THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June i, 1882, 
use for the stud, are now the curing houses, and the 
large aud commodious horse hospital is tbe tobacco 
factory. Of the 1,500 beegahs belonging to the estate, 
only some 250 are at present under tobacco cultiv- 
ation. This, we believe, is in a measure owing to 
the difficulty in procuring manure, and to the fact 
that the land needs to be changed yearly. The agents, 
however, have been successful in arranging with the 
cultivators, in the surrounding district, to grow the 
plant on what is called the Javan system, which ap- 
pears to be the Government opium system, pure and 
simple; or, in other words, that the cultivators grow 
the tobacco for the factory, delivering it in its crude 
or green state— cash advances being made to them 
from time to time, the account being finally settled 
when the crop is delivered. The seed is supplied from 
the factory, and the cultivators are now content, and 
even eager, to use the American seed, though this con- 
cession to a new dustoor has been of gradual growth, 
as they were at first very loth to use the foreign 
seed. Judging from the area under tobacco, that we 
saw during a six mile's drive, this Javan or Opium 
system should enable the factory to secure an almost 
unlimited supply of the leaf, provided always that 
the rates are satisfactory, and that amicable relations 
are maintained between the contracting parties. The 
Assami or outside cultivation is at present only some 
150 beegahs, as this amount in addition to what is 
grown on the estate fully taxes the intramural accom- 
modation of the factory. So far the present manage- 
ment at Poosa make no pretence to secrecy in respect 
to the modus operandi in treating the leaf, and the 
cultivation itself is in all respects similar to the 
tobacco grown for native requirements. The system 
of curing is that the leaf is hung upon sticks in the 
drying houses, and kept in this state till the action 
of the air absorbs the moisture : it is then taken 
down and packed in heaps, ard allowed to sweat or 
ferment slightly. This differs from the native treat- 
ment only in that they expose the leaf to the sun by 
day, aud pile it in heaps at night, repeating the oper- 
ation till the leaf assumes a light-brown colour. Ex- 
perience shows that the former method retains the 
strength aed flavour so valuable in the lobacco, whilst 
the unpleasant acrid flavour so noticeable in the native 
production is undoubtedly due to the repeated pro- 
cess of fermentation obtained by the alternations of 
heat and cold in their treatment. 
After the curing and sweating process has been 
completed, the tobacco is sorted according to colour 
and size, and tied in bundles of ten or twelve leaves 
each, after which it is sent into the factory fur manu- 
facturing purposes, or packed in hogsheads, containing 
1,000 lb. each for export to England, the manufact- 
urers there having, during the present year, taken 
some 60/00 lb., and though this is a very fair be- 
ginning, it would have been much larger, had not 
the factory requirements exhausted the remainder of 
the stock in manufacturing for Indian requirements 
The prices realised in England compare favourably 
wi'h the sales of American tobacco of the same class, 
and as the demand is practically unlimited, the pro- 
prietors are naturally turning their attention to this 
outlet for their produce, and purpose increasing their 
home shipments. The manager is hopeful tuat larger 
consignments will realise more profitably than these 
primary small shipments have done, as the agency 
and freight charges hitherto have nearly equalled th i 
cos' of production. Jt is also expected that, as the 
trade becomes better established, the factory will be 
able to adopt a system of curing and packing in 
accordance with the requirements of the home marke', 
and i Ins obtain better prices without increased out- 
lay. I lie factory at Poosa, as we have already stated, 
wa« the old hoice hospital, the stalls of which have 
been removed, and a second storey added to the build- 
ing, which is divided into seven rooms. The first of 
these is called the stripping room, and here some 30 
boys are employed in removing the cnid-rib from the 
leaves, and making them up into bundles. In the 
second, or soaking room, several men are employed 
in dipping these bundles of tobacco into a mixture 
of boiled sugar and liquorice, and then passing them 
through rollers. In the third, or drying room, the 
sweetened and pressed t >bacco is hung out on racks, 
and dried by charcoal fumes at a temperature of 120°. 
When the leaf is dry, it goes through another damp- 
ing process, a mixture of rum, oil of cinnamon, and 
several other essential oils, being sprinkled over it 
with a spray, it is then piled up, and covered with 
blankets until it becomes soft and pliable, when it 
is ready for the fourth, or hemp room, in which 
there are about 60 persons employed at 30 tables with 
a division in the centre of each. A boy on one side 
of each table removes the mid rib from a pile of large 
dark red tobacco leaves that ke is supplied with, 
and passes the cleaned leaf to a man on the other 
side of the table, each of these leaves the man wraps 
round a quantity of the cured or sweetened leaf heaped 
in front of him, each roll which looks like a very 
large cigar, containing about three ounces of tobacco, 
is technically known as ' a lump." These lumps are 
placed in boxes and removed to the fifth or press 
room ; here each lump is forced into an iron shape 6 
by 1£ inches, 24 shapes being in the frame, 10 of 
these frames are then subjected to an hydraulic press- 
ure of 350 tons. The lumps are now cakes, and are 
next placed in a strong iron box in layers with oiled 
sheets of tin between each and subjected to another 
pressure, which gives the tobacco the polish and finish 
familiar to consumers of the American product. The 
cakes are then packed in boxes 20 by 6 by 6 inches, 
again put under pressure, four boxes being bound to- 
gether by an iron band and pressed together. The 
tobacco is now ready for the market, and, once sold, 
can be labelled by any of the fancy names known in 
Virginia. The seventh room is used as a despatch 
room, and for preparing and cutting the cake, cavend- 
ish and golden leaf into the Poosa smoking mixture, 
the sale of which is rapidly increasing m Bengal. 
Four classes of this are now being prepared at the 
factory, known respectively as golden leaf, bright and 
dark, the difference being only in the shade of the 
leaf. Honey dew, a sweet brown cake tobacco, and 
cavendish, which is black, strong, and sweet. These 
tinned tobaccos are sold for very much higher prices 
and pay well, but the trade is small, E 1,500 to 
2,000 per mensem being considered a good month's 
business, and the prospects of its extension is not 
encouraging. The demand for the cake cavendish on 
the other hand increases steadily : the tobacco is very 
similar to that supplied to the troops, and though 
there was a prejudice against it at first as there was 
against hill beer, it seems to be giviDg way as the 
sale from a few thousand pounds reached 79,000 lb., 
last year, and this season's sales are over 104,000 lb., 
notwithstanding that ihe price of similar American 
tobacco in India has fallen from 10 to 8 and 6 annas 
per lb. within the past three years, — a rate which 
it is believed entails a loss on 'he importers. 
The proprietors of the Poosa Factory and Farm de- 
serve both credit and profit for what they have done to 
wards establishing the manufacture of an improved class 
of tobacco in India, and if their experience so far does, 
as we believe it would, bear a critical scrutiny into the 
soundness of the veuture, we trust they will take steps 
to carry on the enterprise on a far more extended 
scale ihan it is worked at present, or than it can be 
worked without gieatly increasing the capital invested. 
The toial outturn at present is some 300,000 lb. a 
fraction in comparison with the American supply in 
India to say nothing of Europe. — Indian Daily News. 
