MmTIUTY OK UvVK 



NICOTIANA 



CultlVa 



United Province* 



Before the plants begin to flower, their buds and lower leaves should 

 be stripped of!, and they should be pruned HO that only eight or ten leaves 

 are left to cadi plant. To prevent bleeding, finely powdered earth is 



sprinkled over tin- broken parfs immediately after pruning. When the 

 leaves begin to turn yellow with brown spots and have a gummy feeling, 

 they are considered mature and ready to cut. The best time for harvesting 

 is morning, as soon as the dew is of! the plants. It is better to cut whole 

 plants than to gather the leaves singly, and they should be allowed to lie 

 for some time in the sun before they are conveyed to the drying and 

 fermenting house. 



[('/. O'Conor, Tobacco in Ind., Parl. Paper (c. 982), 1874, 171-83; Reptt. 

 Internal Trade, Deng., 1876-7, 85-8, 149; 1879-80, 103-4; 1881-2. 88-9; 

 Sen, Il<pt. Agri. Stat. Dacca, 1889, 44-5 ; Mukerji, Handbook Ind. Agri., 1901, 

 417-28 ; Admin. Kept. Beng., 1901-2, 25-6, 43 ; Mukerji, Cult, of Tobacco in 

 Beng., in Proc. Board Agri,, Pusa, Jan. 1906, 92-6; Coventry, Cult, in Bihar, 

 98-9 ; Roy, Crops of Beng., 1906, 121-35 ; Repts. Dept. Land Ree. and Agri., 

 Beng. ; Exper. Farm Repta., Sibpur.] 



United Provinces. The crop is not an important one, and its culti- 

 vation appears to have been practically stationary for some years. la 

 1905-6 the total area in Agra was 82,904 acres, and in Oudh 14,566 acres. 

 The districts with the largest area are ordinarily Farukhabad, Aligarh, 

 Balandshahr and Meerut. In no district does the area under tobacco ex- 

 ceed 1 per cent, of the cultivation. Moreland (Proc. Board Agri., I.e. 113) 

 gives a concise account of tobacco cultivation. It is grown (1) in heavily 

 manured land close to villages ; (2) on the sites of old towns where the soil 

 and well- water are rich in nitrates ; (3) rarely in virgin soil in forest tracts. 

 The seed is sown in nurseries and the young plants put out at different 

 times of the year, from July to February, and harvested from February 

 to April. According to Duthie and Fuller (Field and Garden Crops, pt. i., 

 69-74, tt. xvi-xvii.) the seasons of sowing may be grouped into two : (1) 

 sown in July and August, planted out in October, cut in February ; (2) 

 sown in November, planted in February, cut in April and May. Tobacco 

 grown in the former season is known as sdwani, that grown in the latter as 

 asdrhi. The rotations are various. Where nitrates abound, the crop 

 may be grown for several years successively on the same land, and where 

 poudrette is available, the commonest rotation is maize, potato, tobacco, 

 all within the year. In preparing the seed-bed the ground is first dug a 

 foot deep and then completely pulverised. Usually from 10 to 30 tons 

 per acre of cow-dung, sheep-dung or poudrette are worked thoroughly 

 into the soil. Crude saltpetre earth may be applied as a top-dressing 

 where the available water is not salt. 



After transplanting, the land is kept loose and free from weeds, and 

 all flower-buds and lateral branches or shoots from leaf-axils removed 

 as soon as formed. The plants are usually hand-watered after trans- 

 planting, and later, water is run on to the fields as required. From fifteen 

 to twenty waterings are usually necessary. When ripe, the leaves are 

 stripped from the plant, or the whole plant is cut down. The crop is dried 

 in the sun and then stacked under cover. After a period which varies in 

 different localities, the crop is carried home for fermentation. 



The cost of cultivating an acre of sdwani tobacco is estimated by Duthie 

 and Fuller at Rs. 46-7a. [C/. Sir E. C. Buck, Note on Tobacco Cult, and 

 Curing, U. Prov., 1787 ; Nevill, Dist. Gaz. U. Prov.] 



Central Provinces and Berar. The area under tobacco in 1905-6 



799 



..... , 



M-tumy. 

 IU 



U. Prov. 



CultiraUoo. 



Hevily 

 Manured. 



Nitrate* 



.-. MM, 



HuUUon. 



Manures. 



i T.IM...;. 



Harrcrt. 



0Mb 



C. Prov. 



