1867 - White, John. Nga Tikanga o te Whakatupu me te Mahinga o te Tupeka - [Text in English] p 13-29

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The Culture of the Tobacco Plant.

Everything depends upon the proper selection of soil for the cultivation of tobacco. 1 In none but rich and sheltered lands will it ever succeed. Those said to answer best in Virginia are "the light-red or chocolate-coloured mountain lands, the light-black soil in the coves of mountains, and the richest low grounds;" and it is, doubtless, owing to the variations in the soil, that particular districts enjoy a reputation superior to others for the production of tobacco.

When the ground has not been previously under cultivation, and requires to he cleared of heavy timber trees and underwood, this task must be commenced early in the autumn. The underwood, roots, and small branches are collected together into heaps by women and children, and burnt on the ground, while the trunks of trees are sawn into lengths of about eleven feet each, suitable for forming a fence to enclose the land. The next operation is that of breaking up the soil and throwing it into

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shape, which is done with hoes, the clods of earth being worked until they are sufficiently fine. The mould thus broken is then drawn with the hoe round the projected leg of the labourer, forming a hillock as high as his knee, when, the foot being withdrawn and the hillock perfected, he proceeds onward to form another, until the whole ground is prepared. These hillocks are raised in lines, and are usually four feet apart one way and three feet the other.

The seed 2 is always sown in nursery beds, or patches as they are called, which are invariably made in lands of the best possible soil, in a dry spot, but so circumstanced that attention may be conveniently given to water the patches from time to time, according to the state of the weather. The size of these plant-beds varies, of course, according to the magnitude of the concern. They are made ready for receiving the seed in March, or the early part of April (at the Cape, say June and July), according to the forwardness or otherwise of the season. For this purpose large heaps of brushwood, maize-stalks, straw, or any other dry vegetable matter are burnt upon the land, which is afterwards completely broken by digging. 3 Some planters are accustomed to sow white mustard seed round the plant patch, as a protection from the ravages of the fly, which, preferring the mustard to

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any other plant, will feed on it until the tobacco sprouts are in a fit state for being transplanted. On the slightest appearance of frost it is necessary to spread mats over the beds for the protection of the young plants; but all precautions against the inclemency of the weather are evidently unnecessary in inter-tropical climates, where the cultivator of tobacco has only to choose the period of his operations according to the more usual season for rain. 4 In about a month from the time of sowing the seed, the sprouts will lie in a fit state for transplantation. 5 When the fourth leaf has sprouted, and the fifth is just appearing (at which stage the sprouts will be about four or five inches out of the ground,) they are known to be sufficiently forward for this operation. The cultivator chooses his time when the ground has been well softened with rain, so that the sprouts may be withdrawn from the patch without risk of injury to their tender roots. This done, they are conveyed without delay in a basket to the field, previously prepared in the manner already mentioned, and one plant is dropped upon every hillock. Persons immediately follow, who with a finger make a hole in the centre, and deposit the tobacco plant in an upright position, pressing the earth round the root with their hands--an operation which must be performed with great care, as the leaves are exceedingly tender at this time, and any injury sustained by them would endanger the safety of the plant.

So necessary an agent is moisture towards the successful performance of this operation, that the planters wait for a shower of rain, and prefer to

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complete the transplanting during the very time the rain is falling. 6

In the course of a very few days, most of the sprouts will, under these circumstances, give signs of their having taken hold of the ground. Some few will appear, however, upon inspection, to have failed. The favourable opportunity of a shower must again be waited for, in order to supply their places; and attention must he given to this point until all deficiencies are filled up, and the plants are proceeding satisfactorily throughout the field.

Tobacco husbandry calls for continual labour in weeding and earthing up the plants, and in constantly stirring the soil about the roots; and these labours must be persisted in through the whole growth of the crop, to ensure its receiving a proper degree of nourishment. Any dead leaves that may be found from time to time attached to the stalks must also be carefully removed.

