owth of the tobacco
plant; the area of land cultivated is upon the whole, a very
limited one, and in 1871 did not exceed 178.2 hectares. The
Grand Duchy of Baden has at all times been the chief
tobacco-growing part of Germany; as far back as the end of
the Seventeenth Century, special laws for regulation of the
cultivation, preparation, and warehousing of this article
were in force. The most prominent tobacco-growing districts
of Baden are those of Carlsruhe, Mannheim, Heidelburg,
Badenburg, Schwetzingen, and Lahr; the quality of the plant
grown in those parts being a very superior one (among the
various kinds of German tobacco). The produce of the
districts mentioned is therefore applied chiefly in the
manufacture of cigar wrappers, and is exported in
considerable quantities to Bremen, Hamburg, Switzerland,
Holland, and even to America for the use of cigar
manufacture. The prices of the best kinds of Baden tobacco
are consequently also, on an average, much higher than those
realized by other German growers. In the Grand Duchy of
Hesse the plant is cultivated, the chief district being that
around the town of Darmstadt; in the Thuringian States,
tobacco is grown; the most prominent among them as regards
its production is the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. In
Mecklenburg also some tobacco is raised, the most important
district being that of Neu Brandenburg (in
Mecklenburg-Strelitz). In Brunswick only a small extent of
land is used for tobacco growing, the same being situated
near the town of Helmstadt. In Alsace and Lorraine, the
recently acquired provinces of Germany, the cultivation of
tobacco has been extensively carried on for many years, more
especially in the country around Strasburg, Mulhausen,
Schirmeck, and Munster, and to a small extent near Metz and
Thionville."

It is apparent from this account that the German tobacco fields
produce a vast quantity of tobacco, some of which is of excellent
texture and flavor, and well adapted to the taste of European smokers
of the plant.

Ever since the introduction of tobacco into Holland, its cultivation
and its use has been looked upon with favor by the "true-born
Nederlander," who associates the plant with every social enjoyment.
The Dutch, on the discovery of tobacco, were among the first to use it
and encourage i