30 Mar.. T911.] 



Tobacco Culture. 



179 



TOBACCO CULTURE. 



{Continued from page 87.) 



T. A. J. Smith, Tobacco Expert. 



Harvesting. 



In Victoria, the tobacco crop ripens somewhat unevenly and cannot 

 "be cut in a face like a crop of oats or wheat. It is highly essential that 

 ■each plant be cut at the right stage of ripeness ; over-ripe tobacco never 

 •cures as nicely, neither is the quality so good. The leaf becomes hard and 

 woody and its appearance also suffers ; very frequently small brown spots 

 ■occur in considerable quantities and these patches never cure, but remain 

 ■hard and brittle making the leaf unfit for outside wrapper or hunch 

 wrapper. If the i:)lant is harvested too green there will be loss in weight, 

 and the leaf will cure a dull olive colour, with little flavour, and when 

 •.smoked a green taste will be observed. 



RIPE HESTER TOliACCt). (;()\ i:R-\M1:xt FARM. 



Of late years, it has been found that, in order to obtain a lesser amount 

 ■ot nicotine, it is often wi,ser to cut tobacco just before the plant arrives 

 at its fullest maturity, especially when grown on very rich soils. In tent- 

 ^rown leaf for cigar purposes, the crop dcjes not show the same evidences 

 of ripening, as is the ca.se in the field ; the crop is cut from six to eight 

 weeks after toj)])ing, it having been found that the leaf loses some of its 

 best characteristics if the plant be allowed to remain longer in the ground. 



Again, no little importance depends on the puriiose tor which the 

 tobacco is to be used. In ordinary heavy plug tobacco, where used only 

 for plug fdler, the grower aims chiefly for weight and conse<iuently allows 

 his crops to ri|)on fullv. Though T am of opinion that better smoking 

 fjualities would generalK be obtained, il the bulk ol the tobacco so treated 

 were cut a few days earlier, the cureil leif would not tlien be (piite sr> 

 coarse and the strength not so great, while ili<- loss in we'glu would not 

 mean more than 5 to 7 per cent, and wmild therefore be inconsiderable. 



Where harvested for bright leaf, tob.ieeo ."■'••"*• be cut at exai-ily the 

 right stage, otherwise the colour <if the leaf \v\\ '",>'''^"''' .\s this t\pe ot 



