230 



The World's Commercial Products 



cultivation. In 1822 the .restrictions in -the case .oi Ireland were removed, and at the present 

 day tobacco , cultivation is allowed in the sister' isle. In,1886 experiments were conducted in 

 England under. .certain restrictions, and several agriculturists, in Norfolk, Kent, and, other 

 counties. grew the plant with such success as to definitely establish the. possibility of growing 

 tobacco in -England. as a commercial crop. : Permission to continue the experiment, however, 

 was withdrawn, and a letter published to the Times of October 8th, 1906, from the Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries, shows that there is practically no chance of the cultivation being 

 again permitted. 



TOBACCO FACTORIES 



The enormous strides which have characterised the preparation and the manufacture of 

 the various commercial products during the 'past quarter of a century have been as marked 

 in the tobacco industry as in arty other. As is well known, the cacao or cocoa trade is most 

 closely associated with names which have, a world-wide renown, and the same thing is becoming 

 triie'of /the tobacco trade. •''. 



It is impossible to enter into full details' as to the different firms which have become identified 

 with the trade,, or to give "any complete account of the methods of manufacture adopted by 

 them. > There are, however, two illustrations inserted in the text which show two of the rooms 

 of- the great factory :of "Messrs. Gallaher, Limited, at their headquartefs in Belfast. This factory 

 is one of the largest in the world -devoted to the tobacco industry. It consists of five storeys, 

 and.; is . over. 80 feet in height. The floor space -alone covers something like 12 -acres: The 

 work is carried out on the most approved and up-to-date principles, and a visitor cannot 

 fail to be struck: by the intricate and ingenious devices in all the departments which illustrate 

 the various stages of preparation and manufacture. The bonded' warehouse which is owrted 

 by Messrs. Gallaher is a mammoth building,, six storeys high, divided into 30 vast apartments, 

 and capable' of storing 20,000 hogsheads of tobacco leaf. The export factory, which adjoins 

 the main factory in -Belfast,'- is perfectly equipped, and- the machinery is capable of producing 

 every- class of tobacco which can be demanded by the trade in any quarter of the world: 



It is interesting to note that the whole of this vast business has been built up by one indi- 

 vidual, Mr. Thomas Gallaher, and his enterprise and energy have earned for him the title of 

 the " Tobacco King." 



THE GRAPE-VINE 



The history of the grape may be traced back to very ancient times, to ages, indeed, of which 

 we have no written record. Seeds of the plant have been found in the Lake-dwellings of 



Castione, near Parma, which 

 date from the Bronze Age, in 

 the pre-historic settlement of 

 Lake Varese, and in the Lake- 

 dwellings of Wangen, in Swit- 

 zerland. Of the cultivation of 

 the vine at these remote periods 

 we have no certain knowledge, 

 but it is probable that in Egypt 

 the grape was cultivated and 

 wine made nearly six thousand 

 years ago. The Bible affords 

 evidence of the early use 

 of wine among the Semitic 

 peoples, and its use among 

 the Phoenicians, Greeks, and 

 an Australian vixeyard ■ Romans is well known. 



