Cultivation and following observations on the methods of cultivating and curing tobacco have reference more particularly to the processes as conducted in India and the United States ; this branch of agriculture has been brought to great perfection in the latter, and the super vision of the operations in India is mostly entrusted to skilled Americans.
Climate.—Of the many conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, the most important is climate. The other conditions that must be fulfilled in order to succeed in the cultivation of this crop may be modified, or even sometimes created, to suit the purpose; but cultivators can do little with reference to climate : the utmost they can do is to change the cultivating season, and this only in places where tobacco can be grown nearly throughout the year. The aromatic principles, on the presence of which the value of a tobacco chiefly depends, can only be properly developed in the plant by the agency of high temperature and moisture. The fame that Cuban and Manilla tobaccos enjoy is mostly due to the climate. The article produced in Cuba is most highly esteemed ; up to this time, no other country has been able to compete successfully with it. However it cannot be doubted that there are many places whose climate justifies the assumption that a tobacco could be grown there, not inferior to that produced in the W. Indies. The more closely the climate of a place corresponds with that of Cuba, the greater chance is there that a Havanna variety will preserve its peculiar aroma. In such places, a fine and valuable tobacco may be grown with less expenditure on labour, &c., than it is necessary to bestow in raising an inferior article in less suitable climes. In countries where a low temperature rules, the plants must be raised in hot-beds, and there is also a great risk that the young plants may be destroyed by frost, or afterwards by hailstones. When damp weather prevails during the tobacco harvest, it is often injured ; and to give the required flavour, &c., to mike the article marketable, macerating has often to be resorted to, thus involving great risk and expenditure. But in spite of these drawbacks, tobacco cultivation is often very remuneratively carried out in countries possessing an unfavourable climate. The deficient climatic conditions are
here partly compensated for by making the other conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, and which can be controlled by the cultivator, the most favourable possible.
Soil.—The soil affects to a great extent the quality of a tobacco. The plant thrives best in a soil rich in vegetable mould ; this, however, is not so much required to supply the necessary plant food, as to keep the soil in a good physical condition. No other plant requires the soil in such a friable state. A light soil, sand or sandy loam, containing an average amount of organic matter, and well drained, is considered best adapted for raising smoking-tobacco ; such a soil produces the finest leaves. The more organic matter a soil contains, the heavier is the outturn ; but the leaves grow thicker, and the aroma becomes less. As, in tropical climates, the physical properties of the soil play a prominent part in its productive capabilities generally, and the presence of organic matter in the soil tends to improve these properties, it will rarely occur that in such places a soil will contain too much humus. The more clay in a soil, the less is it adapted to the production of fine smoking-tobacco, on account of its physical properties being less favourable to the development of the aromatic principles ; the leaf becomes also generally thick and coarse, but the outturn on such soils is generally heavier than on a more sandy one. A clay soil possessing a great amount of humus may, if properly tilled, produce an ordinary smoking-tobacco, and may even, if great atten tion be paid to the selection of the variety, &c., produce leaves for cigar-wrappers.
Of less impcirtance than the physical properties of the soil is its chemical composition. By proper tillage and heavy manuring, tobacco is sometimes grown on comparatively poor soils. From analysis of the plant, it is clear that it contains a large amount of ash constituents, which it extracts from the soil ; the most important of these are potash and lime. A soil destitute of these constituents would require a great quantity of manure to supply the wants of tobacco.