TURKS CULTIVATING TOBACCO, 369 
April. In Canara, tobacco is generally grown i ( 
situations. The seed is sown c Auigest and the, coun 
are transplanted in November, the crop arriving at maturity 
in three or four months. North Canara derives its supply 
chiefly from Mysore, the leaf produced in that province bein 
said to be less liable to affect the head than that of the 
Canara plant.” 
The Turk and his family love to cultivate tobacco as well 
as to smoke it; and give it their attention from seed-sowing 
until it is sold to the merchant. The Turk is very particular 
in cultivating it, as on its color depends in a great measure 
its value. He commences work on his plant-bed in March, 
sowing the seed about the same time as the Virginia planters. 
After the leaves are gathered the same scrupulous care is 
taken with them; especially in drying and baling, that the 
leaf may be in just the right condition to ferment properly, 
and be ready to be assorted by the “tobacco pickers.” The 
Turk presses his whole family into the cultivation of the 
plants. The children are engaged in weeding while he 
waters the beds or prepares the tobacco field for the planting 
of the tobacco. In pruning and picking the leaves he 
removes only those that are small—the removal of which will 
still further advance the growth of the plants, and is careful 
to gather only those leaves that are turning yellow, giving 
evidence of their maturity. Says one in regard to the culti- 
vation of tobacco in Turkey : 
“The Turk and his family, it will seem, have now been 
occupied upon their tobacco crop for nearly a whole year. 
The leaf is just becoming a bright light yellow when it falls 
into the hands of the merchant, and it is during this period 
that the process of fermentation or heating generally occurs, 
before which the tobacco can not be shipped. The bales 
having been placed in the merchant’s store, are left end up 
until a fermentation or baking has taken place, the ends being 
reversed every three or four days. In the course of a few 
weeks a bale is reduced to about two-thirds of its original 
size. It is then placed upon its sides to cool. When it is 
discovered to be cold it is broken open by the native tobacco- 
pickers, and every leaf sorted and classified. The patience 
with which this operation is carried out is truly astonishing. 
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