Tobacco cultivation in late 19th century Sumatra was a tedious and complicated process. First, the tobacco seeds were mixed with wood ash and sown. Then the seed beds were tended very carefully. Plants were watered, caterpillars removed and plots weeded regularly. The delicate seedlings had to be grown under temporary shades. When the plants sprouted three or four leaves, the shade was thinned and eventually removed. Six after the date of sowing, the seedlings were transplanted—a process that took some forty to forty five days. In the first week after transplanting, the young seedlings were again temporarily shaded from the sun. Harvesting would then start six to eight weeks after transplanting.
