452 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1888. 
cured by a Native; there was no difference in the 
color and appearance of the leaf ; the latter had been 
valued at a higher rate than the former. 
In another village in the same district I inspected 
a field where no manure had been used. This soil 
was of a light red color ; this might have grown 
good tobacco if proper care had been bestowed on 
the preparation of the laud, but the work had been 
carelessly done, the land being full of weeds and 
unbroken lumps of soil. 
Seed-beds. — The seed-beds at this place had been 
sown down in the middle of July, the seed having 
been previously soaked for five days; this seed ger- 
minated in three days after sowing. The outturn es- 
timated to be about 500 lb. to the acre. The curing 
in this village visited differs, but little from the pro- 
cess already explained, except that the plants are 
kept a few days longer exposed in the field after 
cutting. 
Transplanting. — Some tobacco was being transplanted 
at the time of my visit ; this was done by making 
a hole in the ground with the finger and pressing 
the root of the seedling (which should be put in 
straight) down with the thumb, thus damaging the 
tap-root; in this way so many plants die that trans- 
planting has to be done two or three times over. 
In another village visited the land was prepared 
in the same way, the soil being of the same black 
tenacious character, the amount of manure used being 
about 4 tons to the acre. The manuring depends on 
tte amount available. I think 10 tons per acre of 
old manure is about the maximum used. 
Curing. — The curing of the tobacco plant throughout 
the Kurnool district is much the same, the object 
being to obtain a red and dark brown color. 
Some samples of the former year's crop were shown 
me here, but the leaf would be of little value for the 
European market owing to defective curing, the leaves 
being coarse, ribs thick, uneven in color, little gum 
and cot fermented enough. I left written instruc- 
tions at this village about curing in the shade. 
In another village named G-ani in the same district, 
some of the soil was of a lighter character and more 
suitable for tobacco than any of the others which I 
' had seen. Some of the black-cotton lands in this 
village had also been taken up for tobacco. The lands 
here are ploughed up during the mango showers in 
April and harrowed over, the collected manure being 
placed in heaps about the field. As soon as the soil 
is in a condition to work, a small plough is used to 
work in the manure; sheep and goats are also penned 
on the land. The growing crop is treated in the 
same way as in Ramallakot, the flower-bud being 
pinched off when the plant is 2 feet high to ensure 
large heavy leaves. There is a slight difference in 
the method of curing pursued here. 
Curing. — The ripe plants when cut are left one night 
on the ground; the next day they are hung upon 
poles with rope till the midrib is dry ; the rest of 
the process is the same. The outturn per acre is 
said to be 600 to 760 lb., seven to ten leaves being 
left on each plant ; ten plants average 1 lb. in weight. 
I saw some samples of the former year's crop ; the 
leaves were much the same as the others which I 
had seen; the texture was good, leaves large and 
well grown, fairly gummy, color uneven, pale red, 
burnt badly. 
The conclusion, which I have been able to come to 
(considering that I was unable to seo any tobacco 
growing or curing) in the Kurnool district, is that I 
do not think cigar tobacco of quality can be grown 
in tho way the leaf is treated by the Natives. Only 
cow manure should be used ; sheep and goat drop- 
pings form a manure too strong for tobacco and would 
probably injure the flavor. The plants are also topped 
(/'. e., flower-bud nipped off) when too small, a much 
finer leaf and smaller ribs would be obtained if the 
plants were permitted to attain 8 feet in height 
before topping, leaving twelve to fourteen leaves on 
each plarit. The outturn per acre would be lessened 
in weight, but the finer smaller leaves produced 
would more than compensate for this decrease by 
commanding a higher value as a cigar tobacco, 
A leaf thus grown and properly shade-cured would 
turn out a much better and finer cigar-wrapper of 
country tobacco than that which is at present used. 
Tne object of the cultivators in topping so low down 
is to grow heavy-leafed tobacco, which suits the 
Native market and brings them in a heavier outturn 
per acre. The distance the plants are grown apart 
would much depend on the richness of the soil ; in 
rich lands the plants might be grown 2 feet x 2 
feet apart; in ordinary land 2J x 3 feet would 
probably be the most suitable. 
Curing. — The Native method of sun-curing, as far 
as I could judge from the samples received, is defective 
in many ways. The curing by sun is much too rapid 
to obtain the clear brown color required for cigar- 
wrappers; there is also too much manipulation of 
the leaves when in a half-cured state ; the leaves get 
doubled and become bruued and streaky and remain 
thus discolored; a good deal of dust accumulates on 
the leaves. A pale reddish color is the result, which 
color becomes darker through fermentation. The 
Native method of fermenting the leaves when in bulk 
can also be much improved ; some of the leaves get 
more fermented than others owing to want of care 
showed in cooling and bulkiog; the leaves are rebulked 
into another heap indiscriminately without paying 
attention to the outside plants of the first bulk, which 
should form the inside of the second bulk, and vice 
vend. 
We left the Kurnool district on the 2nd September 
and arrived at Madras on the 3rd ; left Madras on 
the 5th and arrive! at Trichinopoly on the 6th, where 
Mr. Beason and I visited several Native cigar-maker?. 
The method pursued by these different makers is 
identical as regards the making up of the cigar. In 
one or two places the Sumatra leaf (erroneously called 
Java) was u?ed as an outside wrapper on account of 
the fineness of its leaf, color, and covering qualities. 
One of the largest makers used no Sumatra at all, 
the cigars being made up with country tobacco steeped 
the night before in jaggery water. The cigars are 
all hand-made, but mostly too tightly made. 
All the Indian (couutry) leaf which I saw in the 
godowns of these makers was of a very large-leafed 
tobacco, very like " American seed-leaf " formerly 
used in E irope for cigar-wrappers. The ribs, how- 
ever, are so thick and large that the wrappers here 
are sometimes cut from between the ribs ; two pieces 
of leaf thus cut are joined together and rolled round 
one cigar ; the j >iu is, however, easily detected. 
The tobacco used in the manufacture of these cigars 
is too new and rank ; the idea appears to be to make 
up cigars of one-year-old tobacco, and then keep them, 
instead of keeping the leaf tobacco two years or so 
and then manufacturing cigars. "What is really, wanted 
is a medium-sized leaf of finer texture and of a bettor 
color, and this can be obtained in the way I have 
suggested by letting the plants grow higher and by 
properly conducted shade-curing and judicious ferment- 
ation. 
I have to remark that there is also a great deal ot 
waste amongst the Native cigar-makers in the way the 
cigars are made up. The cigars being hand-made, 
nothing but long strips of leaf can be used up, the 
smaller pieces— an inch long or so, quite capable of 
being made into cigars— are thrown aside with odds 
and ends of Sumatra and sold locally for a mere 
nothing. In the use of wooden cigar moulds all these 
bits could be used without deteriorating the value of 
a cigar. The cigars in several cases were badly made, 
burning too rapidly inside, while the outside wrapper 
would not burn at all, owiDg, in most cases, to two 
wrappers beiug used for the cigar instead of only one. 
A specially made knife would be of great advantage 
in cutting wrappers, instead of using scissors, which 
go clipping round a leaf instead of making one clean 
straight cut. In some cases scissors may be used, in 
a large thick-ribbed leaf f >r instance, when only the 
finer outer edge is used for a wrapper; but these 
coarse leaves should not be us^.d for wrappers. With 
the Sumatra leaf a knife should certainly be used. 
One man is supposed to roll 300 cigars medium- 
sized daily. With the aid of moulds a Europein 
