While Indian cured leaf can find a sale in the English market at prices which will enable it to compete there with American cured leaf, Indian manufactured leaf is proved to compete successfully with American manufactured leaf in India itself, with a fair prospect of success in a similar competition in the colonies. It may be stated in general terms that 4_d._ a lb. for cured leaf in England, and 6–10 _annas_ for manufactured leaf in India, will secure sufficient or even handsome profits. The opening for profits will perhaps be better understood if it is explained that 1_d._ a lb. represents an asset of about 5_l._ an acre. The one great advantage which India has over America is cheap labour. It is now proved that the leaf is, for all practical purposes, as good as the American leaf, and there is hardly any doubt that America cannot afford to send home leaf at the price at which India can sell.
The exports of tobacco from British India during the years 1874–5 to 1878–9 have been as follows:—
──────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬────────── │ 1875. │ 1876. │ 1877. │ 1878. │ 1879. ──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────── Unmanufac- } lb.│33,411,504│22,861,711│10,508,720│10,594,604│13,279,158 tured │ │ │ │ │ Manufactured { lb.│ 425,040│ 384,909│ 395,169│ 507,629│ 444,502 No.│ 2,999,940│ ..│ ..│ ..│ .. ──────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────
The following letter from the manager of the Poosah tobacco farms, Tirhoot, describes the system of growing and curing now adopted in India.
“Preparation of Soil.—Tobacco land should be well-drained upland which has lain fallow some time or that has had some light crop in it; this land should be well manured with well-rotted manure. We plough our lands twice monthly. Just before the time for transplanting the soil is ploughed up and well pulverized by a henger or beam of wood drawn by bullocks over the upturned soil so as to bend it and to break up any lumps of earth. The soil should be sufficiently dry for this purpose so as not to cake and harden.
“Seed-beds.—These should be made up in a suitable situation, that is, protected from the afternoon sun, having some building or grove of trees on the west side. The seed-beds should be raised some six inches off the ground and have trenches dug all round so as to carry off any superfluous moisture, the beds should be well worked with a kodalie and good, rotted manure well worked in. After pulverizing the soil and levelling it, pick off any stones or other rubbish and it will be ready for sowing the seed. The size of the bed should be about 4 feet by 15 feet; this is more convenient than square beds, as it enables the plants to be attended to without risk of destroying them by trampling on them.