Tobacco : Its history, varieties, culture, manufacture and commerce, with an account of its various modes of use, from its first discovery until now / [E R Billings].

  • Billings, E. R.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Tobacco : Its history, varieties, culture, manufacture and commerce, with an account of its various modes of use, from its first discovery until now / [E R Billings]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    exotie varieties during the squally weather prevalent about the time the leaf is approaching maturity.” Robertson, in replying to the assertion that the tobacco of India contains little if any nicotine, says: “ It appears to me that there must be some mistake as to the tobacco containing little or no nicotine. Very many have tried the tobacco, and pronounce it to be good, with, however, the fault of being exceedingly strong. Now, the strength of tobacco comes from its nicotine, and if the specimens I sent contain no nicotine, whence the strength ? I believe that nothing destroys tobacco so much as moistening it. How, then, are acetic acid and chloride of soda to be used in the curing? If the process of desiccation had been carried on too quickly, the tobacco would have been of either a green or greenish-yellow color. If too slowly, it would have been black, like much of the country tobacco. I perceive that the amount of nicotine in a great measure depends on the extent to which the leaf is allowed to ripen. The ri])er the leaf the more the nicotine. The amount of nicotine does not appear to depend on the amount of curing. The soil the tobacco was grown in is a hardish red rnoorum soil, containing much iron ; probably that may account for the red coloring matter being so much developed. I intend to have some of each description of the tobacco leaf analyzed, and also intend to submit the soil in which it was grown to the same process. I have had some of the cigars packed up for some months to test how far they are proof against insects. None have been attacked by insects. Some Manilla cigars, some Trichinopoly cheroots, all packed up at the same time, have, however, been entirely destroyed by insects. “ It is clear from the reports that both in Guzerat and Khandesh, Havana and Shiraz tobacco will flourish, and that they may be introduced without difliculty. The ryots, it is said, preferred the new kinds to their own, and desire their introduction, the foreign varieties commanding a higher price in the market. The chief drawback is the want of knowledge and appliances for the proper curing of the leaf. This, indeed, is the great drawback throughout India. In the district of Kaira the seed is always sown in nursery beds in the month of July, and transplanting commences about the end of August, the operation continuing for about two months. The tobacco planted on the dry soil called ‘ koor- mit’ ripens and is fit for cutting in January and February; that which is grown on irrigated land during March and