TOBACCO CULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1080, 30 May 1882, Page 4

TOBACCO CULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

A correspondent, writing to the Grey River Argus on tobacco culture in New Zealand, says : —ln looking over an old scrap of newspaper, I. observed “ new industries further on the words “ some real James River tobacco seed, a portion of which was sown bv Mr Gower on his station near Foxton.” Mr Gower mation about curing and manufacturing the leaf. James River leaf can be converted into cake, shag tobacco, and snuff ; it will not do for cigars. The ■requisites for working James Rivir are hydraulic presses, skilled operatives, a large supply of leaf, and a considerable outlay of capital —added to which is one shilling a pound inland duty, and manufacturer’s license fee of £5O. A onehorse tobacco factory would be a losing concent. Curing leaf is as simple as drying hay. There is tobacco planting from the seed-bed to the packed case for market. The seed-bed should be a good sandy loam well worked and levelly broken up; two inches of the surface should be one-third wood ashes and two-thirds road dust or riddled loam thoroughly amalgamated ; bed not wider that 4ft., but as long as you like. When the spring frosts have disappeared, take a ouart of road dust, dry, and pass it thorough a fine riddle and spread it on a fine tray ; put the seeds in cold water for five minutes, drain, and scatter them over the dust; stir it up until the seeds are well mixed. Sow this over the bed evenly ; add an over dressing of wood ashes very thin. If the ground is very dry water it; put up a couple of posts and ridge pole ; throw a fly over to guard agaiust a late frost, Cross plough and harrow a field, then with a small plough set shallow, so that it merely scratches. Mark off the field into four foot rightangled spaces ; for finer leaf the spaces are less. When the plants are about five inches high, dibble one in at each angle. Do this in the evening or on a cloudy day. Go over the field, and where a plant has failed put in another, worm theplants morning and evening or turn turkeys in, they will worm and do but little harm to the plants. Keep the field perfectly clear of weeds, and the soil looser. When the plants begin to bunch at top they are about to blossom ; pinch off the tops aud remove the bottom course of leaves, and dry them. The yellowish greeu looking cakes called “ Golden Bar,” and the light mild cigarette tobacco are manufactured from this wretched half-grown rubbish. The plant kept for seed will indicate when the leaf is ripe. Be sure to cut before the frost arrives. Tobacco will stand heat, wind, and rain, but frost kills. Wherever touched, that portion is valueless. For cutting implement take two feet of an old scythe blade, straighten the shank, aud put on a handle, curve the point like a shinty stick ; cut with this or a billhook—cut on a hot day. Let the plants remain where they fall until the leaves are wilted, then carry them to the shed. Do not place them in heaps or they will heat and spoil. Split the stalks up the centre, leaving half the leaves on each portion of the stalk —tie the two butts of each whole stock about six inches apart. The drying shed should be well roofed, walls about 10 feet; lay four inch batieus from wall plate to wall plate lengthwise the shed, leaving 15iu. spaces. Put posts under the battens, to support them if required. The ends of the shed should be movable so as to allow a free curr rent of air. Haug the plants ove-

the battens, leaving a few inches be tween each stalk. There will be some hut days when the plants canm t be touched without bur mg them. When they can be handled turn them once a day. As soon as the stems or mild ribs have lost their moisture, and the leaf is brown without green, strip it, as it is then ready for packing. Some day, when in case —that is when it can be handled without breaking—pull the leaves from the stalks ; place 11 of them together ; tie a leaf round the butts—that is called a band ; pack in alternate right and left layers in a case sufficiently large to allow t' e leaves to lie at full length. The leaf is now leady for market.