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CHAPTER II. 



CULTIVATION. 



The following observations on the methods of cultivating 

 tobacco have reference more particularly to the processes 

 as conducted in Cuba, India, and the United States ; this 

 branch of agriculture has been brought to great per- 

 fection in the last-named country, and the supervision 

 of the operations in India is mostly entrusted to skilled 

 Americans. 



Climate. — Of the many conditions affecting the quality 

 of tobacco, the most important is climate. The other con- 

 ditions that must be fulfilled in order to succeed in the 

 cultivation of this crop may be modified, or even some- 

 times created, to suit the purpose ; but cultivators can 

 do little with reference to climate : the utmost they can 

 do is to change the cultivating season, and this only in 

 places where tobacco can be grown nearly throughout 

 the year. The aromatic principles, on the presence of 

 which the value of a tobacco chiefly depends, can only 

 be properly developed in the plant by the agency of high 

 temperature and moisture. The fame that Cuban and 

 Manilla tobaccos enjoy is mostly due to the climate. 

 The article produced in Cuba is most highly esteemed ; 

 up to this time, no other country has been able to com- 

 pete successfully with it. However it cannot be doubted 

 that there are many places whose climate justifies the 

 assumption that a tobacco could be grown there, not 



