Note Back to Main Text — Chapter XI

This variety is one of the most celebrated grown in the East.[69] It is used exclusively for the manufacture of cigars and cheroots, and supplies India and Spain with a vast quantity of the manufactured article. The plant is a strong, vigorous grower, bearing dark green leaves; coming forward rapidly under the careful culture bestowed upon the plants.[70] After curing, the leaves show a variety of colors ranging from dark brown to light yellow or straw color. The leaf when cured, has a peculiar appearance unlike that of any other tobacco. It is of good body but smooth, and has the appearance of tobacco that has been 'frost-bitten.' The leaf is not as porous as most other tobaccos, and therefore does not as readily ignite, and frequently 'chars' in burning—thus giving it the name of a non-burning tobacco.