270 TRINIDAD. 



trict of Siparia, was judged at the Exhibition as inferior only to 

 the Havanna, and yet its cultivation is limited to a few acres of 

 land, and the quantity thus raised is consumed on the spot where 

 it is grown, whilst a sufficiency might be easily raised for the entire 

 island consumption. The annual quantity of tobacco imported is 

 318,300 pounds, equal to 10,000 sterling. The tobacco-plant 

 requires a light, dry, and rich soil ; it is sown in September, and 

 the young plants transplanted when about six or seven weeks old : 

 they are generally planted two by four feet apart. When five 

 feet high, the upper bud is cut off, as also the young shoots which 

 spring from the axilla of the leaves : from seventeen to twenty of 

 the latter are preserved, and, as they gradually arrive at maturity, 

 are picked off, successively, to undergo the process of curing. 

 This process, although most essential to the good quality of the 

 article, is very carelessly performed here. The soil and climate 

 of Venezuela being very similar to that of Trinidad, it will not be 

 amiss to furnish such information on the culture of this plant 

 there, as may prove acceptable to tobacco growers in this island. 

 The seeds are sown in very rich and deep soil, and after forty or 

 fifty days the plants are taken up and transplanted at about two feet 

 apart, and in rows of nearly four feet interval ; from ten to fifteen 

 leaves only are left on each plant, in order to obtain tobacco of a 

 superior quality. When a space of dark blue shows itself near the 

 pedicle, the leaves are sufficiently mature to be plucked, and are 

 carried under sheds, where they are spread out in layers, on 

 hurdles ready for the purpose. The tobacco now becomes yellow, 

 and quite soft ; the stems of the leaves are then removed, the 

 leaves themselves twisted together, and put up in bundles of 

 seventy-five or one hundred pounds. These bundles are next placed 

 on a larger heap, made of damaged tobacco leaves, and the stems 

 stripped off; the whole heap is then covered over and allowed to 

 ferment for forty-eight hours, the leaves being sprinkled with 

 water, should the tobacco become too dry. After the twists 

 have undergone sufficient fermentation, they are unfolded, and the 

 leaves hung up under the shed in order to promote the evapora- 

 tion of any superfluous humidity. If the tobacco is found to pos- 

 sess the requisite qualities, it is then made into manojos, or small 

 packages of five pounds each. In case the fermentation has 

 not been sufficient, it is caused to undergo a second process of 

 the kind. Although proper attention to the cultivation and 



