TOBACCO CULTURE. ^(^^ 



What are tlie facts ? The annual consumption of tobacco in Now 

 South Wales is about 8,000,000 llj., of which about one-tliinl is 

 imported in a manufactured state and about 000,000 lb. in the leaf. 

 The remainder, say, 1,400,000 lb., is therefore of our own growth; 

 that is to say, that about lo per cent, of the tobacco which )):iys duty 

 is colonially grown. This does not include the very cunsi«lcniblc (luau- 

 tity which escapes payment of duty. In tobacconists' shops in 

 Sydney and Newcastle, and in some other towns, tobacco-loaf is 

 openly sold at from 8d. to Is. per 11). Consumers purchase this free 

 of duty, and make it up for their own use and that of their friends. 

 The quantity thus disposed of must be very considerable. Kvc-ry 

 grower of tobacco-leaf makes up some for his own use and to give to 

 his friends; this also pays no duty, and does not appear on the 

 statistics. We may therefore fairly assume that the average annual 

 consumption of tobacco of native growth in this Colony is about 

 2,000,000 lb., or 17,800 hundredweights. (I turn this into hundred- 

 weights because Mr. Coghlan's statistics are in hundredweights.) This 

 (juantity does not vary much from year to year, and is not increasing. 



Now let us take the production from Mr. Coghlan's '' Statistical 

 Register" : — 



The crop of 1SS4 was 20,00G cwt. 

 1885 „ 9,914 cwt. 

 188(3 ,. 22,947 cwt. 

 1887 „ 13,642 cwt. 



66,509 -f 4 = lG,627i. 



Add them together and divide by four to find the mean, which is 

 16,627 cwt., or about 1,200 cwt. less than the average consumption ; 

 stocks became exhausted, and the price rose to 8^d, and upwards, with 

 the result that the production for the three succeeding years was — 



1888—23,469 cwt. 

 1889—55,478 cwt. 

 1890—27,724 cwt. 



100,671 -^ 3 = 35, .^57 cwt., 



or almost exactly double the quantity required to supply the average 

 consumption ; consequently prices went down, needy growers were 

 compelled to sell at any price they could get, and the planting was 

 reduced to very small proportions, accordingly the production fur the 

 three following years was — - 



1891-14,021 cwt. 



1892— 9,:-!l4 f^wt. 



1893— 8,344 cwt. 



31,679 -f 3 = 10,559 cwt. average, 



or about 7,241 cwt. per annum less than is required for the annual 

 consumption. Stocks are now again becoming exhausted, and a tiiue 

 of higher prices may confidently be looked for. 



So it is clear that the industry is not ruined, but is only suifering 

 from over-production for a limited market, consequent on the exceed- 

 ing profitableness of the crop. 



