186 CHAPTER XII 



Types of Tobacco Produced in South Africa.— Tobacco 

 is divided into types according to certain qualities, such as 

 colour, flavour, aroma, body, etc., or on certain characteristics 

 produced through the method of curing. Each type is sub- 

 divided into cla^sses according to the purpose for which the 

 tobacco is to be used, and each class is again sub-divided into 

 several grades. 



The types of tobacco produced in South Africa can be 

 divided roughly into Turkish, cigar and Virginian. The latter 

 is a very elastic term, and applies to the leaf produced in the 

 Union by air-curing and Rhodesian flue-cured tobacco. 

 Turkish tobacco is only used for cigarettes, and is, therefore, 

 classed as a cigarette tobacco only. Cigar tobacco is divided 

 into three classes — viz., wrapper, binder and filler leaf. Vir- 

 ginian tobacco is used for cigarettes, pipe mixtures, chewing 

 and snuif purposes, and is consequently divided into four 

 classes. 



Quality of South African Tobaccos. — Quality as applied 

 to tobacco is a relative term. The quality of tobacco is deter- 

 mined by a combination of properties, such as nicotine content, 

 colour, flavour, aroma, body, texture, combustibiUty, size, etc. 

 These characteristics are largely dependent on the soil and 

 climatic conditions under which the tobacco is produced, the 

 method of handling during growth, and the manner in which 

 the tobacco is cured. 



The quality most desired in tobacco for one purpose may 

 render it practically useless for another. The thin, elastic, 

 light-bodied leaf required for cigar wrappers would be of little 

 value for pipe or chewing purposes. Quality, as applied to 

 tobacco, then, depends to a large extent upon the form in 

 which the manufactured article is to be consumed. 



The taste of the individual consumer also largely deter- 

 mines the quality of the tobacco most suitable for his require- 

 ments. Some smokers prefer tobacco of mild properties, while 

 others prefer strong toliacco, according to their respective 

 tastes. As the use of tobacco is an acquired habit, it folloNvs 

 that the taste of the individual consumer is largely determined 

 by the quality of the tobacco which he is accustomed to using. 

 In this way the trade of various countries has been built up on 

 certain types and grades of leaf, irrespective of their being of 

 the lowest or highest quality of tobacco. 



Since the quality of tobacco largely depends on the environ- 

 ment under which it is grown, and the methods of curing and 



