194 NOTES. 
jf Of Topping the Plant. — 
© This» cnnicnd) simply, is that of ats off with the 
thumb: nail* the leading ‘stem or sprout of the plant, which 
would, if left alone, run up to flower and seed ; but. which, from 
the more substantial formation of the leaf by the help of the nu- 
tritive juices, which are thereby afforded to the lower parts of 
the plant, and thus absorbed through the ducts and fibres of the 
leaf, is rendered more weighty, thick, and fit for market. The 
qualified sense of this term is applicable to certain legal restric- 
tions founded upon long experience, and calculated to compel an 
amendment in the culture of this staple of the Virginia trade, so 
that it shall at all times excel in foreign markets, and thus just- 
ly merit asuperior reputation. I do not exactly recollect the 
present limitation by law, which has changed, I believe, with 
the progress of experience; but the custom is to top the plant 
to nine, seven, or five leaves, as the sone ana soil nie seem 
racket to bear.» ae : fils 
of the ke and ae 
«The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make 
its appearance and shoot -forth from the stem or stalk, near to 
the junction of the leaves with the stem, and about the root of 
the plant ; and if these suckers are permitted to grow, they in- 
juré the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division 
of its nutriment during the act of maturation. The planter is 
therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb nail, 
as in the act of topping, and this process is termed suckering. — 
_ «This superfluity of vegetation, like that of the top, has 
been often the subject of legislative care ; and the policy of sup- 
pip: the aii name - the — a has dictated the 
i pol kw 
* 6 ‘Many. of the. Vigginiana, let fy ‘tue, ‘til. grow ge a" 
harden it in the can#le, for this purpose : not for the use of gouging 
out people’s eyes, as.some have thought fit to insinuate.” 
