412 



Notices of Books. 



[Oct. 



what are all the desiderata with respect to the successful cultivation of 

 tobacco, as almost of every other plant ; for colonial cultivators in the 

 accounts which they have published, so seldom give any good account 

 of the climate in which their experiments have been made, that we 

 find it almost impossible to ascertain what are the states of dry- 

 ness or moisture of the atmosphere, what the nature of the winds, 

 what the proportions between the richness of a soil and the dryness of 

 the air, or even what the temperature during the different processes ; 

 for upon all these must depend both the growth of the plant and the 

 nature of its secretions, as already pointed out in the article on the 

 cultivation of cotton, p. 88. 



" But from the notices procurable from other sources, and especially 

 the works of the illustrious Humboldt, it appears that though tobacco 

 be exported from very hot places in the Gulph of Mexico, it is only 

 grown on elevated ground in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, Cumana, and 

 Havannah, where, as will be seen in the accompanying notes,* a very 

 slight elevation is sufficient to produce a modification of temperature, 

 as well as a constant circulation and comparative dryness of the atmos- 

 phere ; for as the lower strata become heated, they expand, and ne- 

 cessarily ascend j the capacity of air for moisture as for heat being 



" * The island of Cuba, lying between N. lat. 23 o 15' and 19° 48', only seventy miles ix% 

 breadth, and everywhere pervaded by mountain ridges, must necessarily have its climate 

 modified by these, as well as by its insular situation ; that is described as dry and warm,, 

 but more temperate and healthy than that of other W. I. islands. Moreover according 

 to Humboldt, ' the influence of localities, of which the study is of so much importance 

 to the cultivator, as the great breadth of the New Continent, the proximity of Canada, 

 the winds which blow from the north, and other causes, give the equinoctial region of 

 Mexico and the island of Cuba, a particular character. One would say, that in these re- 

 gions the temperate zone, the zone of variable climates, increases towards the south, 

 and passes the tropic of Cancer. In the environs of Havannah (lat. 23 o 8') the thermo- 

 meter has been seen to descend to the freezing point, at the small elevation of 262 feet 

 above the level of the ocean, and snow has fallen near Valladolid (lat. 19° 42') at an abso- 

 lute elevation of 6,232 feet, while under the equator, this only takes place at double the 

 elevation.' (Pol. Hist, of New Spain, 11. p. 362). 



In Mexico, the intendancy of Guadalaxara, which must participate in the causes affect- 

 ing the climate of Valladolid,was celebrated for the abundance and excellent quality of the 

 tobacco which was produced. The cultivation is now restricted to the environs of Ori- 

 zaba and Cordoba, and the partidos of Huatusco and Songolica in the intendancy of Vera 

 Cruz. (Humboldt, 111. p. 40). The towns are situated on the eastern declivity of the 

 Pic d'Orizaba, and on the road to Xalappa, which, as elevated 7,719 feet, enjoys a cool 

 and agreeable climate ; that of Cordoba is warmer, but much cooler than that of Vera 

 Cruz, and from its situation must have a freer circulation of air. 



" Cumana is noted for the purity and healthiness of its climate, and the great heat in- 

 cident to the situation being moderated by the sea breeze. ' Cumanacoa, fourteen 

 leagues S. E. of Cumana, is a rich plain, surrounded by lofty mountains, and although 

 only 630 feet, above the sea, possessed of a mild and even cold climate. Its environs sup- 

 ply the province with tobacco.' — Enc. Metrop. 



" Bahia, also celebrated for its tobacco, which was exported not only into Spain, but 

 into Africa, and the South American States, has also any excessive heat of climate modern 

 ated by the sea breeze." 



