57 



a great boon to the whole island, if an expert of like character 

 could be attached to the Hope Gardens to demonstrate in his 

 work there to all comers the manifold minutiae of the process of 

 curing. When there was no work that required his presence at 

 Hope, he could travel through the island, giving public demon- 

 strations, examining tobacco undergoing curing at different 

 estates, and affording advice and assistance in every way to any 

 who should seek it.' 



'At present our means of instruction are very limited, but 

 every one who receives seeds may also have the Jamaica Bulletin 

 (May, 1889, No. 13), written by a Cuban expert, dealing with the 

 cultivation and curing of tobacco.' 



Obtaining an expert knowledge of the curing of tobacco was 

 rendered possible when Mr. T. J. Harris was apppointed Assistant 

 Superintendent of Hope Gardens with the special care of the 

 economic section. In 1900-1, about 4 acres of tobacco were 

 grown at Hope Gardens for the purpose of investigating the 

 proper methods of cultivating and curing. A curing house was 

 built and an attempt made by Mr. T. J. Harris to cure the leaf 

 from the study of Espin's treatise and from information received 

 from Cubans. The first cutting failed, and an arrangement was 

 then made with a Cuban tobacco planter, Mr. Antonio Leon, to 

 come to Hope Gardens from time to time and advise on the cutting 

 and curing of the crop. Four acres were again planted in the fol- 

 lowing season (1901-2), and from the experience gained during 

 the two seasons, Mr. T. J. Harris was enabled to prepare articles 

 on the cultivation and curing of tobacco for publication in the 

 Jamaica Bulletin. These articles appeared in the Bulletin for 

 April, May, and October, 1902, and were also issued as leaflets 

 for general distribution. The different value to be placed on the 

 two treatises — the one by Mr. Espin and the other by Mr. T. J. 

 Harris — may be expressed by saying that Mr. Espin wrote as one 

 familiar with the subject from boyhood, and so unconscious of 

 the difficulties of the inexperienced ; Mr. Harris wrote as one who 

 had failed over and over again, and who had only gained his 

 knowledge by careful study of the information received from 

 Mr. Leon and other Cubans in correction of details of practice 

 which had caused previous failures. 



I attach great importance to having been enabled by the Go- 

 vernment to secure that one of the staff should have had the 

 opportunity to qualify himself as an expert in tobacco. His 

 experience was put in writing for the benefit of others ; men were 

 trained by him in the Department who have carried on the work 

 since he left, and a practical school for teaching the apprentices 

 and others was started at Hope Gardens which ought to exercise 

 a very great influence on the extension and improvement of the 

 tobacco industry in the island. 



As stated in the Report for 1898-9 I consider that besides the 

 practical training which is now going on at Hope Gardens, it 

 would be well to have trained men travelling through the country 

 during the tobacco season offering advice to growers in cultiva- 