The period when the flower-branches first begin to appear differs according to soil and climate, but, in general, happens when the plants have attained the height of two feet. At this stage of their growth they must be submitted to the operation of topping. This is performed by removing with the finger and thumb-nail the leading stem, which, if left, would run up to flower and seed, but in so doing would drain away a large portion of the nutritive juices from the leaves, to increase the size of which is the object of the cultivator, and this he strives to assist by every means in his power. When this source of exhaustion is removed, the leaves will absorb the whole nourishment which the plant receives, and

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will become thicker and heavier, and in every way superior. 7

In topping the plants it is usual in Virginia to allow from five to nine leaves to remain on the stem, according as the quality of the soil is fitted to perfect a less or greater number; but it is seldom that so many as nine can be left with advantage. In general, the fewer the number of leaves that remain the stronger will be the tobacco; and it by no means follows that, by increasing the number, the weight of the produce will also be increased. This topping process is better performed by the hand than with any cutting instrument, because the pores of the extremity are better brought together, and the wound is healed sooner and without much loss of the juices of the plant.

Another kind of pruning is incessantly called for. Near to the junction of the leaves with the stem, and also about the root, superfluous sprouts, called suckers, continually shoot forth, and if permitted to grow, materially injure the quality of the tobacco. They must, consequently, be removed; and, for the reason already given, the finger and thumb-nail form the most appropriate instrument for this "suckering" process also. It would, in many cases, be practicable to procure a second crop of tobacco from the same plants by means of suckers proceeding from the root; but the produce thus obtained would also be very inferior in quality.

The plant is liable to injury at various periods of its growth from the ravages of grubs, some of which attack the roots, and others the leaves. One species of these insects, the horn-worm, or large green tobacco-worm, is particularly mischievous. Whenever these enemies appear, they must be

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destroyed by any means within the power of the cultivator, the most efficacious of which is to remove them individually from the plants, and crush them under foot, an unpleasant and laborious operation. These caterpillars are greeedily devoured by turkeys, large flocks of which are sometimes kept by cultivators, and are driven into the fields, where they prove more useful in removing the insects than even a considerable number of hands. The ground worm, which attacks the plant under the surface of the ground, must be sought for and destroyed.

Tobacco encounters also another injury, which appears under the form of blight, and is occasioned by the long continuance of cither extremely wet or dry weather. This disease which is called firing, is much dreaded by the planters. When it appears, the leaves perish partially in spots, and thus diminish the weight of the crop. The injury sometimes shows itself in the field, and other times in the curing-house. In this latter case it may be mitigated by the employment of artificial heat for drying the leaves. 8

It is hardly possible to describe the particular appearances of the plants which determine the fact of their being in a fit condition for being cut and gathered in; experience will alone enable the cultivator to seize upon the most proper moment for harvesting. When fully ripe the leaves change their colour to a yellowish green, they put on what may be called a mellow appearance; the web of the leaf (owing, probably, to a contraction in its fibres) appears more prominent, and it is somewhat thickened in its substance. 9 The requisite amount of

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experience upon this point is, indeed, soon gained by the observant cultivator; but at first it will be better for the young planter to seek the advice of some one already possessed of that experience, rather than act upon his own unaided suggestions. In more tropical climates, the motive which principally incites to vigilance in this respect in Virginia is wanting. If frost should he experienced while yet the plants are in the ground, farewell to all the hopes of the planter; the destruction is entire and irremediable.

As all the plants throughout the same field do not arrive together at their full maturity, the charge of cutting them is assigned to clever and experienced hands. Each of these is furnished with a strong, sharp knife, and, proceeding regularly along the rows of plants, selects and cuts only such as appear to be ripe, leaving the rest for future and successive operations. If tobacco be cut before it is fully ripe, it will not assume a good colour in the curing, and will, besides, be liable to rot when afterwards packed in hogsheads.

The cutting takes place near the ground. 10 Such plants as have stalks sufficiently thick are then cut down the middle, so as nearly to divide them, and this is done that the air may be admitted more freely to every part of the leaves during the after process of curing. By this means, too, the plant is more readily freed from a part of its natural moisture, and is thus rendered less liable to undergo fermentation, whereby the quality of the tobacco would be injured. When thus cut and divided, they are laid down in regular order on the spots where they grew, the extremities of the leaves all pointing in the same direction, that they may be more easily gathered up. 11 This operation

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is performed, as soon as the sun has produced a sufficient effect upon them, and they are found to have lost their freshness and rigidity. The same effect is sometimes produced by laying the leaves in bulk upon logs before they are conveyed under cover. 12

The building appropriated to the reception and curing of tobacco is a kind of barn, its size being made according to the extent of ground under cultivation. Where this is great, and more than one building is consequently required, barns are usually erected on several spots contiguous to the different tobacco grounds. The most usual size given to these buildings is from forty to sixty feet in length, with a proportionate width, and their height to the eaves of the roof is twelve feet. The sides are left partially open to allow a free circulation of air, and the internal area of the building, including the roof, is occupied by horizontal poles stretching across the barn in a parallel direction, and four feet apart from each other. These poles are connected together, when the house is occupied, by cross pieces, which are called tobacco sticks, and upon these the leaves are hung in order to be cured. There are three several tiers or stages of these poles and sticks in the principal area of the house, besides others in the roof, a perpendicular space of four feet being preserved between each stage for the proper circulation of air.

