360 



ARABIAN TOBACCO. 



the soil, it is hardly probable that Havana tobacco can be 

 grown to perfection ; it may, however, resemble in some 

 measure the Cuban leaf. The climate has much to do with 

 the flavor of tobacco ; more than with the size of the plants 

 or the color of the leaf. Cuba in this respect has a decided 

 advantage over Australia ; and Havana tobacco will hardly 

 find a rival in Australian leaf, though grown on the finest 

 soil, and given the most thorough care. 



So extensive is the cultivation of the tobacco plant, that 

 even the Arab cultivates it in the burning desert. In Algiers 

 it is an important product; and through the efforts and 

 encouragement of the French government its cultivation is 

 assuming large dimensions. Some portions of Algiers seem 

 to be well adapted for tobacco, the finest of which is equal to 



TOBACCO FIELD IN ALGIERS. 



any obtained from America ; but a large portion of the prod- 

 uct from that province is of poor quality. It is a favorite 

 plant with the Arab, and his attention seems to be about 

 equally divided between his tobacco and his camels. The 

 plant is light in color and of peculiar flavor, well suited to 

 his taste, and in keeping with his idea of quality and excel- 

 lence. The crop is usually bountiful, notwithstanding the 

 heat of the summer and the absence of moisture in the soil. 



