Sept. 1.906,] 



245 



Edible Products. 



December 20, 1904, to the Under-Secretary of State For the Colonies, as to the steps 

 to be taken to improve the quality oi' the tobacco produced in .Jamaica. I also 

 venture to suggest that it would be well if typical samples of the tobacco grown in 

 Jamaica, and of products such as cigars or pipe tobaccos manufactured from them, 

 could be sent here for exhibition in the Jamaica Court of the Imperial Institute. 



The samples should be accompanied by statistics of production and export, 

 and information as to the prices at which products of similar quality could be 

 delivered in this country, so that descriptive labels for the exhibits may be 

 prepared, and that we may be in a position to answer any inquiries received 

 from merchants and others to whose notice the exhibits will be brought. The 

 Imperial Institute has paid special attention to the question of tobacco cultivation 

 and examination, and would be ready to give any assistance in connection with 

 this industry in Jamaica. 



APPENDIX II. 



JAMAICA TOBACCO POR THE NAVY. 



In a letter addressed to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 

 October 21, 1905, the Secretary to the Admiralty states that, with the assistance of 

 Mr. F. V. Chalmers, the Admiralty obtained a supply (1,508 lb.) of leaf tobacco from 

 Jamaica, but, as it transpired that this tobacco by itself was not suitable for pipe 

 smoking, and that there is not, at the present time, any colonial-grown tobacco 

 suitable for blending with it, arrangements were made for it to be blended and 

 manufactured with a quantity of Virginian-grown tobacco, the proportion being 

 1,508 lb. of Jamaican to 5,075 lb, of Virginian. This preparation is now undergoing 

 trial in the fleet, and the results of the experiment will be communicated in due 

 course. It is hoped that, should this preparation meet with the approval of the 

 sailors, a great impetus will be given to tobacco growing in the West Indies. — 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies; Issued by the Commis- 

 sioner. 



Tobacco Cultivation in Jaffna. 



By A. Charavanamuttu. 



I purpose in this paper to describe the process of cultivation of tobacco 

 in Jaffna with a view to ascertain what improvements can be effected in it 

 and in what manner the Agricultural Society can help the cultivators. Tobacco is 

 extensively cultivated in almost all parts of Jaffna in what are known as " garden 

 lands" or high lands, and also in low lying paddy fields immediately after the 

 harvest. Next to paddy cultivation, tobacco cultivation is the main industry of 

 the people of Jaffna, and it is worth careful study. 



The cultivation of tobacco begins about the end of October and continues 

 till the end of April. First, tobacco see Is are sown in nurseries. A ' nursery ' 

 consists of a small plot of ground, a warm sunny spot chosen in the garden and 

 raised a foot high from the surrounding earth. Leaves are buried in it a foot deep, 

 and over it cattle or goats' dung is spread in abundance and the soil turned with 

 the hoe and with the hand, and the process repeated several times until the soil 

 is reduced to a fine powdery condition, so that when it is taken in the hand and 

 squeezed will readily fall down loose like sand. The ground is then levelled and 

 beds marked in it 3 to 4 feet wide, and of the same or of greater lengths according to 

 the quantity of seeds that may be sown. 



