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large and heavy. Let it grow from five to six weeks after it 

 is topped, so as to have it thoroughly ripe, thereby giving it 

 the bright, rich, golden color, entirely different from cigar 

 leaf, but desirable for chewing leaf. The custom in the old 

 tobacco States is to top for English shipping from eight to 

 ten leaves ; for coal and flue curing, from ten to twelve. In 

 some sections of the United States the plants are not top- 

 ped at all ; the leaves are left upon the stalk until they are 

 fully ripe, when they are taken off. 



VII. 



INSECT PESTS. 



The two most destructive pests that prey upon the tobacco 

 plant after being transplanted to the field are the "cut worm" 

 and the "horn worm," as shown by figure 9. 



Figure 9. 



