THE PRODUCTION, COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO.
Few comparatively of the users or even of the growers and
manufacturers of tobacco, are aware of the vast amount cultivated,
manufactured and used. Many suppose that its cultivation is confined
to the United States and a few of the West India Islands, having no
idea of the large quantities grown in Europe, Asia and Africa and the
islands of the East India Archipelago. The Spaniards first began the
cultivation of the plant on the Island of St. Domingo, afterwards
extending it to Trinidad, the coast of South America, Mexico and the
Philippine Islands. In Portugal the cultivation commenced about
1575-80, and continued some years. The Dutch a little later, began the
production of tobacco in the East Indies, and in connection with the
Spaniards and Portuguese were the only cultivators of tobacco until
the English commenced its growth in Virginia in 1616.
The first production in St. Domingo by the Spaniards was sometime
previous to 1535, and the island has continued to produce the great
staple until now. In Trinidad, however, a finer article was yielded,
and its cultivation became more general here until the Spaniards began
to plant it in Cuba in 1580. From the West Indies, South America and
the East Indies, Europe raised its supply of tobacco until the English
colonists commenced its cultivation in Virginia. The Spaniards and
Portuguese at first controlled the trade in tobacco, and extorted most
fabulous prices for it. As soon, however, as the Dutch and English
began to cultivate it and receive it from their colonies the price
gradually fell while the demand and consumption for it increased in
proportion to the falling off of prices. From the island of Trinidad,
Europe received its finest tobacco, and it continued to maintain its
reputation as such until that variety known as Varinas tobacco from
South America appeared; this variety attracted the attention of
European buyers and consumers, from its superiority in flavor and
appearance which it has maintained for more than two hundred and fifty
years.
In South America, the cultivation of tobacco took its rise in
Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia. The varieties there produced had
acquired an established reputation as early as 1600, together with St.
Lucia, Philippine and Margarita tobaccos. Early in the Seventeenth
Century, the Dutch became the great producers and importers into
Europe, and the growths of their colonies continued to furnish a large
proportion of the quantity used until English colonial tobacco made
its appearance from Virginia.
The Plymouth and London companies from its first appearance in their
markets, saw its vast importance as an article of agriculture and
commerce, and in twenty years after the first planting of it, began to
reap rich returns from its sale and production. From this time
forward, not only in America, but in Europe and Asia, its cultivation
spread among other nations until at length it has become one of the
great sources of revenue of almost every country, and a leading
product of nearly every clime. The islands of St. Domingo, Trinidad,
St. Lucia and Martinique, do not produce as large quantities of
tobacco as formerly; its cultivation in the West Indies being now
confined chiefly to the island of Cuba.
This island produces at the present time the finest cigar leaf of the
West Indies, which is considered by many as the best grown. The value
of the annual product of Cuba is estimated at $20,000,000, nearly as
much as that of the entire United States. Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela,
and Paraguay, which are the tobacco-producing countries of South
America, furnish Europe with a large amount of leaf tobacco. In
Brazil according to Scully it "occupies the fourth place in the
exports" and is extensively cultivated in various parts of the empire.
In Venezuela it is an important article of agriculture, and the
product is of fine quality and in good repute in Europe. Colombia has
long been noted for the amount and excellence of its tobacco; its
various growths are fine in all respects and are among the finest
cigar tobaccos grown. In Paraguay large quantities of excellent cigar
tobacco are raised, much of which is used in various parts of South
America, the remainder going to Europe.
All of the tobacco of South America is unrivaled in flavor and is well
adapted for the manufacture of cigars. In Mexico, tobacco is raised to
some extent, particularly in the Gulf States, where it develops
remarkably and is of excellent quality both in texture and flavor.
Mexico is doubtless as well adapted for tobacco as any country in the
world, and if certain restrictions[83] were removed, its culture would
increase and the demand would cause its extensive production. In the
Central American States, some tobacco is cultivated, but not to the
extent that is warranted by the demand or the adaptation of the soil.
Some parts of the States, especially of Honduras, are well adapted for
the production of the very finest leaf. As it is but little is grown;
hardly any being exported to Europe. America is the native home of the
tobacco plant, and in the United States vast quantities are produced
of all qualities and suited for all purposes.
[Footnote 83: Tobacco is not allowed to pass from one
state into another without paying a certain duty.]
In New England from 20,000 to 30,000 acres are cultivated annually,
estimated to yield on an average from 1500 to 1700 pounds to the acre.
The annual product in cases is from 50,000 to 170,000.[84] Of the
Middle States, New York and Pennsylvania furnish a large amount of
"seed leaf" as it is called. In 1872 the latter state reported 38,010
cases, mostly grown in three counties. A fine quality of tobacco is
raised in the immediate vicinity of the old William Penn mansion, and
is known to all dealers as superior leaf. In New York the crop is
usually good, and along the valleys are found some excellent lands for
its culture.
[Footnote 84: The amount in 1872, was 172,000.]
