The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-12-15
A Turkish Tobacco Farm.

err, and whose smiling face seemed to
say that care, which to true Moham- I
medan is sin, had never cast upon him
its oppressive shadow. With the pro-
verbal politeness of the Turk we were
| welcomed and shown up into room
destitute of either chairs or sofas, with
the floor strewn with carpets. on which,
round the sides, are couches with low
cushions. Squatting ON couch, we
receive cigarettes and coffee, and the
host brings us bowl containing some
of his fresh tobacco cut by him to test
the quality of the new crop. With
pride he dwells upon its excellent per-
fume and the connoisseurs who accom-
pany me test it by the eve and the nose
before bringing it to the test of the pal
ate. 1t is declared an excellent crop,
to the evident delight of the worthy
| cultivator We then descend to the
court yard full of tobacco leaves drying
in the sun. These leaves are plucked
from the plant according to their class
| for each stem contains five classes of
leaves( before the heat of the midday
sun, and, as plucked, the leaves from
each plant are left in little heap upon
the ground under the shade of the
plant. When the days plucking is
completed, the pluckers go round, and,
gathering up all the little heaps, take
them home, where they are placed leaf
above leaf against the inner wall of
shed in row of about nine inches
high by about the same broad, Three
I days they so lie until the extra moisture
on the leaves has, as it is described,
got to the ground. Then worker,
most frequently girl or boy, seated on
the ground, passes the leaves one by
one upon needle fifteen inches long,
three-edged, and threaded with cord.
When the whole surface of the needle
is covered he draws it through, and
goes on until he has covered q cord of
about twelve feet in length. These
cords are suspended in the open air
upon wooden frames-each cord apart,
about nine inches from the other-and
thus suspended they remain for about
fifteen days exposed to the sun and air
until they are so crisp that the leaves
break to the touch. The frames, rods
and hooks are ingeniously constructed,
all of wood of natural form and dimen-
sions, not touched by plane, and all
the work of the peasant. Near by, I'M
|
the rods with suspended leaves can rap
idly be transferred in the event of rain.
When the leaves are sufficiently dried
the cords and leavesare removed to the
ceiling of the adjoining shed and
hung from wooden hooks about foot
apart, the two ends of the cord having
been tied. and the circle thus formed
is suspended from its center. So sus-
pended the leaves remain for two or
three months, until the dampness of
the autumn air makes them pliable.
Then they are removed, one by one
with the hand from off the cord, and
packed leaf over leaf with the greatest
care into little bales. In spring a nat
ural fermentation sets in, and it is
under this fermentation that the leaves
acquire their deep yellow tint. During
the fermentation the bales have to be
constantly turned. The fermentation
over, about the middle of May the to-
bacco is ready for delivery. Merchants
in Xanthi wait its delivery with impa-
tience, and in few months hardly any
remains in the hands of the cultivators
! The packages as received by the mer-
chants are opened and carefully CLASH
fed into three categories-A, B and C.
The Acknowledgements Regie receive
nearly third of the whole crop, and
the rest is distributed among the other
countries of the world, Russia getting
the largest share. But before breaches
the vast majority of smokers the choice
leaves are mixed with ''Krchi Yaka,"
and even inferior qualities, and it may
be questioned whether 100 smokers
abroad enjoy the unmiXed article.
When it is mentioned that the best
leaves are only from three to five inches
in length. and that q cord of them
twelve feet in length only weighs
pound and four-fifths, some conception
may be formed of the myriads of
leaves which have three times passed,
one by one, through the hands of the
workers. Its work of patience, but
it has its reward.
Notwithstanding the great excellence
of these choice tobaccos to-day those
who remember them twenty years ago
acknowledge that their quality has de-
Perforated since then. The cause of
this deterioration was easily explained
to me. Encouraged by high prices and
an ever-increasing demand, cultivators
have gradually been extending their
culture outside of the favored belt of
land. This extension is only to the
limits of 500 to 1000 yards, and vet the
deterioration is sufficient to be observ-
able. This slightly deteriorated pro-
duce is mixed with the choice and di-
minishes the quality of the whole. The
gradual deterioration is likely still to
60 on, and it is only owing to the I'M
ambitious characteristics of the Mus
sulman cultivators that the deteriora-
ton does not proceed more rapidly.
To attain the finest smoking of
"Yaka' tobacco, the connoisseur re-
quires to blend the qualities of the diff
ferent villages according to the nature
of the years crop. Thus, to smoke
"Gelepli' tobacco alone would give but
a poor conception of what the finest
smoking may be. In "Gelepli'' may be
found high perfume, while in that of
another village strength and taste, or
what the modern Greeks more aptly
call ''pioma," must be sought. 1t is
this science of blending which is the
most delicate. and the number of con-
| o,,,o1 t,tfIn facl- ic four To-