212 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



Extensively 

 cultivated 

 throughout 

 the West 

 Indies when 

 they were 

 first colo- 

 nised. 



The cultiva- 

 tion a very 

 profitable 



Potash, lime 

 and humus 

 required in 

 the soil. 



The soil of 



Cuba. 



A rich soil 

 required. 



Heat and 

 humidity 

 essential to 

 produce the 

 best tobacco. 



nearly all of them ; but now, unfortunately, its culture is 

 almost wholly confined to the Spanish Islands. It is to be 

 hoped that the industry, which is a very profitable one, will 

 be revived in the English islands and thus help to increase 

 their wealth and prosperity. Sir William Robinson has 

 striven, with some degree of success, to re-introduce the 

 tobacco industry into the British West Indies. Whilst Gover- 

 nor of Trinidad he wrote a pamphlet on the subject in which 

 he points out that Cuba cannot produce enough tobacco 

 for the great cigar trade of that country, and says " Colonial 

 " Legislatures, Planters, as well as Governors have been 

 "very much to blame in allowing Hayti, San Domingo, and 

 " Germany, to forestall the West Indies in that profitable 

 " trade, which properly should have been theirs, of supply- 

 " ing Cuba with thousands of tons of tobacco annually for 

 "filling purposes." 



Soil.— The best soil for the cultivation of tobacco is a 

 light sandy loam, rich in potash, lime and vegetable matter, 

 for an analysis of the plant shows that lime, potash, and 

 nitrogenous compounds exist in it in large proportions. The 

 celebrated Vuelta-abajo district of Cuba, which produces the 

 finest tobacco in the world, possesses a soil of this descrip- 

 tion. Alluvial lands, when light and well drained, are suit- 

 able to the cultivation, but the plant will not thrive on clays 

 and calcareous soils. As tobacco requires a very rich soil, 

 newly opened forest land should be chosen where possible ; 

 and, if ground that has been long tilled be planted in tobacco, 

 heavy manuring with farm-yard compost is a necessity if 

 good crops be wished for. 



Climate.— As the tobacco plant is a native of the tropics 

 of America, the climate of most of the West Indian islands 

 is suited for its cultivation. A certain amount of humidity 

 is necessary, and the heat of the lowlands is also essential. 

 The plant, however, is a hardy one, and it grows well in 

 northern latitudes in the summer time. In fact a large 



