Curing and Fermenting Tobacco 293 



should be maintained at 70 to 80 F. For 

 the wrapper, light brown-coloured leaves and 

 for the fillers deep brown-coloured leaves 

 of good aroma and burning quality are in 

 demand. The Sumatra variety of tobacco is 

 the best for wrapper and the Havana for the 

 filler. Among the country varieties, the Hingli 

 tobacco of Nadia, which has thin leaves of 

 mild flavour, may be suitable for ordinary 

 cigarette tobacco. 



I have quoted these remarks at length 

 because I noticed that some little time back, 

 Mr. Bernard Coventry, Agricultural Adviser 

 to the Government of India, expressed the 

 opinion that the comparatively slow expansion 

 in the production of good tobacco in India was 

 mainly due to two causes, viz., the degeneracy 

 of the Indian plant, and the crude and primitive 

 methods employed in curing the leaves. From 

 what I know of Indian cigars, they are even 

 more liable to be " pricked " by insects (which I 

 take it is the same Lasioderma serricorne about 

 which Mr. Charles Jones writes so ably) 

 than Philippine cheroots or Cuban cigars. In 

 the old days we have sent many a shipment 

 of Trichinopoly cigars to the West Indies, 

 with most unfortunate results, owing to their 

 perforated state when landed or soon after. 

 All this renders it extremely important to keep 

 the insects away from the tobacco as much as 

 possible, and above all when the leaves are 

 being fermented and cured. For these reasons, 



