_Of the Manner in which it is usually cured._
When the plant is found, agreeable to the preceding directions, to
be fit for gathering, on the first morning that promises a fair day,
before the sun is risen, take an axe or a long knife, and holding the
stalk near the top with one hand, sever it from its root with the
other, as low as possible. Having done this, lay it gently on the
ground, so as not to break off the leaves, and there let it remain
exposed to the rays of the sun throughout the day, or until the
leaves are entirely wilted, as it is termed in America; that is, till
they become limber, and will bend any way without breaking.
But if, on the contrary, the rain should continue without any
intervals, and the plants appear to be full ripe, they must be cut
down and housed immediately. This must be done, however, with great
care, that the leaves, which are in this state very brittle, may not
be broken. Being placed under proper shelter, either in a barn or a
covered hovel, where they cannot be affected by the rain or too much
air, they must be thinly scattered on the floor, and if the sun does
not appear for several days, so that they can be laid out again, they
must remain to wilt in that manner; which is not indeed so desirable
as in the sun, nor will the tobacco prove quite so good.
When the leaves have acquired the flexibility before described, the
plants must be laid in heaps, or rather in one heap, if the quantity
be not too great, and in about twenty-four hours they will be found
to sweat. But during this time, when they have lain for a little
while, and begin to ferment, it is necessary to turn them; bringing
those which are in the middle to the surface, and placing those which
were at the surface, in the middle, that by this means the whole
quantity may be equally fermented. The longer they lie in this
situation the darker coloured the tobacco becomes. This is termed
"sweating the tobacco."
After they have lain in this manner for three or four days, for in
a longer time they may heat so much as to grow mouldy, the plants
may be fastened together in pairs, with cords or wooden pegs, near
the bottom of the stalk, and hung across a pole, with the leaves
suspended, in the same covered place, a proper interval being left
between each pair. In about a month the leaves will be thoroughly
dried, and of a proper temperature to be taken down. This state
may be ascertained by their appearing of the same colour as those
imported from America, with which few are unacquainted. But this can
be done at no other season than during wet weather; for the tobacco
being a plant greatly abounding with salts, it is always affected if
there is the least humidity in the atmosphere, even though it be hung
in a dry place. If this rule be not observed, but they are removed
in dry weather, the external parts of the leaves will crumble into
dust, and a considerable waste will attend its removal.
As soon as the plants are taken down, they must once more be laid in
a heap, and pressed with heavy logs of wood for about a week. This
climate, however, may require a longer time. While they remain in
this state, it will be necessary to introduce your hand frequently
into the heap, to discover whether the heat be not too intense; for
in large quantities this will sometimes be the case, and considerable
damage will accrue from it.
When they are found to heat too much, that is, when the heat exceeds
a moderate glowing warmth, part of the weight by which they are
compressed must be taken away; and the cause being removed, the
effect will cease. This is called "the second or last sweating," and
when compleated, which it generally will be in about the time just
mentioned, the leaves may be stripped from the stalks for use. Many
omit this last operation, but I think it takes away any remaining
harshness, and renders the tobacco more mellow. The strength of the
stalk also is diffused by it through the leaves, and the whole mass
becomes equally meliorated.
When the leaves are stripped from the stalks, they are to be tied up
in bunches or hands, and kept in a cellar, or any other place that is
damp; though if not handled in dry weather, but only during a rainy
season, it is of little consequence in what part of the house or barn
they are laid up. At this period the tobacco is thoroughly cured,
and equally as proper for manufacturing as that imported from the
colonies.
Having gone through the whole process, if it has been properly
managed, that raw fiery taste so frequently found in the common sale
tobacco will be totally eradicated, and though it retains all its
strength, will be soft and pleasing in its flavour. Those who are
curious in their tobacco in the northern colonies of America sprinkle
it, when made up into the roles for keeping, described in the first
chapter, with small common white wines or cyder, instead of salt
water, which gives it an inexpressibly fine flavour.
APPENDIX.
That estrangement which at present subsists between Great-Britain
and the American colonies, renders a supply of the article of
which I treat, and which is become so essentially necessary to
the happiness of a great number of his Majesty's subjects, very
uncertain; it depends, in a great measure, on the prizes, freighted
with this commodity, that happen to be taken, and on the quantities
which are imported from other commercial states at a high price.
