fidible Products. 



444 



[November, 1908. 



either side and again dried on, it makes 

 a durable waterproof cover that may 

 be used for a number of years if han- 

 dled with ordinary care. Each year a 

 new coat of oil will completely restore 

 them. A very little turpentine added 

 to the oil will increase the rapidity 

 of drying. The pieces should be cut 

 two feet longer than the length of the 

 beds, so that they may hang down at 

 either end. Each long edge should be 

 tightly nailed between two strips which 

 hold them securely to prevent tearing, 

 on which they can be rolled, aud which 

 stretch them tightly when they are 

 unrolled. These cover strips should be 

 as long as the bed, the one on the back 

 or higher side of the bed can be attached 

 to the framework by cords, aud the 

 front strips should also be provided 

 with stout cords, so that they may be 

 quickly lashed tight in the case of 

 cyclonic storms or high winds. Duriug 

 early mornings and late in the after- 

 noon, two boys can very rapidly roll 

 these covers to the top and fasten 

 them, or loosen them and roll them 

 down during midday or in storms. 

 As soon as the posturas are large euough 

 and ready to harden off for planting, 

 the beds should be left open longer 

 each day until the covers may be 

 removed, rolled up and stored in a 

 dry place across rafters until the 

 next year. 



(To be concluded.) 



THE CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO 

 IN BENGAL. 

 By C. Somers Taylor. b,a. 



Tobacco may be considered to be the 

 exchange offered by America to India 

 for the sugarcane which the latter sup- 

 plied to the New World, and its history 

 of only two aud a-half centuries makes 

 it as a thing of to-day in this laud of 

 hoary antiquity and aucient traditions- 



Recent as its introduction may be, 

 however, it has spread with such 

 rapidity that there are few parts of 

 India where its cultivation is not 

 attempted, and its use as a luxury is un- 

 derstood in every village from Quetta 

 to Tuticorin. 



It remains however to be seen whether 

 the cultivator understands cultivation 

 so as to reap the greatest profit from his 

 crop. 



That he understands how to produce 

 a large and heavy crop is well known. 

 No one would deny that his methods 

 of producing the heaviest possible return 

 are ingenious after seeing the amount 



of earth that is mixed with the average 

 sample of tobacco leaves one sees in the 

 market. He fails to recognise that qual- 

 ity and not only quantity is one of 

 the main requisites of the tobacco crop. 

 Let us consider, first the uses to which 

 tobacco may be put. Its primary use 

 is of course as a narcotic, and for this 

 purpose it is hardly necessary to say 

 that different types are required by 

 different markets. 



The majority of Bengal tobacco has 

 been up till quite recently used only 

 for preparation of native tobacco for 

 smoking in hookahs- Exceptions to this 

 are the tobaccos from the Purneah and 

 Rangpur districts which are eagerly 

 bought by the Bnrmah cheroot manu- 

 facturers. 



The type of tobacco needed for the 

 preparation of tobacco in Lucknow 

 and the other towns which are noted 

 for the hookah preparation are of a 

 heavy type with a fairly large nicotine 

 content. The aroma and fineness of 

 the leaves is not of so much conse- 

 quence in this trade, and consequently 

 the raiyat exerts himself not to produce 

 a fine leaf with good aroma but a 

 heavy leaf with plenty of stalk so as 

 to give weight on sale ; aud by careful 

 pruning he succeeds in getting a ludi- 

 crously large stalk which is useless for 

 anything but the native market and 

 lowers the value of the tobacco im- 

 mensely. 



The type of tobacco required for the 

 European market has now to be con- 

 sidered. 



The taste f or tobaccu of the European 

 type is steadily increasing in Bengal. 

 There is no railway station without its 

 vendor of cigarettes which appear to be 

 gradually forcing themselves upon the 

 people. Attempts have been made 

 before now to put Bengal tobacco 

 upon the European market. 



The most notable experiment in past 

 years was that at Pusa in 1874 by Dr. 

 Edward Biown. Local tobacco was 

 bought from forty-six bighas of land 

 and from six to seven hundred maunds 

 were cured by Manilla process. It is 

 said that some of the tobacco turned 

 out very well from the point of view 

 of cigar tobacco. A subsequent at- 

 tempt, however, to place tobacco on 

 the London market was a failure. 

 The leaves were said to be in some cases 

 too dry, and in others too deficient in 

 flavour for European taste. The differ- 

 ence between the native and European 

 tastes lies entirely in the fact that, 

 while the Indian requires strength, 

 the criterion of excellence in the case 



