498 NOTES. 
of curing, and. to free the: plant,.as far as. possible, from such 
partial retention of moisture as might shave a tendency to fer-. 
ment,.and damage the staple. The plants are then laid down 
upon the hill where they grew, with the points of the leaves pro- 
jecting all the same way, asinearly as possible, so that when the 
sun has had sufficient effect to render them pliable, they may 
more easily and uniformly be gathered into turns by the gather- 
ers who follow the cutting. 
: Of Gathering the Crop in. 
« For the better comprehending the method of gathering the 
crop, it is necessary to understand the preparation which must 
be previously made for facilitating this part of the process. 
«In preparing for gathering the crop of tobacco it is cus- 
tomary to erect a kind of scaffold in various places of the tobacco 
ground which may happen to offer a convenient situation. This 
is done by lodging one end of several strong poles upon any log 
or fence which may be convenient, and resting the other end of 
such poles upon a transverse pole supported by forks, at about 
five feet from the ground; or by erecting the whole scaffold 
upon forks if circumstances require it. 
‘In forming this part of the scaffold in the manner of joists, 
the poles are placed about four feet asunder from centre to cen- 
tre, so that when the sticks which sustain the tobacco plants are 
prepared they may fill the space advantageously by leaving but 
little spare room upon the scaffold. 
© Timber is then split in the manner of laths, into pieces of 
four feet in length, and about an inch and a half diameter. 
These are termed the tobacco sticks ; and their use is to hang 
the tobacco upon, both by lodging the ends of this stick upon 
the poles of the scaffold which have been previously prepared in 
the field, in order to render it sufficiently pliable and in condi- 
tion to carry into the tobacco-house, to which it is now coavey- 