It is therefore to be hoped that the legislature will take into
consideration so important a concern, and pursue such measures as
will conduce to remove this uncertainty. A remedy is at hand;
that of cultivating it in these kingdoms; but this appears to be
prohibited by the following ancient acts of parliament:
In an act of Charles the Second, entitled, "An act for prohibiting
the planting, setting, or sowing tobacco in England and Ireland," the
prohibition is thus expressed: "Your Majesty's loyal and obedient
subjects, the Lords and Commons in this present parliament assembled,
considering of how great concern and importance it is, that the
colonies and plantations of this kingdom in America, be defended,
protected, maintained, and kept up, and that all due and possible
encouragement be given unto them; and that not only in regard great
and considerable dominions and countries have been thereby gained,
and added to the imperial crown of this realm, but for that the
strength and welfare of this kingdom, do very much depend upon
them, in regard of the employment of a very considerable part of
its shipping and seamen, and of the vent of very great quantities
of its native commodities and manufactures, as also of its supply
with several considerable commodities which it was wont formerly to
have only from foreigners, and at far dearer rates: And forasmuch as
tobacco is one of the main products of several of those plantations,
and upon which their welfare and subsistence, and the navigation of
this kingdom, and vent of its commodities thither, do much depend;
and in regard it is found by experience, That by the planting of
tobacco in these parts your Majesty is deprived of a considerable
part of your revenue arising by customs upon imported tobacco; Do
most humbly pray, That it may be enacted by your Majesty: And it is
hereby enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and the Lords
and Commons in this present parliament assembled, and by authority
of the same, That no person or persons whatsoever, shall or do from
and after the first day of January, in the year of our Lord One
Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty, set, plant, improve to grow, make
or cure any tobacco either in seed, plant, or otherwise, in or upon
any ground, earth, field, or place within the kingdom of England,
dominion of Wales, islands of Guernsey or Jersey, or town of Berwick
upon Tweed, or in the kingdom of Ireland, under the penalty of the
forfeiture of all such tobacco, or the value thereof, or of the sum
of forty shillings for every rod or pole of ground so planted, set
or sown as aforesaid, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser
quantity of ground; one moiety thereof to his Majesty, his heirs and
successors; and the other moiety to him or them that shall sue for
the same, to be recovered by bill, plaint, or information in any
court of record, wherein no essoign, protection or wager in law shall
be allowed.
"Provided always and it is hereby enacted, That this act, nor any
thing therein contained, shall extend to the hindering of the
planting of tobacco in any physic garden of either university, or in
any other private garden for physic or chyrurgery, only so as the
quantity so planted exceed not half of one pole in any one place or
garden."
In this act all sheriffs, justices of the peace, or other officers,
upon information or complaint made unto them, are empowered to cause
to be burnt, plucked up, consumed or utterly destroyed all such
tobacco, set, sown, planted or growing within their jurisdiction. But
it not proving forcible enough to prevent the cultivation of tobacco;
in the fifteenth year of the reign of the said King, a clause was
inserted in an act, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of
trade," to the following purport, clause 18.
"And forasmuch as planting and making tobacco within the kingdom of
England doth continue and encrease, to the apparent loss of his said
Majesty in his customs, the discouragement of the English plantations
in the parts beyond the seas, and prejudice of this kingdom in
general, notwithstanding an act of parliament made in the twelfth
year of his said Majesty's reign for prevention thereof, entituled,
An act for prohibiting the planting, setting or sowing of tobacco in
England and Ireland; and forasmuch as it is found by experience, that
the reason why the said planting and making of tobacco doth continue,
is, That the penalties prescribed and appointed by that law are so
little, as to have neither power or effect over the transgressors
thereof; For remedy therefore of so great an evil, Be it enacted by
the authority aforesaid, That all and every the person or persons
whatsoever, that do, or shall at any time hereafter set, plant or
sow any tobacco in seed, plant or otherwise, in or upon any ground,
field, earth, or place within the kingdom of England, &c. shall, over
and above the penalty of the said act for that purpose ordained,
for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of ten pounds for
every rod or pole of ground that he or they shall so plant, set,
or sow with tobacco, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser
quantity of ground; one third part thereof to the King, one other
third part to the poor of such respective parish or parishes wherein
such tobacco shall be so planted, and the other third thereof to him
or them that shall sue for the same." "Physic gardens excepted as
before."
This penalty also proving insufficient to put a stop to the
cultivation, it was found necessary in the twenty-second year of the
reign of the said Charles the Second to enforce it by the following
act, entitled, "An act to prevent the planting of tobacco in
England, and regulating the plantation trade."
