in the North- West of Europe. 
747 
rate of 2700 kilos per hectare, and was worth 2850 fr. at the 
State fixed price of 105 fr. 55 c. per 100 kilos. The ripened 
plants came to as much as 3100 kilos per hectare, and at the 
then fixed price of 100 fr. per 100 kilos for such tobacco gave a 
gross return of 3100 fr. per hectare. Here, then, the fine 
quality of tobacco yielded a smaller return to the grower than 
the coarser and riper crop to the extent of 250 fr. per hectare, 
or 4Z. per acre. 
As 1 have before indicated, I possess no means of ascertain- 
\n<r what the results might have been under a svstem of free 
cultivation, free sale, free purchase, and free manufacture. One 
remark may, however, be permitted, namely, that although the 
distinctive quality of tobacco exists in the secretion of its 
essential oil — nicotine, vet the efforts of the grower seem to be 
devoted to the diminution of its percentage in the leaves, 
and the increase of their combustibility : while the curer, as 
will be seen presently, devotes his attention to the production 
of a comparatively light colour. 
As stated by the French Agricultural Society, the land must 
be first ploughed immediately after the preceding crop has been 
harvested, namely, as early in the autumn as possible, and a 
heavv dressing of cow-manure is then turned under. Accordiner 
to the strength of the land, two or three ploughings and harrow- 
ings are given in the spring, the last act of cultivation being 
accompanied by a heavy dressing of sheep-dung, rape-, or other 
oil-cake, guano, or some artificial manure rich in potash. 
Generally speaking, the land is set up in ridges and furrows, and 
the seedlings are transplanted at various intervals according to 
the nature of the variety of tobacco cultivated and the quality 
of leaf desired. The ridges are from 16 to 24 inches apart, and 
the plants from 14 inches upwards distant in the rows. Some 
growers prefer to plant the seedlings in separate hills from 2^ to 
3 feet apart, and this plan has been adopted by Messrs. Carter 
on their experimental acre near Bromley, the land having been 
dressed in the autumn with 30 tons of farmyard manure, and 
in the spring with 7 cwt. of a special artificial manure con- 
taining a large percentage of potash. 
In the ]Netherlands, the land is divided into squares of about 
one-tenth of an acre by means of live fences consisting generally 
of haricot runner beans. By this means the force of the wind 
is broken and the warmth of the atmosphere is retained in the 
enclosures. Mr. de Laune has adopted this plan in his experi- 
ment this year, the only difference being that hops are substituted 
for haricot beans in his case, and the effect upon the temperature 
in raising that inside the enclosures was very noticeable on 
the day when I visited the experimental field last August. In 
3 c 2 
