26; 



tobacco is estimated. Organic and inorganic salts seem to have 

 considerable effect on these qualities. The organic compounds 

 seem to bear a closer relation to the aroma of the tobacco while 

 on the inorganic salts depends largely the combustibility. A large 

 proportion of potash in the tobacco improves the burning and when 

 potash is present in the form of a carbonate the best results are 

 obtained. 



The growers of bright tobacco find that the tobacco grown on 

 the land immediately alter the ploughing under of a leguminous 

 crop is deficient in texture and colour. The bright tobacco planters 

 frequently allow their land to grow up to grass and weeds for a 

 year and plough this under that they may have the land in the best 

 condition for a fine crop, but this is a system applied to the pro- 

 duction of American tobacco, viz. : Virginia, which is of a strong 

 nature and might not apply for the production of a fine cigar leaf, 

 but the value of wood ashes as a rule can be safely relied upon as 

 a good expedient. 



I now come to the shade-grown tobacco which has been produced 

 at Hope Gardens, and I am pleased to be able to report that with 

 one or two objections in the leaf the product has every appearance, 

 when perfected, of being a type of tobacco which is hardly likely 

 for the purpose of cigar manufacturing, principally from a wrapper 

 point of view, to be excelled by any other tobacco of the world, 

 and from the estimate prepared by the Hon. W. Fawcett of the 

 cost of such production, a very lucrative industry should, in my 

 opinion, arise in Jamaica. 



But let me clearly say that the tobacco must be produced in a 

 thin, good colour, that is to say, a light, level colour, free from 

 spots and of a strong texture ; and last, but by no means least, a 

 positive knowledge as to fermentation must be applied or the whole 

 proceeding will be a failure, because two fatal conditions will 

 arise, viz. : the flavour or aroma of the tobacco will not be perfect 

 and the tobacco will be tender and on account of its extreme 

 thinness very liable to break and consequently would be useless 

 as a cigar wrapper. And tobacco that is essentially grown for 

 the purpose of wrapper is in nearly every instance the least good 

 for any other part of a cigar, and furthermore to produce a fine 

 cigar wrapper such as I firmly believe can be produced in Jamaica 

 would present a competitive quality only to be found in the very 

 picked of Cuban productions, viz. : it will contain a delicious fla- 

 vour, which should make it very valuable indeed, more especially 

 as it is universally admitted that at the present time there was 

 never so much tobacco and it was never so bad. This remark ap- 

 plies in particular to the whole production of Havana. 



Hitherto as far as my experience goes the tobacco of Jamaica 

 has never been used as a pipe tobacco, but having regard to the 

 great depreciation of American tobacco generally and the general 

 desire of smokers for a mixture or blend of tobaccos of varying 



