354 TOBACCO IN HOLLAND. 



and even to America for the use of cigar manufacture. The 

 prices of the best kinds of Baden tobacco are consequently 

 also, on an average, much higher than those realized by other 

 German growers. In the Grand Duchy of Hesse the plant 

 is cultivated, the chief district being that around the town of 

 Darmstadt ; in the Thuringian States, tobacco is grown ; the 

 most prominent among them as regards its production is the 

 Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. In Mecklenburg also some 

 tobacco is raised, the most important district being that of 

 Neu Brandenburg (in Mecklenburg-Strelitz). In Brunswick 

 only a small extent of land is used for tobacco growing, 

 the same being situated near the town of Helmstadt. In 

 Alsace and Lorraine, the recently acquired provinces of 

 Germany, the cultivation of tobacco has been extensively 

 carried on for many years, more especially in the country 

 around Strasburg, Mulhausen, Schirmeck, and Munster, and 

 to a small extent near Metz and Thionville." 



It is apparent from this account that the German tobacco 

 fields produce a vast quantity of tobacco, some of which is 

 of excellent texture and flavor, and well adapted to the taste 

 of European smokers of the plant. 



Ever since the introduction of tobacco into Holland, its 

 cultivation and its use has been looked upon with favor by 

 the " true-born Nederlander," who associates the plant with 

 every social enjoyment. The Dutch, on the discovery of 

 tobacco, were among the first to use it and encourage its 

 cultivation. In the history of the Dutch colonies in the 

 Indies it plays an important part. Tobacco began to be 

 cultivated in Holland about Amersfoot in 1615, and from 

 that time until now, its culture has increased until it has 

 become one of the greatest of agricultural products of the 

 country. The plant is grown in the Yeluive (the valley of 

 Guelderland), where the soil is particularly adapted for the 

 rich snuff-leaf which is manufactured from Amersfoot tobacco. 

 The Dutch, like the Germans, are excellent cultivators of 

 tobacco, selecting the richest and the strongest land, and work- 

 ing the fields of as fine a tilth as possible. The plants do not 

 grow as rapidly as in America, as they are transplanted into 

 the fields in May, and are not harvested until the latter part 

 of September or beginning of October. The plants attain 



