Miscellaneous. 



[November, 1911. 



Afterwards capital will not likely to be 

 found for the Ceylon tobacco industry, 

 which would certainly be a great pity. 



We should first be convinced ourselves 

 of having produced a good leaf before 

 thinking about exporting sample bales 

 to open markets, especially when of 

 inferior quality, and the cost of produc- 

 tion higher than any country we know 

 of (owing to cost of irrigation in case of 

 planting in dry season). 



In the same report it was said that the 

 Committee decided to make two kinds 

 of cigars out of the tobacco on hand. If 

 the leaf itself is not of a sufficient 

 quality, what will be the finished article 

 of the cisrar wholly made of that one 

 kind of tobacco ? 



In my opinion the expenditure is not 

 warranted, as there is no object gained 

 in making cigars out of the leaf in hand. 

 If these cigars are not appreciated (very 

 likely) there is no proof that cigar 

 tobacco cannot be produced ; and even 

 if there is an appreciation, would that 

 indicate that we are on the right road 

 of growing the best kind of tobacco, the 

 best variety of seed, applying best 

 method— or what ? 



In the same report it was said that 

 the area to be planted would be 50 acres. 

 During the interval of my two visits, 

 however, i.e., about six week9, I noticed 

 only about two acres planted. I also 

 found the following statement in the 

 report : — 



" About 15 to 20 acres near the bun- 

 galow are not irrigable, so this will 

 afford a test as to whether tobacco can 

 be grown there without irrigation." 



My first impression, which I still hold, 

 is that in Ceylon tobacco is over- 

 irrigated ; but is the above test a fair 

 one, if it is undertaken during the 

 driest part of the year and the soil not 

 properly prepared and cultivated for 

 the purpose in view^? 



The tobacco industry being so speci- 

 alized! with such large number of 

 branches and sub-branches, that no 

 quicksand good ^results can be expect- 

 ed if work of tobacco investigation is 

 not undertaken by a tobacco expert, 

 thoroughly trained for the work of 

 tobacco investigation. Besides having 

 gone through a course of agricultural 

 and analytical chemistry and made 

 scientific tobacco field work, curing and 

 further preparation for different mar- 

 kets his speciality, he must have a 

 practical experience of curing and manu- 

 facturing cigar, cigarette, and pipe 



tobacco, so as to enable him to be a 

 judge of leaf tobacco. He also should 

 have wide experience of other tobacco- 

 producing countries, so as to be able to 

 conclude in a minimum time which 

 kinds of tobacco have the best chances 

 for success in Ceylon. His first work 

 should consist of acquiring knowledge 

 of local conditions and organizing the 

 Government and Society's Tobacco In- 

 vestigation work and conducting the 

 most important experiments in several 

 localities at the same time. 



It would be important that a some- 

 what complete Tobacco Bulletin should 

 be published for Ceylon, containing (1) 

 description of soils and climate and 

 present methods of Ceylon tobacco cul- 

 ture ; (2) discussion of possible kinds of 

 tobacco varieties and types to be tested 

 in the different districts or localities, 

 which are promising for tobacco culture ; 

 and (3) suggestions for improvement. 



During the season pamphlets should 

 be published so as to enlighten present 

 planters on points on which immediate 

 improvement can be made. After it has 

 been found out which kind of tobacco 

 will give best commercial results, the 

 tobacco culture should gradually be 

 improved by reducing cost of produc- 

 tion, i.e., increasing yield per acre and 

 improving quality of leaf for the 

 different purposes in view, and some 

 scheme of co-operation should be worked 

 out to handle the crops of the small 

 planters to the best advantage. With 

 an annual vote of say 30,000 to 40,000 

 Rupees for about three years, I consider 

 the tobacco work can be put on a sound 

 footing. 



As the estimated expenditure of the 

 present crop produced at the Experi- 

 ment Station at Maha Iluppalama is 

 about Rs.15,000 to Rs. 16,000, I strongly 

 recommend that the work should be 

 stopped at once, as no information can 

 be obtained by the present method of 

 tobacco experimenting. 



As has already been said, the above 

 report is hastily prepared, and person- 

 ally I am fully convinced that some 

 points could have been discussed more 

 in detail, and that there is a likelihood 

 that such points on which your Com- 

 mittee might wish further information 

 have been omitted. I shall therefore 

 only be too glad to reply to any ques- 

 tions to my utmost power. 



J. van LEENHOFF. 



Colombo, April 12, 1911. 



