A SHORT SURVEY OF THE TOBACCO CULTIVATION 

 IN BESOCKI, JAVA. 



By Dr. A. J. ULTEE. 

 Director, Besocki Testing Station. 



AMONGST the various residencies of Java, where the 

 cultivation of tobacco is carried on, Besocki occupies an 

 important place. The crop of 1912-13, the latest year 

 for which complete statistical details are available, 

 amounted to no less than 41 million half kilograms, and 

 was sold for more than 13^ million guilders; the corre- 

 sponding figures for the whole of Java in that year were 

 rather more than 121 and 30 million respectively. 



In spite of the great importance of the industry it was 

 not until 1912 that the Besocki planters followed the 

 example of their colleagues of Deli and the Vorsten- 

 landen and decided to obtain scientific guidance by 

 establishing a local testing station. Want of harmony 

 between the various estates was chiefly responsible for 

 this delay, whilst some of the principal planters, more- 

 over, could not agree with the manner in which, at that 

 time, the Department of Agriculture co-operated with 

 the existing testing stations. 



It follows, therefore, that nearly the whole of the 

 scientific work done in the Besocki residency on behalf 

 of the tobacco industry is of very recent date, and only 

 forms part of the working programme drawn up in the 

 beginning of 1912 in conjunction with the Director of 

 Agriculture. 



Two varieties of tobacco are chiefly cultivated in 

 Besocki; in the plains (up to about 600 ft.), the Deli 

 variety is grown, the seed of which was originally im- 

 ported, from the East Coast of Sumatra; whilst in the 

 higher regions (up to about 1,500 ft.) the Kedal variety 

 is cultivated. The origin of the latter can no longer be 



