The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



468 



40 coolies for burying the leaves and 

 arranging and transplanting at 15c 

 each ... ... 6 



4,000 plants, value at Jls 2'50 per 



1,000 ... .... 10 



Watering for 60 days, 2 men at 15c 

 each per day ... ... 18 



Penning sheep among plants for ma- 

 nure, at lc per plant... 40 



Hoeing, 40 coolies at 15c each 6 



Filling, weeding, and making reser- 

 voirs, 60 coolies at 15c each ... 9 



Topping, one man for 16 days, at 10c... 1 60 



Watering, 4,000 plants, i.e., irrigating 

 from wells ... ... 40 



304 



Rent of land ... ... 40 



Coconut husks for smoking 3 times ... 20 

 Cooly lines and other contingent 



expenses ... ... 20 



Total expenditure ... 384 



Suggestions. 

 Red Clay and Sandy Loam Soils, — As to 

 the production of chewing tobacco, which is 

 grown on the clay loams or red soils, it does not 

 seem necessary to offer any_ suggestions at 

 present. The local and the Southern India 

 market (Travancore,) of which the latter seems 

 to be rather uncertain on account of a possi- 

 ble future increase of duty, are more than 

 sufficiently provided for, and no possible other 

 outlet for chewing tobacco is known at present. 



With regard to the cigar and cigarette tobacco 

 production, for the latter of which, in some 

 localities, there seem to be great possibilities 

 (provided well and systematically started), 

 quite new schemes for improvement should be 

 adopted. 



Ho reliable figures are at hand to know pre- 

 cisely the number of acres planted for chewing 

 and cigar tobacco production, but of what 1 

 have seen it may be stated that the chewing to- 

 bacco exceeds largely the cigar tobacco produc- 

 tion, and this should be the reverse. As has been 

 seen for the chewing tobacco there does not 

 seem to be a future ; on the contrary, there is a 

 great danger that before long the only export 

 market, South India, will cease to exist. The 

 aim should therefore be to abandon a large part 

 of those fields where tobacco is grown at present 

 and to btart tobacco culture on fields in localities 

 where there are possibilities for cigar and 

 cigarette tobacco. 



Considering certain characteristic natural 

 qualities observed in tobacco leaf samples sub- 

 mitted to me from different localities, I am of 

 opinion that a marketable class of cigar and 



cigarette tobacco leaf for European consumption 

 could be produced in Ceylon. This will un- 

 doubtedly bring prosperity in such parts of the 

 Colony where practically no results with other 

 crops can be obtained. In the rather poor soils 

 with little rainfall, for instance, Turkish and 

 Virginian tobacco types for cigarette purposes 

 should be carefully tested, 



In the richer soils (sandy loams), with more 

 regular rainfall, tests should be carried out 

 with both cigar filler and binder, and wrapper 

 tobaccos. With regard to cigar tobacco, modern 

 Cuban and Porto Rican style of production 

 should be aimed at. 



Rainfall, Irrigation, and Time of Plant- 

 ing. — The question of water reservoirs or tanks 

 is a very important one, and should be left to 

 the Irrigation Engineers. According to the 

 rainfall figures of certain tobacco districts given 

 herewith, it is, however, thought that in some 

 localities good tobacco crops without irrigation, 

 or at least with very little, could be produced. 

 In that case, the time of planting should be 

 rightly chosen and the land properly prepared, 

 manured, and cultivated for the purpose. 



The use of adequate implements will there- 

 fore be an absolute necessity. The advantages 

 of not needing or greatly decreasing irrigation 

 are the following : — 



(1) Reduction in cost of production with re- 

 gard to labour, the cost of sweeps, wells, &c. 



(2) The improvement of the quality of to- 

 bacco leaf. 



(3) Fewer chances of development of disease. 



Conclusion. 

 Itcao safely be said that on the whole in 

 Ceylon, with its favourable climate and soils, 

 its cheap and rather good labour, the existence 

 of suitable wood (inmost cases) for building 

 necessary curing barns, &c, on the spot, there 

 will be a good future for a flourishing tobacco 

 industry, if properly started. 



The tobacco work in Ceylon, therefore, 

 should at once be reorganised in such a way 

 that immediate steps should be taken for the 

 following : — 



(1) To gradually decrease the present chew- 

 ing tobacco production and substitute for it a 

 product which is marketable and payable. 



(2) To create a new tobacco production in such 

 localities best adapted for it, 



(3) To improve the methods in the existing 

 producing captres in sugh a way that the yield 



