Great Exhibition of 1851. 149 



peculiarities, but it" does not follow that wheat is not subject to 

 constitutional peculiarities like other plants. There are some kinds 

 of wheat which, do what you may with them, will retain a certain 

 quality, varying but slightly with the circumstances under which 

 they are produced, as, for example, is proved by some samples here, 

 especially of Revitt wheat, of a very fine description, exhibited in the 

 building by Mr Payne, and which is greatly superior to the ordi- 

 nary kinds of Revitt that appear at market.* This clearly shews 

 that Revitt wheat of a certain kind and quality is better than 

 Revitt wheat of a different kind, both being produced in this coun- 

 try ; so that, circumstances being equal, we have a different result, 

 owing to some constitutional peculiarity of race. To other ex- 

 amples of the kind I cannot at present refer, because time will not 

 permit me to dwell upon such points. 



2. Tobacco. — It is not to be disputed that the finest tobacco in 

 the world comes, as is generally supposed, from the Havannah ; 

 this was demonstrated by the admirably manufactured samples 

 exhibited by the house of Cabanas and Carbazal. But there is 

 only a limited area in Cuba in which that tobacco is produced ; so 

 that whilst the Havannah tobacco may be of excellent quality in 

 general, yet it is only that which comes from a certain part which 

 is much better than any other. Don Ramon de la Sagra, who 

 resided many years in Cuba, and published an important work on 

 that island, has stated that this is undoubtedly the fact, — that the 

 best Havannah tobacco is the produce of a very small area. The 

 consequence is, that this little area is the only place known where 

 the finest kind of tobacco can be produced, and we cannot look 

 even to Havannah for it with great confidence, inasmuch as it is 

 chiefly used in the island, or as presents, and a limited amount 

 going into general consumption. Yet we found that the tobacco 

 from Trinidad did not appear to be in any way inferior to that 

 from Havannah. Whether or not there exist generally in the 

 island of Trinidad conditions of soil, and other conditions favour- 

 able for eliciting the admirable qualities which the best description 

 of Havannah tobacco has, I cannot say ; but, for my own part, I 

 entertain no doubt whatever that, in that part of Trinidad from 

 whence the tobacco came which was exhibited in the building, a kind 

 of leaf quite equal to the best Havannah tobacco might be grown. 

 Soil, no doubt, and a variety of circumstances of that kind, have 

 much to do with the quality of tobacco ; otherwise we cannot 

 account for the varying qualities of the samples produced from 

 vnrious countries. This is strikingly shewn by a remarkable cir- 

 cumstance : some of the best tobacco sent to the Exhibition came 

 from the southern Russian provinces. It was fully equal to the 

 best American tobacco, grown in America under favourable cir- 

 cumstances ; it was tobacco of the highest class. Yet nobody 



