74 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 



As soon as the first leaves at the bottom of the stalk begin to ripen, 

 harvesting is begun by plucking off or priming the first four leaves at 

 the bottom and transporting them to the curing shed in baskets. There 

 they arc strung on strings attached to laths, from 30 to 40 leaves being 

 allowed to a lath. The leaves are placed back to back and face to face, 

 so as to prevent cupping or folding over each other. The laths are 

 then hung in tiers in the barn, where they remain until the leaves are 

 cured. 



When the tobacco is primed from the stalk, it should not take more 

 than two weeks to cure; when it is hung on the stalks, three to four 

 weeks are necessary. The manipulation of the barn or curing shed is 

 governed entirely by the condition of the weather and the nature of 

 the tobacco; so no fixed rules can be given. However, in a general 

 way, it can be said that if a barn is filled with green tobacco and the 

 weather is hot and dry, the ventilators should be tightly closed for 

 about three days, by which time the tobacco should be quite yellow. 

 The barn should then be opened at night and kept closed during the 

 day. This is done to prevent rapid curing, which destroys the life of 

 the leaf and gives uneven colors. If there are frequent showers and 

 but little sunshine, the barn should be kept closed and fires started in 

 small charcoal heaters distributed throughout the barn. These fires 

 should be continued as long as it is necessary to keep the tobacco in 

 proper condition. Where charcoal heaters are not available, wood 

 which has as little odor and as little smoke as possible should be used. 

 It is very important to dry out the barn without giving the tobacco 

 any foreign odors. To obtain the best results the tobacco should 

 become fairly moist and fairly dried out once in every twenty-four 

 hours. 



When the midribs are thoroughly cured the leaves are ready to be 

 taken to the packing house. To get the tobacco in condition to handle, 

 all the ventilators should be left open for one night, opening them 

 about 6 o'clock in the evening. The next morning the tobacco should 

 be in what is called ^good case;" that is, it will have taken up suffi- 

 cient moisture to become soft and pliable. The barn is then tightly 

 closed, in order to retain the moisture, and the leaves are taken from 

 the laths. The bottom, middle, and top leaves should be kept separate 

 in the barn. After the tobacco has been taken down and packed it 

 should be taken at once to the warehouse for fermentation and baling. 



Florida Sumatra Tobacco (Southern Districts). 



The land for the seed bed should be preferably fresh, rich ham- 

 mock, having a light gray soil, moist but not wet. Dry, thirsty land 

 should be avoided. In selecting the seed bed it is best to secure land 

 sloping from north to south, protected on the north by forests and 

 open on the south to let in the midday sun. The time for sowing the 



