144 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Aug., 1922. 



off a few inches below the split, and laying- it astride a lath. In the 

 other method the leaves are picked as fast as they ripen. The bottom 

 leaves will ripen before the others, and these are picked first. Gene- 

 rally from three to four leaves are removed from each plant at each 

 picking^. The leaves are taken to the barn, where they are tied on to 

 the sticks, by means of twine, in bunches of from three to five leaves, 

 alternately on opposite sides until the stick is full. 



[Photo hij ./. ,ln l>. (). 

 P'lue-curins); Barn. 



It is very important that the tobacco should be thoroughly ripe 

 at the time of harvesting. Such tobacco is usually very rich in starch, 

 but lacks colouring matter, due to the nature of the soil selected for 

 the production of this type. Hence the tobacco usually takes on a 

 yellowish colour on the land. If the soil were too heavily fertilized 

 with a nitrogenous fertilizer, the tobacco would have a dark green 

 appearance on the land, and it would be almost impossible to cure it 

 into a lemon-vellow colour. 



