Sept. 1, 1903.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
151 
CULTIVATION OP TOBACCO. 
BY CLARENCE W. DORSET, 
[AMERICAN, MANILLA AND SUMATRA 
EXPERIENCE UTILISED.] 
Philippine tobacco has long been held in 
high esteem in the Orient, and Manilla cigai's 
maintain the same rank in eastern countries 
that Havana cigars occupy in Europe and 
America. To-day tobacco stands third among 
the exports from the Philippines. During the 
year 1900, according to the Monthly Sum- 
mary of Commerce and Finance of the United 
States, 11,743,336 kilos of tobacco, valued at 
fl,906,'436. United States currency, were ex- 
ported from the Islands. Tobacco was intro- 
duced into the Philippines shortly after the 
Spaniards took possession, seed having been 
brought from Mexico by Spanish missionaries. 
Little effort was made by the Government to 
restrict or encourage the cultivation of to- 
bacco until 1781, when the cultivation and 
sale of tobacco was decreed a State monopoly. 
While this monopoly was in force, the natives 
in the large tobacco districts of Luzon were 
subjected to great inconveniences and even 
hardships. Bach family was compelled 
to grow 4,000 plants and deliver the entire 
crop to the agents of the Government. None 
of the crop could be reserved for the use of 
the planter, and a fine was imposed when the 
crop was short. After the crop was harvested 
the leaves were selected and bought by Gov- 
ernment agents, and bundles of inferior 
leaves were rejected and burned. Native 
houses were searched for concealed tobacco, 
and fines and penalties imposed on those who 
did not comply with all the requirements of 
the monopoly. Early in the nineteenth century 
many riots and disturbances arose out of the 
difficvilties in meeting the harsh provisions of 
the law. 
In the Visayan and southern Islands the 
monopoly was not in force, but tobacco rais- 
ing was not generally practised until the 
middle of the nineteenth century. The pro- 
fits from the monoply annually amounted to 
several million pesos, but was finally abolished 
on December 31, 1882. Since that time the 
cultivation and manufacture of the crop has 
been in the hands of private individuals and 
companies. At the present time the greater 
part of the tobacco grown in the Islands 
comes from Luzon. The products of Isabela 
and Cagayan Provinces are the most highly 
esteemed, while considerable quantities are 
produced in Union and the Ilocos Provinces, 
on the west coast of northern Luzon. Nueva 
Ecija formerly raised a fair grade of tobacco, 
but the cultivation has fallen off in late 
years. The writer saw in Batangas Pro- 
vince many small fields that would aggregate 
many hundreds of hectares of tobacco. This 
is largely used for local consumption, and is 
of inferior quality. Tobacco is grown in 
spaall ciuantities in the Visayan and southern 
islands, the greatest amounts probably being 
produced in Masbate, Tablas, Panay, Bohol, 
Leyte, Siquijor, Negros, and Mindanao. 
Philippine tobacco is nearly all utilised in 
the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, and 
finds a ready sale in Spain ("which consumes 
more than one-half of the total production), 
England, Hongkong (where it is shipped to 
Asiatic ports), and British East India. Dur- 
ing the year 1900 these countries bought more 
than seven-tenths of the entire crop. The 
agreeable aroma and flavour of the better 
grades of tobacco grown in the Islands have 
won for it a high place among the fine cigar 
tobaccos of the world, and, for a long time, 
it ranked next to the celebrated Cuban to- 
bacco. When we consider the desiiable 
qualities of Philippine tobacco, with the im- 
perfect cultivation, curing, and fermentation 
it receives, and the improvements and ad- 
vances that have been made in other tobacco 
countries, it becomes at once evident that 
every care and attention should be given the 
crop to enable it to regain its former position, 
if not to make it superior to the finest tobac- 
cos grown in the world. 
The marljets of the United States offer 
every inducement for the improvement and 
spread of the Philippine tobacco industry. 
This becomes all the more evident when we 
consider the vast sums of money annually 
expended by the United States for foreign 
tobacco. During the year ending June 30, 
1900, United States according to official 
statistics of the agricultural imports of the 
United States, paid for Cuban tobacco 
$7,615,991, United States currency, and 
$1,569,271, United States currency, for 
Sumatra tobacco. During this same year the 
Philippines exported to the United States 
only a few hundreds of dollars worth of 
tobacco, or less than one-hundredth of one 
per cent of the tobacco importations of that 
country. While it may be true that Philip- 
pine tobacco may never entirely supplant 
Cuban and Sumatran tobacco in the United 
States, there is certainly every inducement 
to encourage and improve the industry until 
modern cultural methods have realised to the 
fullest extent the highest perfection of the 
crop. 
REQUIREMENTS OF THE TOBACCO 
MANCPACTURER. 
In the manufacture of high-grade cigars 
certain essentials are necessary. The tobacco 
must burn smoothly and freely, with a plea- 
sant taste — not rank and strong, nor too 
mild. When the taste is pleasant, not sharp 
and bitter, the aroma will invariably be good. 
The cigar that possess the above qualities 
will meet with a ready sale. The wrapper of 
the cigar, as distinguished from the filler, 
must be light in colour, rich in grain, thin in 
texture, small in vein and stem, very elastic 
and of good burning quality. It should 
stretch and cover well, have little aroma and 
appear well on the cigar, The most desirable 
