e had expired, were
attracted to Manhattan, where they introduced improved modes of
cultivating tobacco." Van Twiller was himself a grower of the plant
and had his tobacco farm at Greenwich. Soon after its cultivation
began it was subjected to Excise; and regulations were published to
check the abuses which injured "the high name" it had gained in
foreign countries.[17]

[Footnote 17: Jacob van Churler and David Provoost were
appointed inspectors of the new staple tobacco. "In 1652
the commonalty at Manhattan was informed that, to show
their good intentions, the Amsterdam directors had
determined to take off the export duty of tobacco."]

Wailes says of the early cultivation of tobacco in Mississippi:

"When the country came under the dominion of Spain, a market
was opened in New Orleans; a trade in tobacco was
established, and a fixed and remunerating price was paid for
it, delivered at the king's warehouses. Tobacco thus became
the first marketable staple production of Mississippi."[18]

[Footnote 18: In 1783 Mr. Wm. Dunbar writes: "The soil
of Natchez is particularly favorable for tobacco and
there are overseers there, who will almost engage to
produce you between two and three hogsheads to the hand
besides provisions."]

An English writer has the following account of the culture of tobacco
in Louisiana by the French:

"Tobacco is another plant indigenous to this part of
America; the French colonists cultivated it with such
success that had they received any encouragement from their
government they might soon have rivalled Virginia and
Maryland; but instead of this they were taxed heavily for
cultivating it, by duties laid on the trade; what they
produced was of so excellent a quality, as to sell some at
five shillings a pound. There is one advantage in this
culture here which ought not to be forgotten; in Louisiana
the French planters after the tobacco is cut, weeded and
cleaned the ground on which it grew the roots, push forth
fresh shoots, which are managed in the same manner as the
first crop. By this means a second crop is made on the same
ground, and sometimes a third. These seconds indeed, as they
are called, do not usually grow so high as the first plant,
but