378 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTU  KlSP. 
[Dec.  I,  i8q6 
cli.stant  65  miles  from  Simla.  As  regards  api-des 
it  apitears  tliat  American  ami  Eiiglisli  trees  liavc 
proved  almost  a failure.  The  experiments  have 
now  extended  over  a i>eiiod  of  ten  years,  hut 
though  the  trees  tliemselves  llourisli  and  a few 
apples  are  j>roduced  the  return  is  of  tlie  jioorest. 
i he  conclusion  arrived  at  is  tliat  apple  cultivation 
will  not  lie  prolitahle  at  a lower  altitude  than  6,h00 
feet.  Apricots,  on  the  contrary,  haie  })ioved  a 
remarkable  success.  The  native  tree  of  the  Kulu 
valley  is  not  very  juolilic,  hut  tlie  Kashmir  and 
English  vai'ieties  yield  fruit  after  the  foui  th  year 
in  great  abundance.  Mr.  Carleton  strongly  a<l- 
vocates  the  e.xtension  of  the  cultivation  of  these 
varieties  in  all  the  lower  hills  ; and  he  suggests 
the  introduction  into  Simla  of  the  American 
fruit-drying  machines.  He  believes  that  enter- 
prising persons  could  establish  a very  profitable 
industry  in  preparing  dried  apricots  for  the  Indian 
markets.  American  grapes  at  Ani  have  done 
extremely  well.  Fifteen  years  ago  the  Black 
Hamburg  variety  was  tried,  but  it  turned 
out  a failure.  Mr.  Carleton,  six  years 
later,  sent  to  America  for  a hardy  prolific 
vine  grown  on  the  northern  limit  of  grape 
cultivation,  where  the  spring  opens  in  May 
and  the  frost  comes  in  September.  He  held  that 
this  variety  would  ripen  in  Kulu  before  the  heavy 
rain,  because  siiring  begins  in  the  valley  early 
in  March.  He  has  now  a vine  eight  years  old 
which  yields  70  lb.  of  grapes.  He  remarks  that 
a few  such  vines  around  tlie  houses  of  intelli- 
gent zemindars  in  the  Simla  district  would  give 
a handsome  return  in  the  local  market  esjieci- 
ally  in  the  month  of  .June.  There  can  certainly 
be  no  question  about  the  great  demand  for  fresh 
fruit  in  Simla  during  the  summer  months.  Ex- 
periments with  the  Eurojiean  orange  hai  e shown 
that  the  Maltese  variety  can  be  grown  in  the 
lower  hills  as  high  a-“  4,500  feet.  Mr.  Carleton 
thinks  a great  industry  might  spring  uj)  if  the 
cultivation  of  oranges  was  undertaken.  From 
one  tree  at  Ani,  eight  years  old,  he  gathered 
220  oranges  last  Fehruary,  which  is  the  month 
for  jilucking  the  fruit,  following  the  Califtonian 
custom  of  leai  ing  the  oranges  on  her  trees  until 
the  new  leaves  apiiear.  .Snow  does  not  ajipear 
to  injure  the  fruit  though  it  iill'ecLs  the  lea\es. 
It  is  pointed  out  that  oranges  sold  from  tlic 
Gujranwalla  and  other  ganhms  fcti  h from  K."» 
to  K8  per  100,  and  it  is  believed  that  si  ill  liigher 
prices  could  be  obtained  for  the  Kulu  fiiiit  in 
the  Simla  market  during  April.  If  this  were  .so 
one  tree  yielding  200  oranges  annually  would  give 
the  owner  a handsome  prolit,  and  that  on  only 
10  feet  s(|uare  of  ground.  It  evident  that 
grape  ami  orange  cultivation  in  the  h.>\\er  hills 
could  lie  made  a \ery  ii.aying  industry,  but  the 
n:Ui\e.s  arc  not  entei'[)rising  enough  to  take,  the 
matter  up.  J'’.uropeirn  energy  is  needed  to  show 
them  the  way,  and  in  the  atisence  of  otliei- agency 
the  Forest  Uepattment  might  well  .steiiin  and  give 
the  movement  a helping  hand. — Pioneer,  Oct.  ,3. 
— - 
THE  CIGAR  TRADE  AND 
CEYLON  TOBACCO. 
The  success  that  has  attended  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco  in  Borneo  cannot  fail  to  make  a 
(amiparison  with  the  result  of  similar  cultiva- 
tion in  Ceylon  an  unsatisfactory  one.  It  may 
well  be  doubted,  we  think,  if  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  (piality  of  the  Ceylon-groun  leaf 
to  account  for  this.  I ndeed,  expert  opinion  has, 
wc  know,  reiiorteil  very  favourably  n])on  this. 