As we go South, we reach the great tobacco-growing states, Maryland,
Virginia, Kentucky, and others. Maryland has long been noted for its
tobacco, and annually exports thousands of hogsheads to European
markets. Virginia, as we have seen, is the oldest tobacco-producing
state in the Union, and still continues to raise thousands of acres of
the "weed" for home use and for export. In 1622, six years after its
cultivation began, she produced 60,000 pounds of leaf tobacco. North
Carolina also raises a fine article of smoking tobacco--of fine color
and superior flavor. This state has long been noted for its superior
leaf tobacco, and ever since the first settlement of the state has
produced large quantities of it. In 1753 100 hogsheads were exported,
the number constantly increasing until the present. In Georgia some
tobacco is grown. Havana tobacco was first cultivated in this state by
Col. McIntosh, and succeeded finely in some of the counties along the
coast.
In Florida, Havana tobacco is cultivated altogether. It differs
somewhat in flavor, however, so that it is called Florida tobacco, not
because it is grown in that state, but because it is a little bitter,
unlike that grown in Cuba. Kentucky is the great tobacco-producing
state of the Union. Two-fifths of the entire amount grown in the
country comes from this state. In 1871 nearly 150,000 acres were
devoted to it in the state--producing 103,500,000 pounds of leaf
tobacco. In Ohio and Missouri large quantities of tobacco are grown,
the former state furnishing both cutting and seed leaf tobaccos. The
other Western states including Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, are
engaged largely in its production, and furnish a good article of leaf.
California for the last few years has given the culture of tobacco
some attention, and promises to become a great tobacco-producing
state. The United States have cultivated in some seasons 350,769 acres
of tobacco, valued at $25,901,769. The average yield per acre is
greater in Connecticut than in any other state, being 1,700 pounds,
while the smallest yield is in Georgia, 350 pounds. The average price
per pound in Connecticut is 25 cts; in Kentucky 7 7-10 cts; in Georgia
21 4-10 cts; in Ohio 9 1-10 cts; and in Pennsylvania 15 2-10 cts. In
1855 there was exported from this country 150,213 hogsheads and 13,366
cases of tobacco.
In Europe large quantities of tobacco are grown, excepting in England,
Spain, and Portugal, where its culture is prohibited by law to benefit
the colonial growers of the plant. Austria is the great
tobacco-producing country of Europe, and yields an annual product of
45,000,000 pounds of tobacco; the leaf is of good quality, and is used
for cigars. France also raises about 30,000,000 pounds of tobacco
besides importing large quantities from the United States. In Russia
the annual tobacco crop is about 25,000,000 pounds. In Holland about
as much tobacco is grown as in the state of Connecticut--6,000,000
pounds and the product is adapted for both cigar and snuff-leaf. Large
quantities of tobacco are also imported, from 30,000,000 to 35,000,000
pounds. The tobacco factories in the country are stated to give
employment to one million operatives. Belgium produces considerable
tobacco, about 3,000,000 pounds annually. Switzerland also raises from
1,000,000 to 1,200,000 pounds of leaf. In Greece tobacco is an
important product and the quality of leaf is very fine; her product
has been as high as 5,500,000 pounds.
In Asia tobacco has long been cultivated, and is one of the greatest
products of the country. In both Asiatic and European Turkey the
annual production is about 43,000,000 pounds. In China and Japan large
quantities are grown, as well as in Persia, Thibet, and other portions
of Asia. In the Philippine Islands its cultivation is carried on by
the Spaniards, as it has been for upwards of 250 years. Bowring says
of its culture:--
"The money value of the tobacco grown in the Philippines is
estimated at from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 of dollars, say
1,000,000l. sterling. Of this nearly one half is consumed in
the island, one quarter is exported in the form of cheroots
(which is the Oriental word for cigars), and the remainder
sent to Spain in leaves and cigars, being estimated as an
annual average contribution exceeding 800,000 dollars. The
sale of tobacco is a strict government monopoly, but the
impossibility of keeping up any sufficient machinery for the
protection of that monopoly is obvious even to the least
observant. The cultivator, who is bound to deliver all his
produce to the government, first takes care of himself and
his neighbors, and secures the best of his growth for his
own benefit. From functionaries able to obtain the best
which the government brings to market, a present is often
volunteered, which shows that they avail themselves of
something better than the best. And in discussing the matter
with the most intelligent of the empleados, they agreed that
the emancipation of the producer, the manufacturer and the
seller, and the establishment of a simple duty, would be
more productive to the revenue than the present vexatious
and inefficient system of privileges.
