4S6 On the Soil suitable for Cotton, Tobacco, [Oct. 



— from which it will be seen that the best tobacco soil we have hitherto 

 found in India contains 16 per cent., or nearly one-sixth, of iron, which 

 is mostly in the state of peroxide, and that the inferior sort of tobacco 

 grows in a soil containing only 6 per cent., one-sixteenth of iron of which 

 is moreover mostly in the state of protoxide or black oxide. 



I thought it worth examining what the quantity of iron in the differ- 

 ent sorts of tobacco would be ; and I found that, while the ashes of one 

 ounce, or 480 grains, of Havanna and Sandovvay cheroots gave exactly 

 1.91 grains or 0.40 per cent, of peroxide of iron, the ashes of the same 

 quantity of the Hinglee or best Bengal tobacco only gave 1.50 grains 

 or 0.32 per cent., and it appears to exist in the first two in the state of 

 peroxide, and in the last, as a protoxide, of iron ; rendering it highly 

 probable that the flavour of the tobacco to the smoker depends on the 

 state and quantity of the iron it contains ! for we have now, observe, 

 traced the iron from the soil into the cheroot. Green copperas water, 

 which is a solution of sulphate of iron, is often used by the American 

 and English tobacconists and planters to colour and flavour their tobac- 

 co ; and this would be decomposed by the potass of the tobacco, and 

 sulphate of potass and carbonate of iron be formed. Carbonate of iron 

 is of an ochre yellow colour. I took care to ascertain that this process 

 had not been performed with the cheroots used for my experiment ; and 

 I do not believe our Bengal cheroot-makers know of this method. 



Sugar. — Sugar seems to depend both on the state of the iron and on 

 lime in the soil. The sugar soil before you is also from the Black Ri- 

 ver, (Mr. Geneve's), an estate upon which from 3000 to 7000, and even 

 on one spot the astonishing quantity of 12,000 lbs. of sugar have been 

 obtained from an acre, of from 12 to 150 bazar maunds per bigah ! Cap- 

 tain Sleeman is my authority for these statements. 



Now the peculiarity of this soil is, you will observe, that it is a red 

 soil, i. e. that its iron is mostly in the state of peroxide ; and it contains 

 moreover about 9 per cent, of carbonate of lime, with probably some 

 sulphate and phosphate of lime, say perhaps altogether 10 or 12 per 

 cent, of calcarious matter. We have in many instances endeavoured to 

 cultivate this cane on soils destitute both of peroxide of iron and lime, 

 and we complain that the cane has been found watery. It is clear that 

 the cultivator who would succeed in sugar should pay attention to 

 these peculiarities ; for without doing so he may have returns, but often 

 no profits. His profits, in a word, may depend upon his canes, his cot- 

 ton, or his tobacco, being fed with the food which they require. I 

 used the words feed and digest because it cannot be too often repeated 

 that plants are living beings, and that the vigour of their life depends, 

 as with ourselves, on abundant and suitable food. 



Tea Soils. — The tea soils, though 1 notice them last, are not the 

 least interesting. The first is a soil from Assam, for which I am in- 



