“Curing and Fermenting Tobacco 293 
should be maintained at 70° to 80° F. For 
the wrapper, light brown-coloured leaves and 
for the fillers deep brown-coloured leaves 
of good aroma and burning quality are in 
demand. The Sumatra variety of tobacco is 
the best for wrapper and the Havana for the 
filler. Among the country varieties, the Hingli 
tobacco of Nadia, which has thin leaves of 
mild flavour, may be suitable for ordinary « 
cigarette tobacco. . 
I have quoted these remarks at length 
because I noticed that some little time back, 
Mr. Bernard Coventry, Agricultural Adviser 
to the Government of India, expressed the 
opinion that the comparatively slow expansion 
in the production of good tobacco in India was 
mainly due to two causes, viz., the degeneracy 
of the Indian plant, and the crude and primitive 
methods employed in curing the leaves. From 
what I know of Indian cigars, they are even 
more liable to be “ pricked ” by insects (which I 
take it is the same Laszoderma serricorne about 
which Mr. Charles Jones writes so ably) 
‘than Philippine cheroots or Cuban cigars. In 
_the old days we have sent many a shipment 
of Trichinopoly cigars to the West Indies, 
with most unfortunate results, owing to their 
perforated state when landed or soon after. 
All this renders it extremely important to keep 
the insects away from the tobacco as much as 
possible, and above all when the leaves are 
being fermented andcured. For these reasons, 
