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Tobacco as a Farm Crop for England. 
Q. — What practical hints did you derive from those pub- 
lications ? 
A. — I came to the conclusion that in England we ought to 
trust wholly to artificial drying, as it is carried on in America. 
Q. — You consider, then, that drying is not so delicate an 
operation as to be materially affected by variations or quality of 
climate ? 
A. — Such is by no means my opinion ; for inferiority of 
climate will necessarily increase the cost, and even with 
unlimited means at command it is always difficult to reproduce 
the wished-for climate artificially. 
Q. — But you think it better to attempt to copy a good climate 
by artificial means than to depend on even a fair climate ? 
A. — The Americans, whose extensive experience in the curing 
of tobacco is known to every one, evidently think so ; for though 
their climate is better adapted for drying than that of Europe, 
they are rapidly superseding sun-curing by a system of artificial 
drying. 
Q. — I have been told that you dried your tobacco fairly well, 
and produced yellow, brown, and mottled tobacco of good 
colour. Did you not dry some tobacco green at first ? 
A. — Yes, the variety, the so-called Kentucky, which was 
naturally yellow, I dried yellow ; some of the green varieties, 
unintentionally, I dried green ; but others I treated so as to 
successfully produce the colours I wished. Kentucky tobacco is 
not yellow at home, but red-brown or cinnamon in colour. 
Q. — Did you attempt to make all necessary observations 
yourself ? 
A. — No ; my clerk, Mr. Rayfield, helped me in making 
observations ; but I found the work was too much for us, and I 
accordingly applied to Mr. Wells, Chairman of the Chemical 
Committee of the Royal Agricultural Society, and to Dr. 
Voelcker, to send some one with a scientific training to help 
us ; and, in accordance with my request, Dr. Leather, the able 
assistant at 12, Hanover Square, was sent down, and made some 
most valuable notes after the process of drying had begun. 
Q. — It appears to me that the operation of curing tobacco is 
more difficult and laborious than would at first appear. 
A. — The labour consists more in keeping the temperature at 
an exact height, even to 2° or 3°, which is necessary if you 
wish to follow more scientific modes of curing, such as are 
recorded in the American Reports. We kept two or three 
kilns continually at work from September 3rd to October 29th, 
records of tlie teinp(>rature being kept during the whole time. 
Q. — 1 understand that the real difficulty with tobacco consists 
not so much in the growing as in the curing of the leaf? 
