TOBACCO. 



G19 



of ten davs tlie seedlings of tlie otlier two sowings are removed. 

 A month after being transplanted the field is hoed, and after 

 another month the leading shoot of each plant is pinched off, so 

 as to leave them not more than a cubit high. Three times during 

 the next mouth all side shoots thrown out are removed. When 

 four months old, the crop is ready for cutting. To render the 

 leaves sweet the field is watered, and the plants cut down close 

 to the surface, being allowed to remain when cut until next morn- 

 ing. Their roots are tied to a rope and suspended round the 

 hedges. In fine weather the leaves are dry in ten days, but if 

 cloudy they require five more days. They are then heaped up 

 under a roof, which is covered with bushes and pressed with stones 

 for five days. After this the leaves are removed from the stems, 

 tied in bunches, heaped again, and pressed for four days longer. 

 They are now tied in bundles, partly of the small leaf and partly 

 of the large leaf bundles, and again put in heaps for ten days — • 

 once during the time the heaps being opened and piled afresh. 

 This completes the drying. A thousand bundles, weighing about 

 570 lbs., is a good produce for an acre. 



In 1760, Ceylon produced a considerable quantity of tobacco, 

 principally about Jafiha, a demand having sprung up for it in 

 Travancore, and on the Malay coast. The cultivation spread to 

 other districts of the island, Negombo, Chilaw, and Matura. Not 

 long after the possession of the island by the British, a monopoly 

 was created by an import duty of 25 per cent., ad valorem, and 

 in 1811 the growers were compelled to deliver their tobacco into 

 the Grovernment stores at certain fixed rates. The culture and 

 demand thereupon decreased. In 1853, the duty on the exports 

 of tobacco from this island amounted to £8,386, and in 1836 to 

 £9,514. 



Ceylon now exports a considerable quantity of tobacco. The 

 value of that exported in 1844 was nearly £18,000 : it went ex- 

 clusively to British colonies. The shipments since have been as 



foUows : — 



1848 . . . £17,992 . . . 



1849 . . . 22,300 . . . 



1850 . . . 20,721 . . . 22,184 cwta. 



1851 . . . 21,422 . . . 22,523 „ 



1852 . . . 20,531 . . . 21,955 „ 



About 96,000 piculs of cigars, of five different qualities, 

 are exported annually from Siam. A good deal of very fine 

 tobacco is grown in the Philippines, and the Manila cheroots 

 are celebrated all over the globe. The quantity of raw to- 

 bacco shipped from Manila in 1847 was 92,106 arrobas (each 

 about a quarter of a cwt.) ; manufactured tobacco, 12,054 

 arrobas ; and 1,933 cases of cigars. 5,220 boxes of cigars were 

 shipped from Manila in 1844. 73,439 millions of cigars were 

 shipped in 1850, and 42,629 quintals of leaf tobacco. 



The manufacture of cigars in Manila is a monopoly of the 

 government, and not only is this the case, but it is a monopoly of 



