964 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1883. 



old fork-handle or shovel-handle is attached at an angle, 

 and about three inches from the top there is fastened a 

 strap, provided with a buckle, and long enough to reah 

 arouud a man's arm. 



The manner of operating is shown in figure 3. A boy 

 drops the plants near the hills, and the operator follow- 

 ing, seizes each plant in turn with the tongs, m such 

 a way as to have the roots pointing downward. AVith 

 his left arm he thrusts the dibble into the ground, and 

 slightly turning the same, forms a hole for the reception 

 of the plant. After placing the plant in the hole, the 

 operator thrusts the dibble into the soil near the plant, 

 its point near the lower end of the root, and pushes enough 

 soil around the roots to complete the work. A good hand 

 can set from 10,000 to 13,000 plants per day, and at 

 the same time do it as well as it can be done in the 

 old way and much easier. — American Agriculturist. 



FAILURE OF THE TOBACCO CROP IN VICTORIA. 



About one-third of the tobacco grown in the colony is 

 produce<l in the Oxley district, and nearly the wliole of 

 the reniuining quantity in the adjoining districts. The 

 aich alluvial flats along the Ovens and King rivers, de- 

 scribed in a former report upon hop-growing, constitute 

 the tobacco land, being well suited for the growth of 

 this crop; and it Ls estimated that between 500 and 

 GOO acres of these flats have been devoted to its cultiv- 

 ation. Tln' industry is also carried on upon the flats of 

 Mitta Mitta, the Kewa, the Upper Murray, and on small 

 allmial patches in the direction, the whole area in these 

 localities amounting to 000 or 700 acres, so that, includ- 

 ing the Oxley district, there are in the counties of 

 Dalatite, Bogong, and Benambra between 1,200 and 1,400 

 acres of hind under tobacco, out of an e.stimated total 

 for the colony of about 1,500 acres. Upon the • Ovens 

 and the King the crop this season is a total failure. There 

 are only a few patches that will be gathered at all, 

 .ind these will not yield more than 5 cwt. per acre. 

 During my recent \'isit I saw a large number of plant- 

 ations from which the tobacco had completely died away, 

 and from inquiries made .at Beechworh and Wangaratta, 

 I am disposed to believe that the crops are nearly as bad 

 in all parts of the north-eastern tobacco-growing districts. 



A few ye.ars ago the industry was to a large extent 

 in the hands of Chinese, but more recently, while Chinamen 

 are extensively employed in the work, the plantations 

 have more generally come into the possession of the 

 European farmers. Much of the best land for tolmcco- 

 growing has to be cleared of timber, and much labour 

 and attention has to be bestowed in cultivating and 

 gathering the crop. As the work of cultivation was well 

 suited for Chinese, many of the landowners let pieces 

 of land to the Chinamen upon clearing leases, accepting 

 a proportion of the crop as rent. A number of the.se 

 tenants were prosperous, and purchased land of their 

 own, while others selected small allotments of public land 

 upon river flats, and while prices were encouraging, good 

 progress was made. The system of gi-ving a share of the 

 crop to the Chinese who work the plantations is still 

 carried out, but many of the European landowners now 

 have the cultivation in their own hands, employing Chinese 

 and other men as labourers. The failure of the crojD, 

 therefore, falls more heavily upon the Europeans than it 

 would have done a few years ago. 



The crop is well known to be an uncertain one, but it 

 was generally reckoned that a good yield might be ex- 

 pected every third year, the intermecUate returns being 

 about half a crop. The yield was a light one last 

 year, and owing to the low prices obtainable, a full crop 

 was required this season to make up the growers' profits. 

 A total failure is felt with intensified force. The faihu-e 

 was altogether imexpected, and its cau.se is not easily 

 explained. Everything was favourable in the beginning of 

 the season. The critical period of transplanting was passed 

 through safely, and the plants for some time afterwards 

 looked_ well, promising to tmn out a fine crop. After 

 the raJns, however, which fell in October and during moist 

 warm weather, known as " muggy,'' which succeeded, the 

 plants became covered with a kind of blue mould, and 

 ceased to make progress. Throughout the spring and 

 summer there was no progress, but, on the contrary, the 



plants in many cases died quite away. It is certain that 

 the fiiilure was not from want of rain. Some of the 

 growers believe there was too much ram in the summer, 

 and others hold that the rain would have done no h.arm 

 had the showers been followed by clear bright weather. 