"In 1810 the deliveries were 50,000 bales (of two arrobas),
of which Gapan furnished 47,000 and Cayayan 2,000. In 1841
Cayayan furnished 170,000 bales; Gapan, 84,000; and New
Biscay, 34,000. But the produce is enormously increased; and
so large is the native consumption, of which a large
proportion pays no duty, that it would not be easy to make
even an approximative estimate of the extent and value of
the whole tobacco harvest. Where the fiscal authorities are
so scattered and so corrupt;--where communications are so
imperfect and sometimes wholly interrupted; where large
tracts of territory are in the possession of tribes
unsubdued or in a state of imperfect subjection; where even
among the more civilized Indians the rights of property are
rudely defied, and civil authority imperfectly maintained;
where smuggling, though it may be attended with some risk,
is scarcely deemed by any body an offense, and the very
highest functionaries themselves smoke and offer to their
guests contraband cigars on account of their superior
quality,--it may well be supposed that lax laws, lax morals
and lax practices, harmonize with each other, and that such
a state of things as exists in the Philippines must be the
necessary, the inevitable result.
"I am informed by the alcalde mayor of Cayayan that he sent
in 1858 to Manilla from that province tobacco for no less a
value than 2,000,000 dollars. The quality is the best of the
Philippines; it is all forwarded in leaf to the capital. The
tobacco used by the natives is not subject to the _estanco_,
and on my inquiring as to the cost of a cigar in Cagayan,
the answer was 'Casinada' (Almost nothing). They are not so
well rolled as those of the government, but undoubtedly the
raw material is of the very best."
In Sumatra some of the finest tobacco in the world is produced which
has an established reputation in European markets.
In Africa tobacco is grown to some extent in Egypt, Algiers and
Tripoli as well as by the natives of Central and South, Western
Africa. The French have paid particular attention to its culture in
Algiers and have succeeded in producing tobacco of good flavor and
texture. In Australia the plant does remarkably well and promises to
become as celebrated as that of other portions or islands of the East
India Archipelago.
It readily appears from the extensive cultivation of tobacco that it
can hardly fail of becoming an important article of commerce. The
Spaniards and Portuguese found it to be an important source of
revenue, and from South America and the West Indies exported large
quantities to Europe. As soon as it began to be cultivated in Virginia
its commercial value began to be apparent and attracted many
navigators who came thither to barter for tobacco and furs, and other
articles of inferior value. Most of the tobacco exported from the
United States is shipped to Europe and from there is reshipped to Asia
and Africa. Of foreign tobacco but little finds its way to this
country, the duties[85] preventing many varieties of excellent quality
competing with our domestic tobacco. Cuba, St. Domingo and Manilla
tobacco are the only varieties that are imported from other countries.
West India tobacco, more particularly that of Cuba--is shipped to all
parts of the world, especially to Spain, Great Britain, Russia, France
and the United States.
[Footnote 85: Thirty-five cents a pound, gold.]
The tobacco of South America is exported almost entirely to Europe.
England receives a large quantity of South American tobacco as well as
Spain and Portugal. The varieties cultivated in Asia and Africa for
export are shipped mostly to Europe. Great Britain, Spain, France and
Germany are the great tobacco-consuming countries of the world, or
at least of Europe. In Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, no tobacco
is cultivated, and these countries are therefore dependent upon their
colonies for a supply of the great product. The commerce in the plant
is extensive and reaches to every part of the globe. No nation, state,
or empire now ignores the revenue to be derived from its import or
culture, and many a government receives more from this plant alone
than from any other source.
While some nations prohibit its culture at home, their colonies are
allowed to grow it, and thus the article and the revenue are both
secured. But while the production of the plant and the commerce
depending on it are extensive, they are not more so than the
manufacture of the leaf into the various preparations for use. The
government work-shops of Seville and Manilla, as well as those of
Havana and Paris are of enormous proportions and employ thousands of
operatives in the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes. In this
country and in England, large quantities of cigars are made both from
domestic and foreign tobaccos.
In South America also many are made, but more for home use than for
export. Cutting leaf is largely manufactured in this country,
especially near the great leaf growing sections. Most of this is used
here, the leaf for manufacture abroad being exported in hogsheads for
cutting in any form desired. Snuff leaf is exported largely from this
country to Great Britain and France, where are the largest
manufacturers of snuff in the world. At the present time the demand
seems greater for cutting than for cigar leaf. The growths of the West
Indies and South America furnish a large quantity of fine tobacco for
cigars, but comparatively little for cutting purposes. European
tobaccos are adapted for both cutting and for cigars, and are used
extensively at home though not considered equal to American varieties,
being of a milder flavor. As an article of production and commerce,
tobacco must be considered as important as any of the great products
or staples, since the demand is constant and continually increasing.
Year by year its cultivation extends into new sections, where it
becomes a permanent production if the soil and climate prove
congenial. From time to time new varieties become known, and are
cultivated in various countries with success varying according to the
soil and climate and the knowledge of the planter. Nowhere is the
plant receiving more attention both in its cultivation and
manufacture, than in this country. The varieties grown in the tropics
have been tested with more or less success, and bid fair ere long to
become the leading kinds in some sections. But not alone in this
country is the plant attracting the attention of the great commercial
nations. In Europe and Asia as well as in Africa, its production is
assuming the large proportions due to its vast importance to
Agriculture and Commerce.
[Illustration: End.]