and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society,— Oct., 1910. 



309 



THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 

 TOBACC O EXPE RIMENT. 



At Mahailtjppalama , 



We fear that there is a good deal of misap- 

 prehension about the tobacco experiment which 

 is being conducted under the auspices of the 

 Agricultural Society at Mahailuppalama. The 

 object of this experiment, as is well-known, is 

 to produce a tobacco suitable for the European 

 market, and with this end in view the cultiva- 

 tion of the Sumatra and Java varieties is being 

 carried on under the supervision of an expert 

 who has had considerable experience of growing 

 and curing the product in the countries named. 



Now, to do this with any prospect of success 

 in Ceylon the special circumstances to be con- 

 sidered are the condition of the soil, the treat- 

 ment of the plant, the system of manuring, and 

 last, but not least, the method of curing. 



First, then, as regards the condition of the soil, 

 it is necessary that the land to be cultivated 

 should not have been previously cropped and 

 fertilised according to local methods. If it had 

 been, then the condition of the soil would not 

 allow the experiment, so to speak, to start fair, 

 for the reason that it would not be of a character 

 suitable for the growth of a new variety to be culti- 

 vated under new conditions. It is wellknown 

 that the native tobacco cultivator fertilises his 

 land with heavy doses of organic manure by pen- 

 ning cattle and sheep on the land, with the 

 result that the soil tends to produce a coarse leaf. 



In manuring, the expert would use such ferti- 

 lisers only as are necessary to give the best 

 results from his point of view : namely, a fine, 

 almost silky, leaf that would appeal to the 

 European market. 



In the after-treatment of the plant the de- 

 tails of topping, irrigating, picking, &c, differ 

 materially in the two systems, the old and the 

 new. Lastly, as regards curing, we have on the 

 one hand the crude, haphazard method of the 

 local grower ; and on the other a definite system 

 by which the expert, with the aid of thermo- 

 meter and other appliances, is able to so control 

 the process of fermentation as to produce a 

 mild aromatic leaf to catch the European market. 

 The sum and substance of the whole matter is 

 that the conditions and methods for the pro- 

 duction of a rank pungent tobacco— for chewing 

 or for manufacturing Jaffna cigars-which appeals 

 to the natives of Ceylon and of South India, are 

 totally different from those for securing a mild 

 high-quality leaf to suit European tastes. 



In the present instance, and as a first experi- 

 ment, it would have been a fatal mistake to 

 conduct the trial on Jaffna soil, treated as 

 it has been for generations with a view to 

 growing a crop for local consumption. If this 

 had been done, the results, without doubt would 

 have been indeterminate, while now they will be 

 determinate. The point on which information 

 was wanted is whether tobaccos could be grown 

 in Ceylon for the European market, and we are 

 glad to learn that the cultivation at Mahaillu- 

 palama is likely to prove that this can be done. 

 It is also gratifying to hear that Mr Cowan is of 

 opinion that there is no reason why the same 

 success should not be achieved wherever tobacco 

 is being grown at present. It will, of course, be 



necessary to treat the soils already under cul- 

 tivation, with a view to bringing them into a 

 condition that would suit the new variety of 

 seed and new system of cultivation and curing, 

 which could be done after ascertaining the con- 

 dition of the soil by analysis. What will take 

 longer to do is to train the native cultivator in 

 this new system ; and, at present, with renewed 

 prospects of a good market in India and Ceylon, 

 it is very doubtful that he will change either 

 variety or system. Indeed, the market for native 

 tobacco is a good one ; the demand for chewing 

 leaf and for Jaffna cigars is very satisfactory. 

 Another difficulty with regard to the raising of 

 Java and Sumatra tobacco is that it is necessary 

 to have a large area under cultivation for purposes 

 of curing, and native gardens are notoriously 

 small. If, therefore, anything is to bedone among 

 cultivators of the Jaffna peninsula, it could only 

 be through the agency of a central factory which 

 would buy the green leaf from small growers. 



The attempt to get labourers from Jaffna to 

 work on the tobacco fields at Mahaillupalama 

 has not been very successful : and so far as the 

 expert is concerned, he would probably sooner 

 have a raw cooly than a tobacco grower from 

 the North, in view of the fact that the latter 

 is disposed to teach rather than to learn ! 



All things considered, we are inclined to con- 

 gratulate the Agricultural Society and the Gov- 

 ernment on the results so far attained in this 

 experiment : the first, as regards size and im- 

 portance, carried out under proper supervision 

 in Ceylon or India. We would also congratulate 

 Mr Cowan, the expert through whose skilled 

 knowledge gained in Sumatra, as well as his 

 local experience of labour and other conditions, 

 this success has been achieved. It now only 

 remains to be seen how the tobacco, which is 

 reported to be of good quality from the Euro- 

 pean market point of view, will be received by 

 buyers in the Western Emporia. 



The ultimate results of the experiment, if 

 successful, will be far-reaching, for, consider- 

 ing that there are thousands of acres of irrigable 

 land in the N.-C. P. as suitable for tobacco as 

 the land about Mahaillupalama, it is quite con- 

 ceivable that that Province may be the scene 

 of an extensive tobacco industry. Together 

 with cotton, tobacco is likely to be the means 

 of bringing under the plough vast areas of 

 uncultivated land which are unsuitable for crops 

 that are so successfully cultivated in other 

 parts of the island. 



INDIAN TEA IN SO MALILAND. 



An official report states that owing to the 

 presence of the garrisons at Berbera and up- 

 country, instead of the simple infusion in hot 

 water of acacia bark or donkey-grass, with 

 which they were wont to refresh themselves, 

 this primitive pastoral people has taken to tea] 

 and all along the caravan routes converging on 

 Berbera stalls have been ereoted where ""Indian 

 tea, plentifully flavoured with sugar, and occa- 

 sionally with milk, is always prepared for the 

 thirsty traveller. These afternoon teas, and other 

 recently acquired habits of the Somalis are not 

 regarded with approval by the Acting Commis- 

 sioner, but it may be hoped that trade will benefit 

 by these new tendencies.— E, <fc 0. Mail, Sept, 16 



47 



