United States.—The United States of America occupy the foremost rank among tobacco-growing countries. The areas and productions have been as follows :-1875, 559,049 acres, 379,347,000 lb.; 1876, 540,457 acres, 381,002,000 lb. ; 1877, 720,344 acres, 489,000,000 lb. ; 1878, 542,850 acres, 392,546,700 lb. The crop of 1875 (in millions of lb.) was thus contributed :—Keutucky, 130 ; Virginia, 57 ; Missouri, 40 ; Tennessee, 35 ; Maryland, 22 ; Pennsylvania, 16 ; N. Carolina, 141 ; Ohio, 13} ; Indiana, 12f ; Connecticut, 10 ; Massachusetts, 81 ; Illinois, 8. The average yields (in lb. per acre) of the various districts in 1875 were :—Connecticut, 1600; Pennsylvania, 1600 ; New Hampshire, 1600 ; Massachusetts, 1350; Missouri, 850 ; Arkansas, 822 ; New York. 800; Florida, 750; Ohio, 700; W. Virginia, 680; Maryland, 675; Tennessee, 675; Kansas, 670; Texas, 650 ; Kentucky, 630 ; Virginia, 630 ; Illinois, 550 ; Georgia, 550 ; N. Carolina, 500 ; Indiana, 500 ; Wisconsin, 500 ; Alabama, 465 ; Mississippi, 317. The exports from New York in 1878 were: 37,484 hogsheads, 2561 bales, and 2,213,200 lb. manufactured, to Great Britain ; 15,570 hh., 207 bales, and 14,800 lb. manufactured, to France ; 35,700 bh., 78,331 bales, and 147,400 lb. manu factured, to N. Europe ; 23,150 hh., 6058 bales, and 120,000 lb. manufactured, to other Europe ; 4628 hh., 14,360 bales, and 4,780,200 lb. manufactured, to S. America, E. and W. Indies, &c.
Baltimore exported 66,039 hh. in 1878. The shipments from New Orleans in 1877-8 were : 1226 hh. to Great Britain, 743 to France, 4552 to N. Europe, 3222 to S. Europe, Mexico, &c., and 4500 coastwise. Philadelphia, in 1879, exported 9,564,171 lb. of leaf tobacco, 52,000 cigars, and 515 lb. of snuff. The total American export of unmanufactured leaf in 1879 was 322,280,000 lb.
W. Indies.—The Spanish possessions in the W. Indies are well known for their tobacco. The best is produced on the vuelta abajo, or low-lying districts of Cuba, near Havana, which are yearly flooded during the autumn, just before the tobacco is transplanted. To this fact, and the peculiar suitability of the seasons, the excellence of this particular product is attributed.. The exports from Havana in 1878 were :-93,603 bales tobacco, 75,212,268 cigars, 203,581 bundles cigarettes, to the United States ; 6169 bales tobacco, 66,795,330 cigars, 5,034,774 bundles cigarettes, to England ; 32,582 bales tobacco, 9,541,498 cigars, 133,008 bundles cigarettes, to Spain ; 582 bales tobacco, 3,861,700 cigars, 8206 bundles cigarettes, to N. Europe ; 5671 bales tobacco, 18,327,025 cigars, 797,513 bundles cigarettes, to France ; 41 bales tobacco, 900,850 cigars, 5,709,442 bundles cigarettes, to other countries. The totals for 1878 were 7,078,904 kilo. of tobacco, 182,356 thousand cigars, and 12,816,903 packets of cigarettes ; in 1879, 6,371,014 kilo. of tobacco, 145,885 thousand cigars, and 14,098,693 packets of cigarettes. The tobacco exports in 1879 from St. Jago de Cuba were 9653 bales to Bremen, 4015 to the United States (chiefly for Bremen), and 1809 coastwise, total 15,477, against 10,249 in 1878. In the island of Puerto Rico, the tobacco-plant thrives well, and the
quality, especially in the Rio de la Plata district, is very good. In 1878, the island exported 8 quintals (of 101i lb.) to the United States, 32,109 to Spain, 4198 to Germany, and 18,123 to other countries.
The British W. Indies have only recently appreciated the importance of tobacco cultivation. Many portions of Jamaica seem as well fitted for it as the vuelta abajo of Cuba, and already Jamaica tobacco in the Hamburg market ranks next to the best Havana, and is considered superior to such Cuban growths as St. Jago, Manzanillo, Yara, &c. Tobacco-cultivation may now be said to have a place in the industries of Jamaica, a fact mainly due to Cuban refugees. The most extensive plantations in the island are Potosi in St. Thomas Parish, and Morgan's Valley in Clarendon. Much of the produce goes to the German market, the remainder being made into cigars for local consumption, and said to be quite equal to some of the best Cuban brands. Some experiments made with Bhilsa tobacco have given great satisfaction, on account of the robust habit and immense yield of the plant. It is especially adapted for very wet districts, and its cultivation will be widely extended, if justified by its market value. Tobacco is, and for very many years has been, grown by the peasantry in small patches ; from this, they manufacture a smoke-dried leaf, which, twisted together in rope form, sells readily in the home market. The acreage occupied by the crop was 297 in 1874-5, 442 in 1875-6, 331 in 1876-7, and 380 in 1877-8. The slopes of valleys in many parts of Dominica, too, are eminently suited to this crop, particularly the district between Roseau and Grand Bay. The experiment of tobacco-culture in New Providence on a large scale has not proved satisfactory, owing to the difficulties encountered in curing and preparing the leaf; the cigars made are fit only for local consumption.
Preparation and Use. Manufacture of Cut-, Cake-, and Roll-tobacco ; Cigars, Cigarettes, and Snuff.— It is impossible to indicato the precise form in which each kind of tobacco-leaf is manufactured for use ; indeed, no well-defined line marks the qualifications of each sort, and the great art of the manufacturer is to combine the various growths in a manner to produce an article suited to the tastes of his customers, at a price suited to their pockets. But, in a general way, it may be said that Havana and Manilla are probably exclusively consumed in the form of cigars ; Virginia is a favourite for cavendish, negrohead, and black twist, and is largely converted into returns, shag, and snuff; Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio are used for cavendisb, brown twist, bird's-eye, returns, and shag ; Dutch and German make the commonest cigars, k'naster, moist snuffs, and smoking mixtures ; Java and Japan are selected for light cigars, mixtures, and light moist shag ; Latakia, Turkey, Paraguay, Brazil, China, and the remainder, are used up in cigarettes, mixtures, imitations, and substitutes.