TOBACCO GROWING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3862, 20 March 1928, Page 16

TOBACCO GROWING.

z AUSTRALIAN EFFORTS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, March 8.

The success of tobacco growing experiments in New Zealand was received with great interest in Australia, where the importance of producing in this part of the world a good quality leaf is fully realised. Efforts which have been made in Australia to date have not been very encouraging, but a definite effort is now being xnade to place the industry on a sound footing. Th e Commonwealth, with the co-operation of the British-Australian Tobacco Company, has how secured the services of an expert, Mr C. M. Slagg, who has been chief of the tobacco division of the Canadian Department of Agriculture since 1924.

“ The committee which has charge of the experiments has had the sum of £90,000 placed at its disposal, part of ■which was contributed by the tobacco company, and the experiments generally ..will be under the control of the Development and Migration Committee. .Mr Slagg is now carrying out preliminary inquiries, and it will probably be some time before ho is in a position to recommend the policy to be followed. Soil and climatic conditions play an important part in the .production of tobacco, yet there is »io reaaon why Australia should not be nble to produce "a leaf that will be able to com-

pete with the best that is produced in America. In view of the enormous amount of tobacco imported annually the value of success, will be readily realised. Without committing himsef in any way, Mr Slagg said that he hoped to achieve great success.

There seems to be no reason why Australia and New Zealand should not do what Canada has done in recent years. According to Mr Slagg, the industry in Canada has made remarkable progress. He said that 60 per cent, of the tobacco now used in the dominion was made from the home-grown product, whereas a few years ago it had been only'3o per cent. The Canadian Federal Government had established experimental tobacco growing stations throughout Southern Canada, in addition to the principal station at Ottawa, where the pathology of the tobacco plant and the scientific field husbandry necessary for its finer culture were closely studied. As a result of these studies suitable varieties of the plant had been cultivated on a large scale. The Canadian export -trade of home-grown tobacco to the British Isles had increased enomously, and last year was valued at £400,000. '