SWT. 1906.] 



243 



Edible Products. 



TOBACCO SOILS. 



The foregoing remarks apply to the great proportion of the tobacco now 

 being produced, but I think if more attention were given to the soils upon which 

 this tobacco is grown, so that it was made of lighter nature, a finer and a lighter 

 tobacco from every point of view might be produced. It must always be remembered 

 that tobacco cannot be produced or determined by a chemical analysis. The quality 

 of some vegetable productions is largely decided by a determination of its starch, 

 such as the potato or maize, and other percentages, but the quality of tobacco 

 appears to be determined only by the senses of man ; colour, texture, aroma, and 

 combustibility are the points by which the quality of tobacco is estimated. Organic 

 and inorganic salts seem to have considerable effect on these qualities. The 

 organic compounds seem to bear a closer relation to the aroma of the tobacco, while 

 on the inorganic salts depends largely the combustibility. A large proportion 

 of potash in the tobacco improves the burning, and when potash is present in the 

 form of a carbonate, the best results are obtained. The growers of bright tobacco 

 find that the tobacco grown on land immediately after the ploughing under a 

 leguminous crop is deficient in texture and colour. The bright tobacco planters 

 frequently allow their land to grow up to grass and weeds for a year, and plough 

 this under that they may have the land in the best condition for a fine crop ; but this 

 is a system applied to the production of American tobacco, namely, Virginia, which 

 is of a strong nature and might not apply for the production of a fine cigar leaf, but 

 the value of wood-ashes as a rule can be safely relied upon as a good expedient. 



SHADE-GROWN TOBACCO. 



I now come to the shade-grown tobacco which has been produced at Hope 

 Gardens, and I am pleased to be able to report that, with one or two objections in 

 the leaf, the product has every appearance when perfected of being a type of tobacco 

 which is hardly likely for the purpose of cigar manufacturing, principally from a 

 wrapper point of view, to be excelled by any other tobacco of the world, and from 

 the estimate prepared by the Hon. W. Fawcett of the cost of such production, in my 

 opinion a very lucrative industry should arise in Jamaica. But let me clearly say 

 that the tobacco must be produced in a thin, good colour, that is to say, a light, 

 level colour, free from spots and of a strong texture ; and last, but by no means least, 

 a positive knowledge as to fermentation must be applied, or the whole proceeding 

 will be a failure, because two fatal conditions will arise, viz., the flavour or aroma 

 of the tobacco will not be perfect, and the tobacco will be tender, and, on account 

 of its extreme thinness, very liable to break and consequently would be useless 

 as a cigar wrapper. 



Tobacco that is essentially grown for the purpose of wrapper is in nearly 

 every instance the least good for any other part of a cigar ; and, furthermore, to 

 produce a fine cigar wrapper, such as I firmly believe can be produced in 

 Jamaica, would present a competitive quality only to be found in the very picked of 

 Cut n productions, viz., it will contain a delicious flavour, which should make it very 

 '• uable indeed, more especially as it is universally admitted that at the present 

 time there was never so much tobacco, and it was never so bad. This remark applies 

 in particular to the whole product of Havana. 



PIPE TOBACCO. 



Hitherto, as far as my experience goes, the tobacco of Jamaica has never 

 been used as a pipe tobacco, but, having regard to the great depreciation of Ameri- 

 can tobaccos generally, and the general desire of smokers for a mixture or blend of 

 tobac" s of varying flavours, I see no reason why this excellent tobacco, though of a 

 thick nature, should not form one of the ingredients in such mixtures for the pipe. 

 With that end in view it is my intention to bring the matter before some of the 

 manufacturers of Great Britain. 



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