NOTES OX INVESTIGATIONS ON SOME SOUTH 

 AFRICAN TOBACCOS. 



By Marshall Lundie. 



Tobacco has been cultivated in South Africa since the 

 beginning of the eighteenth century. It has never been pro- 

 duced in such quantities that it, could be exported, but it was 

 just sufficient for the demands in the Cape Colony, where it 

 always obtained good prices. The cultivation of tobacco re- 

 cently became so important in the Colony that in 1886 the Govern- 

 ment appointed an expert, Mr. R. Schenck, to investigate and 

 report on the condition of this branch of agriculture in the 

 Colony. His reports on the subject appeared as Blue Books, 

 and contained also the results of a large number of analyses 

 made by Dr. C. F. Juritz, of soil and tobaccos taken from the 

 principal tobacco-growing districts, t'?.c., Piquetberg, Strandveld 

 ( Caledon district), Heidelberg, Riversdale, George and Oudts- 

 hoorn. From these reports it appears that the cultivation of 

 tobacco was carried on in a very primitive manner, the principal 

 idea of the tobacco grower being that the land intended for the 

 tobacco must receive a superabundance of powerful manure, 

 chiefly sheep manure. It is, therefore, not surprising to find that 

 the amount of Nicotin in the tobacco grown imder these condi- 

 tions was excessive, and that also the percentage of ash was very 

 high. 



The tobacco-plant requires a large quantity of lime and 

 potash in order that the leaves burn well. The chlorides in- 

 crease the quantity of the production, but reduce the quality and 

 interfere with the combustibility. The analyses of different 

 kinds of South African tobacco prove that there are insufficient 

 quantities of lime and potash and too large quantities of chlorine 

 compounds. 



In many cases the tobacco does not burn properly, yielding 

 a black ash resembling charred leaves rather than pure white 

 ashes. This is due, of course, to the excess of chlorides con- 

 tained in the tobacco, which are derived again from the excessive 

 manuring with sheep's dung. 



In the Colony sheep's dung" must be used for manuring, 

 and the evil effects it has on the tobacco must be checked by 

 some method. Green manuring is an excellent way cf raising 

 the quality of the tobacco. This consists in planting on the 

 tobacco fields certain crops, chiefly legumes, which are ploughed 

 in shortly before transplanting the young tobacco plants. The 

 advantage of this green manuring consists in removing from 

 the soil such compounds as are injurious to the quality of the 

 tobacco. The substance of this crop itself undergoes decomposi- 

 tion in the soil, and forms a most suitable food for the plant. 

 The physical condition of the soil is much improved, and 

 moisture is retained in the soil for a longer time. 