"Whereas the sowing, setting, planting and curing of tobacco, within
divers parts of the kingdom of England, doth continue and increase,
to the apparent loss of his Majesty's customs, and the discouragement
of his Majesty's plantations in America, and great prejudice of the
trade and navigation of this realm, and the vent of its commodities
thither, notwithstanding an act of parliament made in the twelfth
year of his Majesty's reign that now is, for the prevention thereof,
entitled, 'An act for prohibiting the planting, setting, or sowing
of tobacco in England and Ireland;' And also one other act of this
present parliament, made in the fifteenth year of his said Majesty's
reign, entitled, 'An act for the encouragement of trade.'
"And forasmuch as the remedies and provisions by these laws are found
not large enough to obviate and prevent the planting thereof, Be
it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
and Commons in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the
same, That from and after the first day of May, which shall be in
the year of our Lord, One Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy-one, all
justices of the peace, within their several limits and jurisdictions,
shall and do, a month before every general quarter-sessions to be
holden for their respective counties, issue forth their warrants
to all high-constables, petty-constables, and tything-men, within
their several limits, thereby requiring the said high-constables,
petty-constables and tything-men, and every of them, to make
diligent search and inquisition, what tobacco is then sown, set,
planted, growing, curing, cured or made within their several and
respective limits and jurisdictions, and by whom; and to make a true
and lawful presentment in writing upon oath, at the next general
quarter-sessions to be holden for such county, of the names of all
such persons as have sown, set, planted, cured or made any tobacco;
and what the full quantity of land is, or was sown, set or planted
therewith, and who are the immediate tenant or tenants, or present
occupiers of the land so sown, set or planted, who are or shall be
deemed planters thereof, to all intents and purposes.
"Which said presentment upon oath, shall be received and filed by the
clerk of the said county in open sessions; and after such receipt
and filing, shall be a sufficient conviction in law to all intents
and purposes, of all such persons as shall be so presented for the
sowing, setting, planting, improving to grow, making or curing
tobacco, either in seed, plant, leaf, or otherwise, contrary to the
said recited act or either of them; unless such person or persons
so presented shall, according to the usual forms, traverse such
presentment.
"And it is hereby further enacted, That all constables, tything-men,
bailiffs, and other public officers, shall and do within their
respective jurisdictions, from time to time, as often as occasion
shall require, within fourteen days after warrant from two or more
of the justices of the peace within such county, town, city or
place, to them, calling to their assistance such person or persons
as they and every of them shall find convenient and necessary, pluck
up, burn, consume, tear to pieces, and utterly destroy, all tobacco
seed, plant, leaf, planted, sowed, or growing in any field, earth or
ground."
The other clauses relative to the cultivation of tobacco in this act,
are, "A penalty on the officers of five shillings for every rod,
perch, or pole of ground so set, planted, or sowed with tobacco,
that shall be suffered or permitted to grow or be consumed in seed,
plant or leaf, within their jurisdiction, by the space of fourteen
days after the receipt of such warrant or warrants." "A penalty for
refusing to assist the officers, and also for resisting them." And
after making the same provision as before for the physic gardens, and
reciting many other articles for regulating the plantation trade, the
act thus concludes: "Provided always, and be it enacted. That this
act shall continue in force for nine years, and from thence to the
next session of parliament, and no longer."
By an act made the fifth of George the First, these acts are
confirmed and rendered perpetual.
The repeated inforcement of them seems to prove, that large
quantities of tobacco were raised at that period in these dominions,
and that even the penalty of ten pounds per rod was not sufficient
to deter persons from the cultivation of it.
As an application has just been made to parliament for an act to
permit the growth of it in Ireland, the observations made in this
Treatise will not, I flatter myself, be thought unworthy the notice
of the legislature, that so advantageous a branch of agriculture may
not be confined to one division of Great-Britain, but that every part
of these united kingdoms may be allowed to share in the emoluments
arising from it.
The advantages which will proceed from the permission, are too many
to be enumerated in so short a Work. Whether a sufficient quantity
can be raised in these kingdoms to supply the demand there was for
it before the American trade became interrupted, (as a revival of
the demand will be the certain consequence of a reduction of the
price) time alone can discover: but if enough be only raised for home
consumption, this will be no inconsiderable saving to the nation.
When the very great profits, arising to the planter from every acre
of tobacco, come to be known, (they will appear chimerical if I
inform my readers to what they amount) I doubt not but that tobacco
will be considered as the most valuable branch of agriculture which
can be attended to. An emulation, heightened by the prospect of
gain, being once excited in the breasts of the landholders of these
kingdoms, large tracks of land that now lie unimproved, will be
cultivated, and, after some years, enough may probably be raised to
answer the usual demands for exportation.
