lves in the ground. The
second lot was transplanted into a more sheltered patch,
where the progress was all that could be desired, both the
varieties growing rapidly, the Havana especially producing
some leaves of enormous size. The first cutting was
entrusted to a potel, who managed it according to the native
process of curing. The tobacco was so strong, however, that
only old confirmed smokers could manage it. The most
formidable difficulty which presented itself was the
management of the midrib, which in the large leaves was
extremely coarse and juicy. When the leaves were made up
into hands for the purpose of fermentation before the midrib
was thoroughly dry, the result was invariably mould and
discoloration. On the other hand, when dried sufficiently to
insure freedom from mould, the lamina of the leaf became so
brittle that it was crushed to powder at the slightest
touch, and so wrinkled and dry that the heaps did not
ferment at all. Of the varieties supplied, the Shiraz,
Havana, and Maryland attracted most attention and promised
the best results. The great drawback was the curing part of
the process. So far as the cultivation was concerned, there
was every prospect of success; but not so with regard to the
curing."

Robertson says of the curing of the leaf:--

"In my opinion, all efforts to produce good tobacco will be
useless until the services of a competent curer are
obtained."

He considers the fault of all Indian tobacco to lie in the curing. The
leaf itself is good, and it is simply the art of curing that should be
studied.

"I have cured tobacco of different varieties, some of which
would hold a good place in the English market, but the fault
generally found with the tobacco is that it is too full
flavored. Further experiments were carried on in the same
districts with varying results. In Sind the experiments and
their results were insignificant. In Broach they were
somewhat more successful, the superintendent thus
summarising his experience:--'Havana, Shiraz, and other
varieties of exotic tobacco will, with ordinary care and
attention, yield fair and certain crops on ordinary black
land, and presumably on every other kind to be met with in
Guzerat. By the skillful application of manure, leaf of any
desired qua