374 PERSIAN TOBACCO. 
empire, and grows almost as large as most American varieties. 
Chinese tobacco is usually light in color, of a thin, silky text- 
ure, and mixed with Turkey tobacco, isa considerable feature 
in the export trade of that.country. The Chinese cultivate 
the plant like the Japanese, and give it as much care and 
attention as they do the tea plant. The leaves are gathered 
when ripe, and are dried and well-assorted before baling. 
The Chinese planter often raises large fields of the plants, 
and employs many hands to tend and cultivate them. We 
give a cut of a tobacco field and the planter looking at the 
field and noting the progress of the laborers. 
In Persia tobacco is cultivated near Shiraz, which gives 
name to the variety. The soil is very fertile and richly 
cultivated. Not only does the tobacco plant flourish finely, 
but all kinds of vegetables grow to perfection. The Persiang 
cultivate the plant principally for their own use. It is a fine 
smoking tobacco, and when cured properly is said to be equal 
to Latakia. Their mode of curing is unlike that adopted by 
any other cultivators of the weed but is very successful, and 
is no doubt the proper method of preparing the leaves for 
use. Their mode of pressing in large cakes is unlike that of 
Ze ZA 
FS 
TOBACCO FIELD IN PERSIA. 
any other growers—but doubtless adds to the aromatic quality 
of the leaf which makes it so popular in the Hast. _ 
* The tobacco field is trenched so as to retain water, while 
