion of the plant above it — 

 a side shoot may be allowed to grow which will give a 

 fairly good plant. 



Signs of vtaivriiy. — Tobacco ripens in about three months' 

 time. It is cut during the months of November, Decem- 

 l>er, January, February, to the middle of JIarch. A ripo 



leaf has yellow spots on it. It has a crumply look, a"d 

 if bent between the finger and thumb will break. 



The cutting and curing of the tobacco as described in 

 Kumar Gozendra Narayan's memorandum, pages 22 and 

 23, is totally different to the system pursued at Gazipm-. 

 Does not Kmnar Gozendra Narayan's memorandimi refer 

 to cutting and curing for cigar tobacco only? 



Cvttiiiij ur harecsting. — The cutting commences directly 

 there are suflicient plants ripe in a field to fiU a curing 

 barn. The plants are cut oft' bodily at the stem just be- 

 low the lowest leaves of the plant. The plants when cut 

 are left lying with their butts towards tlie sun in the field 

 to wilt. The time a plant takes to wilt depends on the 

 heat of the sun. Usually half an hour is sufhcient. When 

 wilted the plants are either carried or carted to the curing 

 barn. There they are spiked on split bamboos. In the 

 French system the leaves are plucked off the stem and 

 hung in the barn on strmgs. ■ 



Sjnking^ and hanging in the 6rt)-«.— Each coolie is provided 

 with an iron spike which he fixes like a spear head on to 

 the bamboo stick, he then takes a plant of tobacco in his 

 hand fixing first the other end of the stich into a hole 

 in a block of wood provided for the ])urpose which he 

 holds between his toes. The plant is placed with the butt 

 on the spike about 5 or inches from the eud and the 

 plant forced down over the spike on to the stick. F>om 

 6 to 10 plants according to size are hung on one stick 

 which is 4 feet long. These sticks are then hung iii the 

 barn, the stick should be hung so that the leaves may 

 touch each other slightly, but should not press agaiu.st 

 each other. The barn is fitted up with a scaffoldiiu- of 

 bandjoos. The bamboos are 3 feet G inches apart and 4 

 feet above each other, the lowest tier of bamboos being 

 G feet at least from the ground (where the tobacco is in- 

 tended to be cuied by fires.) The barn is provided with 

 as many doors as possible, those on the west side being 

 made as airtight as possible. Ventilators in the roof made 

 to open and shut are advantageous. Rooms can be made 

 any size. A room from 35 to 40 feet high and 30 yards 

 long by 15 yards broad is preferable, as it can be filled 

 rapidly and will hold sufficient tebacco to cure well. 



Curing and Drying. — When the barn is full (it should 

 be filled as rapidly as possible in order to prevent the 

 tobacco drying out in hanging) all the doors are closed 

 and also the ventilators, if any. It is left for two or three 

 days. The planter can now tell whether tlie tobacco is 

 drying up too rapidly or not fast enough. If the tails 

 of the leaves curl up and break when handled, it shows 

 that the tobacco is going u)) too fast, on the other hand if 

 tbere is a sour snu-U in the room and the plants sweat 

 the tobacco requires air and perhaps fires. In the first 

 case the doors and ventilators are still kept closed and fires 

 are lighted in different parts of the room, or if the house 

 is filled with flues (which are preferable to open fires) 

 hot air is carried through the room in the flues. The 

 temperature will probably be raised to 80 ° Fahrenheit 

 but this can only be told by experience. The tobacco 

 must be carefully watched and if drying too fast, the 

 temperature lowered and water sprinkled on the floor. 

 Raising the temperature causes the tobacco to sweat and 

 the moisture thus created in the house makes the colour 

 run in the leaves. The leaves should turn gradually yel- 

 low and then brown. If dried too rapidly it retains its 

 original green colour. If it is intended to cure golden 

 leaf the temperature is raised to 140 ° Fahrenheit or higher 

 at the stage in which the tobacco has changed to a yel- 

 low, but this curing cannot be attempted in a hot climate, 

 except by an experienced curer. Golden leaf realifses double' 

 the price that dark leaf does. The plants should originally 

 all be in the stages of ripeness to ensme success in bright 

 or golden leaf curing. In the above, curing in a hot 

 dry cUmate like Ghazipur is referred to; in Tirhoot, iri 

 mild weather tobacco can be cured without any fires. 

 This process will now be described. If, as in the second 

 case stated above, after two or three daj-s hanging in 

 the barn the tobacco feels soft and there is a .sour smell 

 in the room and the plants may or may not sweat, then 

 all the doors and ventilators should be opened and kept 

 so until the sour smell is gone and the sweating has stopped ; 

 if that is not effectual then fij-es must be hghted. The 

 curer must now be guided by the weather and mu.st care- 

 fully watch the tobacco. If tho tips of the leaves begia 



