494 Transactions of the 



field for this purpose are made as follows: if redwood lumber or Oregon 

 pine be procurable, get two by-four stuff to cut into seven feet lengths 

 for uprights or standards, four to each rack. Also, ono-by-two stuff to 

 cut fourteen feet long, for horizontal pieces. The rack may now be 

 made to bang four courses of tobacco on a side; but if the tobacco be 

 large, requiring about two feet between the courses in order that the 

 ends of the leaves of one course, when the stalks arc bung in a hori- 

 zontal position, may not rest on the stalks of the next course beneath, 

 then it is better to make the racks to hang only three courses on a side. 



Ten racks are to be provided for each acre of tobacco to be cut. 

 Each rack will h< Id two hundred pounds of cured tobacco in plants of 

 good growth — a figure which is easily exceeded. 



If the more brittle pine lumber of the Coast Range has to be used, 

 the horizontal pieces must be of one-by three stuff — the space left 

 between two nailed on the same side of the uprights being increased to 

 five inches; thus, when the opposite piece (now three inches wide) comes 

 to be nailed on, the two open spaces left on each side of it (that is, ono 

 above and the other below it), will still be each one inch wide. With 

 this lumber the rack may be increased in length to sixteen or eighteen 

 feet — an increase to be borne in mind in estimating the yield of the crop 

 after hanging on the racks. 



Although tobacco can be successfully cured in the field in the method 

 hereinafter described, yet there are advantages in curing it undercover, 

 and it will be well to make use of any available space for this purpose 

 that may be to spare in the barn, wagon-sheds, or elsewhere. This may 

 be done by setting up field racks in the available space, but it will bo 

 more effectually availed of, where feasible, by putting up permanent 

 racks, especially around the sides of the structure where they will com- 

 monly be quite out of the way when it is to be used for other purposes. 

 Kail around the sides patallel horizontal courses of two-by-two stuff, 

 setting them twelve inches (for Havana) to twenty inches (for largo 

 Connecticut) apart. Upon this, at convenient distances apart, set up 

 uprights so that their forward faces shall project two inches be}*ond 

 those of the two-by-two pieces. Upon these nail other horizontal 

 courses of lumber, so that their upper edge shall be one inch clear 

 below the bottom side of the first ttwo by-two; courses. The tobacco 

 will then be hung by inserting the butt of the plant into this space, so 

 that the gtalk rests on the top edge of the forward course, while its heel 

 takes against the underside of the rear (two-by-two) course, thus hold- 

 ing it in a horizontal position. If the frame of the barn or shed hap- 

 pens to be of four-inch staff, it will be of the right thickness to nail the 

 forward courses directly upon — the rear courses being then set in, 

 reaching from piece to piece of the frame. The size of the lumber used 

 for the forward courses (which will be some form of one inch stuff) may 

 be of any width, from two or three inches up; but it will be found a 

 great convenience in handling the tobacco to have it not less than six 

 inches wide; thus it will be strong enough to enable the men to make 

 standing room anywhere by simply inserting a piece of board (say two 

 feet long) into the rack, in the same way the stalks are inserted. Un- 

 ices this can be done, thej* must use board or plank long enough to reach 

 from the rack to some other support, which cannot always be con- 

 veniently arranged. 



Li' the planter have some board lumber on hand he can improvise 

 cover for his tobacco in the field as follows: set one rack atop of 



