354 TOBACCO IN HOLLAND. 
and even to America for the use of cigar manufacture. The 
prices of the best kinds of Baden tobacco are consequently 
also, on an average, much higher than those realized by other 
-German growers. In the Grand Duchy of Hesse the plant 
is cultivated, the chief district being that around the town of 
‘Darmstadt ; in the Thuringian States, tobacco is grown; the 
most prominent among them as regards its production is the 
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. In *Meaklen burs also some 
tobacco is raised, the most important district being that of 
Neu Brandenburg (in Mecklenburg-Strelitz). In Brunswick 
only a small extent of land is used for tobacco growing, 
the same being situated near the town of Helmstadt. ia 
Alsace and Lorraine, the recently acquired provinces of 
Germany, the cultivation of tobacco has been extensively 
carried on for many years, more especially in the country 
around Strasburg, Mulhausen, Schirmeck, and Munster, and 
to a small extent near Metz and Thionville.” 
It is apparent from this account that the German tobacco 
fields produce a vast quantity of tobacco, some of which is 
of excellent texture and flavor, and well adapted to the taste 
of European smokers of the plant. 
Ever since the introduction of tobacco into Holland, its 
cultivation and its use has been looked upon with favor by 
the “true-born Nederlander,” who associates the plant with 
every social enjoyment. The Dutch, on the discovery of 
tobacco, were among the first to use it and encourage its 
cultivation. In the history of the Dutch colonies in the 
Indies it plays an important part. Tobacco began to be 
cultivated ‘in Holland about Amersfoot in 1615, and from 
that time until now, its culture has increased until it has 
become one of the greatest of agricultural products of the 
country. The plant is grown in the Veluive (the valley of 
Guelderland), where the soil is particularly adapted for the 
rich snuff-leaf which is manufactured from Amersfoot tobacco. 
The Dutch, like the Germans, are excellent cultivators of 
tobacco, selecting the richest and the strongest land, and work- 
ing the fields of as fine a tilth as possible. The plants do not 
grow as rapidly as in America, as they are transplanted into 
the fields in May, and are not harvested until the latter part 
of September or beginning of October. The plants attain 