By this means the revenue, which has been so greatly diminished by
the unhappy divisions between Great-Britain and the colonies, will
be in a great measure restored. The duties to be collected for this
purpose may either be laid on the plants before they are gathered, or
during the time of cure, as on the article of malt; the collection
of which would be attended with very little additional expence, and
probably, at no distant period, amount to as much as was heretofore
received on imported tobacco. When the happy æra arrives that will
unite once more Great-Britain to the American colonies (an event, I
fear, more to be wished than expected) and a constant uninterrupted
supply of this necessary exotic provided, the wonted restraint might
be renewed, as far as is consistent with the situation of both
countries at that time.
By pursuing the rules laid down in the preceding chapters, which I
have endeavoured to give in as explicit terms as possible, country
gentlemen and landholders in general will be enabled to raise much
better tobacco than that which is usually imported from Maryland or
Virginia: for notwithstanding there are not wanting prohibitory laws
in those countries to prevent the planters from sending to market any
but the principal leaves, yet as most other commodities are subject
to abuse or adulteration, they frequently, to increase their profit,
suffer the sprouts to grow, and mix the smaller leaves of these with
the others, which renders them much inferior in goodness.
The crops that I have reason to believe may be raised in England,
will greatly exceed in flavour and efficacy any that is imported
from the southern colonies: for though northern climates require far
more care and exactness to cultivate and bring tobacco to a proper
state of maturity than warmer latitudes, yet this tardiness of growth
tends to impregnate the plants with a greater quantity of salts, and
consequently of that aromatic flavour for which it is prized, than is
to be found in the produce of hotter climes, where it is brought to
a state of perfection, from the seed, in half the time required in
colder regions.
A pound of tobacco raised in New-England or Nova-Scotia is supposed
to contain as much real strength as two pounds of Virginia; and
I doubt not but that near double the quantity of salts might be
extracted from it by a chymical process.
Good tobacco, the produce of the northern colonies, is powerful,
aromatic, and has a most pleasing flavour. The fumes of it are
invigorating to the head, and leave not that nausea on the stomach
that the common sort does. As much time would be required to smoke
one pipe of it, as three of that which is generally used: before so
great a quantity of the vapour could be drawn from it as to prove
hurtful, the smoker, from intoxication, would be unable to continue
his amusement. I can truly say, after a residence of several years
in England, that I never met with any tobacco, though I frequently
smoke, that in strength or the delicacy of its flavour, is to be
compared with that which I have been accustomed to in New-England.
Many authors have given accounts of the bad effects proceeding from
an immoderate use of tobacco. Borrhi mentions a person, who through
excess of smoking, had dried his brain to so great a degree, that
after his death there was nothing found in his skull but a small
black lump confirming of mere membranes. From the use of good tobacco
this could not have happened; for, as I have just observed, the fumes
which only prove noxious from an immoderate continuance, could not
have been repeated so often as to produce such dreadful effects.
To the instructions already given I shall add, that I would advise
the planter, in his first trials, not to be too avaricious, but to
top his plants before they have gained their utmost height; leaving
only about the middle quantity of leaves directed before, to give it
a tolerable degree of strength. For though this, if excessive, might
be abated during the cure, by an increase of sweating, or be remedied
the next season by more leaves being suffered to grow, it can never
be added; and without a certain degree, the tobacco will always be
tasteless and of little value. On the contrary, though it be ever so
much weakened by sweating, and thereby rendered mild, yet it will
never lose that aromatic flavour which accompanied that strength, and
which greatly adds to its value.
In the directions before given for raising the plants from the seed,
I have omitted to mention the size of the beds on which a specified
number of them may be produced. I apprehend that a square yard of
land, for which a very small quantity of seed is sufficient, they
being so diminutive, will produce about five hundred plants, and
allow proper space for their nurture till they are fit to transplant.
I shall also just add, though the example can only be followed in
particular parts of these kingdoms, that the Americans usually chuse
for the place where they intend to make the seedling-bed, part of a
copse, or a spot of ground covered with wood, of which they burn down
such a portion as they think necessary. Having done this, they rake
up the subjacent mould, and mixing it with the ashes thus produced,
sow therein the seed, without adding any other manure, or taking any
other steps. Where this method cannot be pursued (though it is much
the best, as it destroys at the same time the weeds) wood ashes,
which are most proper manure for this purpose, may be strewed over
the mould in which the seed is designed to be sown.
The Author presumes that the preceding instructions will be found
sufficient for any person inclined to enter upon the cultivation of
tobacco; yet if any nobleman or gentleman wishes to consult him upon
the subject, he will give his attendance on receiving a line at his
Publisher's.
FINIS.