It cannot be necessary to offer any further directions for the construction of tobacco-houses.

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The object which they are intended to fulfil being borne in mind, their material and form must he left to the discretion of the cultivator, and to the local capabilities afforded for the purpose. Of course, the roof must always form a perfect protection against the weather, and it will be necessary so to contrive the poles and sticks that they may be removed and replaced without difficulty.

The plants must be removed into the tobacco-houses so soon as they become sufficiently pliant to bear handling. If taken from the field at the moment when they have been cut, such is the rigidity and brittleness of the leaves, that they would be much broken and damaged. The removal is effected by manual labour, and that quantity of leaves which can be conveniently carried by one person is called a turn.

The operation of hanging is then performed by suspending the plants upon the sticks, with the points of the leaves downwards, resting them either by the stalk of the lowest leaf, or by the slit which has been made in the stem of the larger plants, as before described. The whole are made to hang four or five inches apart from each other upon the sticks, the exact distance being proportioned to their size.

The sticks thus occupied are then, by means of ladders, conveyed to the places it is intended they shall occupy between the poles, the buildings being filled with them progressively from the roof downwards.

The agency of the atmospheric air is principally relied on for the curing of tobacco; but as it is important to maintain something approaching to an uniform temperature, and to be particularly watchful as regards the dryness or dampness of the air, it is necessary for the planter to bestow his constant attention upon the weather, in order to remedy as far as possible the effects of atmospheric changes. If too much moisture is seen, small

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smothered fires are made with rotten wood or bark at various spots on the floor of the curing-house. Much care is needed to prevent the blazing of these fires, as any sudden heating of the leaves while in a moist condition would produce a disease similar to that already described under the name of firing.

When the curing has proceeded to a sufficient extent, the tobacco is said to be in case, an effect which is generally produced in about four or five weeks after it was first hung in the building. The method employed for ascertaining whether this point has been attained, is to stretch the leaves gently over the ends of the fingers and knuckles. If the tobacco be in good case the leaves will then be found elastic and tough, and slightly covered with a glossy kind of moisture. After this effect has been produced, the first rainy day is chosen for taking down the leaves, which are next withdrawn from the sticks, preparatory to their being stripped from the stalks. Tor this purpose a numerous party of negroes--men, women, and children --are seated in a circle on the floor of the tobacco-house; and, as they draw the leaves from the stalks, hand the former to two men placed in the centre, who distribute them into separate heaps, according to their qualities. The lower or ground leaves being generally soiled and torn, are for that reason separated from the rest, while of those produced on the higher part of the stalk some are inferior to others. The whole are therefore distributed into three heaps. When this separation has been effected, a number of leaves are tied together at their thickest ends, a small leaf being employed lor that purpose, by twisting it round the others, and securing its end in a kind of knot. Each little bundle thus made is called a hand, and is somewhat thicker than a man's thumb at the end where it is tied.

It is necessary to choose rainy or very damp weather for handling tobacco, otherwise the leaves will partially crumble into dust, and much loss will

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be thereby sustained. When once the leaves have been properly cured, it does not much signify whether the place in which it is stored be damp or otherwise; for however dry the leaves may become in hot and fair weather, the return of rain never fails to restore to them so much toughness that they may be handled without injury.

When the little bundles are thus made they are thrown together in heaps on a wooden platform, where they undergo the process of sweating. This amounts to a slight degree of fermentation, and care must be taken, through exposure to the air, to check this from proceeding too far. As to this point experience will be the only proper guide. 13 The leaves, when the sweating has subsided, will once more show an elastic quality when stretched between the fingers; The tobacco is then considered to be sufficiently in case, and fit for being packed for shipment. The leaves are sometimes deprived of their stalks previous to their being packed, an operation which is performed for various causes. If the plant has exhibited any symptom of blight during its growth, or if the season has been less favourable than usual, experience has taught the planters that the stalks are liable to decay, an event which would prejudice the saleable value of the tobacco. These stripped leaves are besides more esteemed in some markets, so that the enhanced price which they bring will more than make good the loss of weight, and pay all the expense of stripping. The operation is performed by taking the leaf in one hand and the extremity of its stem in the other, in such a manner

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as to tear them asunder in the direction of the fibre; and although this appears a very simple process, expertness in it is only to be acquired by practice. Leaves thus stripped are made up into bundles, and in other respects are treated in the same manner as the more perfect leaves. In former times the stalks were thrown aside as refuse; but for many years past sone particular kinds of snuff have been prepared wholly from them, so that they find a ready market, if in a sufficiently sound condition to he manufactured.

