368 QUALITY OF INDIAN TOBACCO. 



exotic varieties during the squally weather prevalent about 

 the time the leaf is approaching maturity." 



Robertson, in replying to the assertion that the tobacco of 

 India contains little if any nicotine, says : 



" It appears to me that there must be some mistake as to 

 the tobacco containing little or no nicotine. Very many have 

 tried the tobacco, and pronounce it to be good, with, however, 

 the fault of being exceedingly strong. Now, the strength of 

 tobacco comes from its nicotine, and if the specimens I sent 

 contain no nicotine, whence the strength ? I believe that 

 nothing destroys tobacco so much as moistening it. How, 

 then, are acetic acid and chloride of soda to be used in the 

 curing ? If the process of desiccation had been carried on 

 too quickly, the tobacco would have been of either a green or 

 greenish-yellow color. If too slowly, it would have been 

 black, like much of the country tobacco. I perceive that the 

 amount of nicotine in a great measure depends on the extent 

 to which the leaf is allowed to ripen. The riper the leaf the 

 more the nicotine. The amount of nicotine does not appear 

 to depend on the amount of curing. The soil the tobacco 

 was grown in is a hardish red rnoorum soil, containing much 

 iron ; probably that may account for the red coloring matter 

 being so much developed. I intend to have some of each 

 description of the tobacco leaf analyzed, and also intend to 

 submit the soil in which it was grown to the same process. 

 I have had some of the cigars packed up for some months to 

 test how far they are proof against insects. None have been 

 attacked by insects. Some Manilla cigars, some Trichinopoly 

 cheroots, all packed up at the same time, have, however, been 

 entirely destroyed by insects. 



" It is clear from the reports that both in Guzerat and 

 Khandesh, Havana and Shiraz tobacco will flourish, and that 

 they may be introduced without difficulty. The ryots, it is 

 said, preferred the new kinds to their own, and desire their 

 introduction, the foreign varieties commanding a higher 

 price in the market. The chief drawback is the want of 

 knowledge and appliances for the proper curing of the leaf. 

 This, indeed, is the great drawback throughout India. In 

 the district of Kaira the seed is always sown in nursery beds 

 in the month of July, and transplanting commences about 

 the end of August, the operation continuing for about two 

 months. The tobacco planted on the dry soil called ' koor- 

 mit ' ripens and is tit for cutting in January and February ; 

 that which is grown on irrigated land during March and 



