360. ARABIAN TOBACCO. 
the soil, it is hardly probable that Havana tobacco can be 
grown to perfection; it may, however, resemble in some. 
measure the Cuban leaf. The climate has much to do with 
the flavor of tobacco; more than with the size of the plants 
or.the color of the leaf. Cuba in this respect has a decided 
adyantage over Australia; and Havana tobacco will hardly. 
find a rival in Australian leaf, though grown on the finest 
soil, and given the most thorough care. 
. So extensive is the cultivation of the tobacco plant, that 
even the Arab cultivates it in the burning desert. In Algiers 
it is an important product; and through the efforts and 
encouragement of the French government its cultivation is. 
assuming large dimensions. Some portions of Algiers seem 
to be well adapted for tobacco, the finest of which is equal to 
TOBACCO FIELD IN ALGIERS. 
any obtained from America; but a large portion of the prod- 
uct from that province is of poor quality. It is a favorite 
plant with the Arab, and his attention seems to be about. 
equally divided between his tobacco and his camels. The 
plant is light in color and of peculiar flavor, well suited to 
his taste, and in keeping with his idea of quality and excel- 
lence. The crop is usually bountiful, notwithstanding the 
heat of the summer and the absence of moisture in the soil. 
