754 
Notes on the Cultivation of Tobacco 
100° to 115° F., but if it rises above 120°, the whole mass must 
be taken to pieces and rebuilt elsewhere, each bundle being 
separately shaken. This rebuilding generally has to be done 
once, and sometimes twice. 
When the fermentation is finished the temperature declines 
to 70°, and the quantity of moisture in the leaves to about 
20 or 21 per cent. After the conclusion of this operation the 
tobacco is fit to be put into bales, to await the demands of the 
Government manufactories. The method of proceeding is to 
line cubical frames of one-metre in each dimension with sacking, 
and to pack into them the tobacco as hard as possible by means 
of lever presses. The bales of tobacco thus made can be safely 
kept for some time, but as a rule the product of one year's crop 
is consumed the next. 
The possible profit to the English farmer from the cultivation 
of tobacco can only be guessed at, and the statements on the 
subject derived from Continental sources are widely divergent. 
As an example I will contrast the account given in the English 
newspaper ' Agriculture ' of April 14th (derived from a Belgian 
source), with the statement furnished by the Agricultural 
Society of East Flanders to the Belgian Superior Council of 
Agriculture, only premising that the latter account comprises 
the actual figures taken from the canton of Grammont, which is 
admittedly one of the best tobacco-growing districts in Belgium. 
' AgvicuUuvo,' 
April 14tb, 1S86. 
Official Report, 1878. 
fr. £ 
fi-. £ .t. d. 
1000 = 40 
1530 = 01 8 9 
1000 = 40 
001 = 24 0 9 
800 = 32 
Rents, rates, and taxes 
300 - 12 
201 = 10 8 9 
3100 = £124 
2398 = £95 IS 3 
It should be observed that the Government tax is not included 
in the Official Report, but 1 do not propose to vary in any 
respect either statement. I now come to the returns, which 
are reported on page 755. 
According to the unofficial statement, which is in round 
numbers, the profit of a hectare of land in tobacco is 38/., or 
rather over 15/. per acre, but according to the official statement, 
the profit is only 9/. 7s. 3 J. per hectare, or about Zl. 15s. per 
acre. It is quite obvious that the former calculation is a mere 
theory, more especially with regard to the price obtained for 
the tobacco, which rarely amounts to more than two-thirds of 
the sum mentioned in the calculation quoted by ' Agriculture.' 