.\ny  facts,  therefore,  which  may  throw  light 
u])on  our  relative  failure,  and  may  suggest  means 
whereby  it  may  be  redressed,  cannot  but  prove 
both  of  interest  and  of  jiuissible  value.  .-V  cor- 
resiiondent  now  at  home  writes  us  that  he  has 
been  making  some  imjuiry  as  to  the  conditions 
under  whicii  Borneo  tobacco  lias  secured  the 
favourable  iiosition  it  has  in  the  London 
market.  He  consulted,  he  writes  us,  one  of 
the  most  experienced  men  in  the  cigar  trade, 
who  told  him  that  one  reason  why  the  sale 
of  cigars  of  Borneo  tobacco  has  become  so  lar^e 
is  that  it  has  been  fosted  lyy  the  endeavours  made 
to  popularize  it.  Not  that  these  would  by 
themselves  have  sutiiced  were  the  ([uality  not 
good,  but  that  there  was  not  suilicient  dillerence 
between  this  and  that  of  Ceylon  grown  tobacco 
to  account  for  the  different  results  obtained  in 
the  two  cases.  He  pointed  out  that  success  must 
mainly  depend  upon  the  appreciation  shown  by 
the  million,  and  not  upon  the  opinion  of  the 
limited  number  who  can  afford  to  pay  for  high- 
priced  cigars.  The  taste  of  these  last  has  be- 
come .so  highly  cultivated  and  fastidious  that 
they  will  tolerate  no  cigars  but  those  of  the 
highest  clas.s  and  such  as  have  become  well- 
seasoned  by  careful  long  keeping  and  seasoning. 
It  is  not  these  men  who  are  the  rulers  of  the 
tobacco  market.  They  will  willingly  huy  at 
prices  cjuite  above  common  reach,  but  they  con- 
stitute merely  a drop  in  the  ocean  of  cigar 
consumers.  Where  one  man  will  .satisfy  an 
exigent  taste  by  paying  from  (id  to  Is  6d  each 
for  his  cigars,  hundreds  are  satisfied  with  those 
they  can  purchase  for  2d  to  3d  each.  It  is  this 
second-class  of  customers  that  uses  mi  the  vast 
importations  of  the  tobacco  from  Borneo  and 
Sumatra,  d'lie  liner  production  of  Havana  and 
other  West  Indian  growth  are  reserved  for  the 
lirst  alone.  The  ex)iert  went  on  to  remark  that, 
owing  to  the  high  duty  on  imported  cigars, 
these  were  not  within  the  reach  of  the  gen- 
erality of  smoker.s.  It  is  true,  he  said,  that 
an  attempt  had  been  made  to  introduce 
cheajier  cigars  manufactured  abroad,  but  that 
to  do  this  necessit.ated  these  being  made  of  the 
coarser  toliaccos,  and  that  their  manipulation 
was  unsatisfactory.  One  of  the  ]nime  ijualifica 
tions  of  ,a  cigar  is  that  it  shall  burn  easily  and 
evenly,  and  with  a residual  ash  that  shall  not 
uiK'xpectedly  fall.  Foreigii-m.ade  cigars  of  the 
cheaper  sort,  do  not,  it  was  said,  possess  this 
(lualilication.  The  result  has  followed  that  a 
distinct  ]ireference  is  shown  for  tho.se  cigars  that, 
arc  made  in  home  factories  from  im))orted  leaf. 
It  n as  acknowledged  that  in  some  respects  these 
are  not  eijual  to  those  rolled  in  the  producing 
country.  The  leaf  dries  during  the  passage  to 
Europe  and  has  to  he  damiicd  before  lieing  made 
up  into  cigars.  To  the  connuinjcnr  who  can 
aH'ord  to  pay  for  the  higher  priced  cigar,  this 
is  a bar  to  tlieir  use.  But  the  million  is  not  so 
exacting.  He  is  willing  to  sacrilice  some  degiee 
of  refinement  in  flavour  for  the  facility  with  which 
the  home-made  cigar  smokes  and  the  low  price 
at  which  it  can  be  supplied.  E\'ery  year  shows 
the  British-made  cigar  ousting  its  foreign- made 
comiietitor.  Our  corresjxmdent  doubts  iu^Geylon 
tobacco  has  been  tried  in  this  direction.  He 
belicv.?.s  that  were  the  leaf  treated  in  home  fac- 
tories, and  as  freely  advertised  as  the  IJorneo 
tobacco  has  been,  the  issue  to  t he  attempt  lately 
made  to  introduce  oigais  of  Ceylon  tobacco  to 
I, he  home  public  would  not  have  been  what  it 
was.  lie  adiiwes,  for  (he  reasons  set  foith,  that 
an  attempt  should  be  made  to  introduce  our  island 
leaf  to  the  attention  of  the  home  cigar  factories. 
