n the middle of August and the same time in
September, a plot of ground is hoed and embanked into small squares;
in these the seed is sown, and covered by hand three times at
intervals of ten days. To secure a succession of seedlings water is
then given, and the sun's rays moderated by a covering of bushes.
Watering is repeated every day for a month, and then only every fifth
day. The field in which the seedlings are transplanted, is manured and
ploughed at the end of August. Cattle are also folded upon the ground.
Four or five ploughings are given between mid September and the middle
of October, when the field is divided as above into small squares.
These are watered until the soil is rendered a mud. Plants of the
first sowing are then inserted at the end of September, about a cubit
apart, the transplanting being done in the afternoon. At intervals of
ten days the seedlings of the other two sowings are removed. A month
after being transplanted the field is hoed, and after another month
the leading shoot of each plant is pinched off, so as to leave them
not more than a cubit high. Three times during the next month all side
shoots thrown out are removed. When four months old, the crop is ready
for cutting. To render the leaves sweet the field is watered, and the
plants cut down close to the surface, being allowed to remain when cut
until next morning. Their roots are tied to a rope and suspended round
the hedges. In fine weather the leaves are dry in ten days, but if
cloudy they require five more days. They are then heaped up under a
roof, which is covered with bushes and pressed with stones for five
days. After this the leaves are removed from the stems, tied in
bunches, heaped again, and pressed for four days longer. They are now
tied in bundles, partly of the small leaf and partly of the large leaf
bundles, and again put in heaps for ten days--once during the time the
heaps being opened and piled afresh. This completes the drying. A
thousand bundles, weighing about 570 lbs., is a good produce for an
acre.

In 1760, Ceylon produced a considerable quantity of tobacco,
principally about Jaffna, a demand having sprung up for it in
Travancore, and on the Malay coast. The cultivation spread to other
districts of the island, Negombo, Chilaw, and Matura. Not long after
the possession of the island by the British, a monopoly was created by
an import duty of 25 per cent., _ad valorem_, and in 1811 the growers
were compelled to