 There is no doubt that the blue mould which threatens 

 the plant every year was the immediate cause of its 

 destruction this season, the character of the summer weather 

 being favom-able to the growth of the disease. 



The process of cidture is to raise the plants in a seed 

 bed, in the meantime preparing the land by ploughing 

 and harrowing for recei^^ng the crop. The free alluvial 

 soil is worked into a fine tilth, and as the land is 

 geuer.ally new, weeds are kept down with comijaratively 

 little trouble. In the month of October, and sometimes 

 in September and November, transplanting takes place, 

 the plants being about 4 inches long. Each plant is water- 

 ed when planted out, and if rain soon follows all is 

 well. This is the critical period, as, if it is not got over 

 well, planting has to be done again. Should rain not come 

 in time, however, the plants are sometimes kept growing 

 by being again watered. As a gener.al rule, when the 

 plants start well after being planted out they make good 

 progress untU they reach maturity, but on this occasion, 

 although all went well for a fortnight or three weeks 

 after planting, an utter failure has resulted. A\Tien ready 

 to gather the top is cut off the plant and the stalk 

 is spht down to within a few inches of the groimd. 

 Below this point the stalks are cut off and carried to 

 large bark sheds, in which they are hung up to dry, the split 

 stalks being hmig across transverse wires or lines, the 

 leaves drooping downwards. "When sufficiently dry the 

 leaves are stripped off and put into bales ready for market. 

 At one time the prices fluctuated to some extent 

 according to the yield of the crop, so that when the 

 crop was light the price was good, but the last change 

 that was made in the adjustment of taxation and the 

 relating to the m.anufacture of tobacco has had the effect 

 of keeping the prices doNvm. A number of small manu- 

 facturing establishments have been closed, and there are so 

 few buyers that there is not sufljcieut competition among 

 them to raise prices to a rate remunerative to the grower. 

 The result is that the tobacco-growing industry stands in 

 great danger of being extinguished. All the growers whom 

 I met during my \'isit had decided to abandon tobacco 

 culture for some more encoursigmg branch of industry. 

 They stated that when prices varied mth the character 

 of the crop enough profit was made out of one good yield 

 to recoup losses in less productive years, and there then 

 was some inducement to continue, but with prices steady 

 at from 6d. to Gd. per pound this was not the ca.se. New 

 land has to be cleared for the crop every second or 

 third year, or heavy manm-mg must be resorted to. There 

 is much labour involved in raising the crop and gather- 

 ing it in, so that with the uncertainty of the yield the 

 price obtainable is not considered remunerative. 



About 13 cwt. per acre is regarded as a fairly good 

 crop, and as much as 18 cwt. per acre has been some- 

 times obtained. The crop, however, is an exhaustive one, 

 and could not be gro^vu for more than three years vrith- 

 out manure. Instead of manuring, however, the practice 

 is to take in fresh ground, but this has to be allowed 

 for in estimating the cost of producing of the croj). In 

 addition to the low prices there is another thing which 

 is likely to reduce tobacco in the market within uery 

 narrow limits, viz., the profitableness of hop-culture. As 

 a general rule, the best tobacco-growing land is suitable 

 for hop-gardens, and in a good many cases the tobacco- 

 growers are about to turn their attention to hop-cultm-e. 

 There has been a demand for hop-sets .aU over the di.striet, 

 some orders coming from as far as the Upper Murray, 

 so that a very large area will probably be planted this 

 season — apai't from the probability of an extensive aban- 

 donment of tobacco-culture next year, on accomit of the 

 failure of the present season. Estimating last year's yield 

 for the colony at about 700 tons, and reckoning that 

 the loss in the Oxley district alone this year must amount 

 to fuUy 150 tons, the year's total wiU show a serious fall- 

 ing oil. Unless the crops on the Mitta JMitta, the Upper 

 Murray, and other rivers in those localities are much 

 better than they are represented, the yield of the colony 

 will not be more th.^n 300 or 400 tons, or even less. — 

 Aitstralasian, 



