TOBACCO. 



185 



the heavy type tobacco to the light cigarette tobacco leaf. A 

 fairly large percentage of the crop was put up by farmers into 

 roll tobacco, the rolls being converted into pipe or snuff tobacco 

 by the consumer. There is still a considerable quantity of roll 

 tobacco produced both by the farmers and by factories. During 

 more recent years factories for the manufacture of cut pipe 

 tobacco and cigarettes have been established throughout the 

 Union, and an increasing demand for tobacco of light or 

 medium colour and fine or medium texture has arisen. During 

 this period the manufacture of cigars has made some progress, 

 and several small factories are in operation. This factor has 

 encouraged the production of a type of leaf suitable to the 

 manufacture of cigars. Moreover, cigarettes made from locally 

 grown Turkish tobacco have become very popular, and the 

 production of colonial Turkish leaf has become fairly estab- 

 lished. Prior to the European war, a considerable quantity 

 of tobacco was imported, comprising Sumatra for cigar 

 wrapper, and Turkish and Virginian for cigarettes.'" 



Production. — According to the United States Govern- 

 ment statisticians, the estimated average annual production of 

 tobacco for the period immediately preceding the war was 

 4,197,000,000 pounds. The largest tobacco-growing countries 

 were as follow : — 



Pounds. 



United States 1,000,000,000 



British India 



China 



European Russia ... 



Dutch East Indies 



Austria-Hungary . . . 



Japan 



Philippines 



Brazil 



1,000,000,000 

 500,000,000 

 230,000,000 

 200,000,000 

 170,000,000 

 120,000,000 

 100,000,000 

 100,000,000 



3,420,000,000 



The total of these nine countries amounts to 81 per cent, 

 of the world's production. 



The total amount of commercial tobacco produced in 

 Africa is probably not above 70,000,000 lbs. at present. In 

 1917 the production was as follows : — 



Pounds. 



Algeria 36,155,000 



Union of South Africa 6,999,825 



Nyassaland 4,304,124 



Rhodesia ••. 620,171 