In proceeding to pack tobacco for shipment, it is necessary to adopt mechanical aids to labour for compressing it, so that the space it would otherwise occupy, and with it the expense of transporting it, are very materially reduced, while, the air being pressed out, the tobacco is rendered less liable to external change; and its body being made compact, it is less penetrable by moisture, and less exposed to other injuries from without. Well packed tobacco acquires by this means so great a power of resisting the entrance of miosture, that instances have occurred where vessels have been stranded and their cargoes of tobacco, although long covered by sea-water, have yet been found on examination to be only very partially damaged on the outside, the middle, from one or two inches inward, proving perfectly sound and dry.

This advantage it is on every account quite necessary to attain. There is, however a limit beyond which pressure would prove hurtful, bruising the leaf and destroying its texture, and some judgment and experience are called for to regulate the operation.

It cannot be necessary to give a particular description of any apparatus employed for effecting the necessary compression of tobacco in the casks. The principle upon which any such contrivance must be constructed is that of a weight whose efficacy may be increased at pleasure by means of

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a lever of the second kind, its fulcrum being at one end, while the power is applied at the other, and the compressing weight is placed between the two.

It is not requisite that the casks should he made perfectly tight, and, in fact, tobacco hogsheads never are so made; but they must he constructed, both staves and heading, of well-seasoned wood, otherwise they will be liable to shrink and may fall asunder, so that, although their contents should continue free from any other evil, they would he exposed to plunder. Immediately before packing them, it is advisable to remove any dampness which the casks may have acquired, by either exposing them during an hour or two to the rays of the sun, or by placing them over burnt shavings.

In proceeding to pack a cask, the little bundles, or hands, are ranged one by one parallel to each other across the hogsheads, and their points are all placed in the same direction. The next course, or layer, is reversed, the points being in the opposite direction to the first. Any vacant spaces that may he thus left, are supplied with small bundles, so that the surface is rendered perfectly level; the thick ends of all the hands are placed nearest to the sides of the cask.

When a sufficient number of layers has been thus arranged within the casks so as to occupy about one-fourth of its area, the lever, or prizing apparatus, as it is called, is brought into action, and being pressed down by means of an adequate weight, the quantity of tobacco just mentioned will he compressed into the thickness of about three inches. When the lever has been brought to its position, it must be kept there until such time as the tobacco under compression will permanently retain its situation after the weight is withdrawn; an effect which will not he produced until after several hours. Fresh layers of hands are then added, followed by a fresh application of the prizing lever, and thus the process is conducted until the cask is filled.

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A great loss of time will be experienced by this mode of packing unless several casks are placed under operation at the same time, so that the packers need not remain idle.

The size of a tobacco hogshead, such as is commonly used by the Virginia planters, is forty-eight inches long, with the heads thirty to thirty-two inches diameter, and into one of these casks from 950 to 1,000 pounds weight of tobacco may very properly be packed.

Tobacco is very generally cultivated throughout the East, and particularly in the Northern and Western Provinces of India. Although the cultivation is more laborious than any other branch of agriculture pursued there, while the produce from an acre of land scarcely equals one-third of that produced from the same area in America, yet such is the low rate of wages paid in those districts, that it is said Tobacco may be purchased in many parts of India at a price below three half-pence per pound. The flavour of the Indian leaf is weaker than that of American growth, which circumstance is attributed to the want of skill on the part of the curers, rather than to anything unfavourable in the soil or climate.

Perhaps no plant of European introduction is in such general request as this throughout India; its consumption being almost universal among the inhabitants of the Indian islands, who grow all that they require for their own use, while some produce a surplus quantity for exportation. The introduction of tobacco into that quarter is ascribed to the Portuguese settlers, numerous communities of whom were established in the Indian seas at the time when the plant first became known in Europe.

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