Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-13

TOBACCO companies mas one plantation on
which are several thousand hands. The
average tobacco farm consists of but a few
acres, and it's owner produces but three or
four bales Of tobacco a year. The seed is
first sown in beds, just as in the United
States. After the plants have well sprouted
they are set out about two or three feet
apart; so close, indeed, that, 1t is said, there
are sometimes 1O, 900 tobacco plants to one
acre. The planting is done late in the fall,
and by March and April the leaves are
ready for harvest. The crop must be kept
welded and every morning the plants must
be gone over for worms. This work is done
entirely by women and girls. The tobacco
leaves are cured in sheds and then allowed
to ferment, and then dried in the air.
When ready for market they are put up
in bundles of 100 leaves each. tied with
strings of rattan. Forty such bundles make
a bale, so that there are just 1000 leaves
to the bale. The bales are wrapped In mats
of banana leaves and tied with rattan. In
this shape they are 1oated down the Rio
Grande or other rivers in covered boats
10 the seaports, whence they go by steamer
TO Manila. The chief tobacco port Of Luzon
is APART, at the mouth Of the Rio Grande.
Big Tobacco Companies.
There are a number OF tobacco com-
panies here of large capital, which handl.
both leaf tobacco and cigars and cigarettes.
business Is about equally divided De-
tween the Spaniards and Germans. with
the Spaniards in the lead. The several
companies have their branch houses in the
Cagayan valley. They send out cents who
buy of the farmers and ship the crops to
Manila. Some OF the companies are large,
one having a capital of SIS, 000, 900 gold. It
nmnlnU0 alfn0ofhnr In tho nnf1hhnHhnn1 90
$1,000 hands and has steamers of its own
to carry its tobacco from the plantations
to Manila. 1t has great warehouses there.
where the leaf is packed for shipment. and
also cigar and cigarette factories. 1t an
nually produces about 100, 900, 900 cigars
and about half a billion cigarettes. in ad-
dition to some millions OF pounds OF cut
tobacco.
l visited one Of the warehouses Of this
company and watched the process Of sort
ing the tobacco and baling II for export.
The packages are opened as soon as they
come in, and the leaves carefully sorted
and graded, being kept as far as possible IN
the original bundles. After sorting they are
laid one on top Of another in the shape Of
a bale about four feet long and two feet
square. This bale is wrapped in mating
made Of banana leaves and then pressed.
The pressing is done by a screw worked
on the principle Of a letter press. The
screw is moved around by a score OF Chi
nese, who push upon levers attached to a
wheel in which the screw is fastened. Al
ter the bale has been pressed to the de-
sired dimensions II is again bound with
strips Of rattan and marked for shipment
to Europe.
The work Of handling the tobacco is done
very cheaply and not as carefully as 1t
should be. The labor is everywhere so
cheap that II the United States should re-
move its tari1 on tobacco it will be sent
by the ~shipload to our markets.
Philippines, United states and Cuba.
In that case there would be at once an
immense increase in the tobacco area. l
am told there are vast tracts Of wild land
in the islands that might be used for to-
bacco raising. Much Of this belongs to
the government and it will probably soon
be offered for sale. Under the present con-
ditions there is no reason for alarm, for
the market for Philippine tobaccos is al
ready fixed.
The most OF the product now goes to
Europe and the greater part to Spain. Of
the leaf exports in 1897 Europe took in
round numbers "a. 900. 900 pounds; England,
5000, 900; Singapore and India, s73, 900;
China and Japan. 274,OOe. and Australia,