726 



TOBACCO, CULTURE OF. 



" hanger " stands in an erect position, 'having 

 for a foothold the poles on the tier below the 

 one which he is hanging ; he has a ball of to- 

 bacco-twine (a twine made of flax, procurable 

 at any seed-store) which, for convenience, is 

 carried in the bosom of the loose blouse gener- 

 ally worn : he stands with the left side to .the 

 pole on which the tobacco is to be hung, left 

 arm over it ; the stalk of tobacco is handed to 

 him by a boy, whose duty it is to pass it to 

 him ; the stalk is then taken in the left hand 

 and placed against the side of the pole, the butt 

 projecting an inch or two, around which pro- 

 jection the twine is wound from left to right 

 (the twine having previously been fastened to 

 the pole) ; the next stalk is placed on the other 

 side of the pole, just far enough along so that 

 the leaves of the two stalks will not touch and 

 pole-turn, and so continue, the stalks being 

 hung alternately on the sides of the pole. 



When the crop is gathered and cured by 

 plucking single leaves, the lower ones are gath- 

 ered first, and the others as they mature, and 

 they are strung on strings instead of being 

 hung on sticks. In this way the crop will be 

 harvested slower, and will cost more, but the 

 tobacco will be of more even quality and bet- 

 ter. 



Stripping. At the setting in of a warm, 

 drizzling, wet, foggy spell of weather, the dry- 

 ing-house must be opened on all sides to allow 

 the damp atmosphere to pervade the whole in- 

 terior ; after the dry leaves have become damp 

 enough to allow handling in any degree with- 

 out breaking, the stalks must be taken off the 

 lath, or pulled down and laid in heaps about 

 eighteen inches or two feet high, and any de- 

 sired length ; if it is not intended to strip it im- 

 mediately, it should be conveyed to a cellar or 

 other apartment, where it will remain damp ; 

 it should not, however, be suffered to remain 

 longer than two or three days in heaps, with- 

 out examination, as there is sometimes suffi- 

 cient moisture remaining in the stalks or frozen 

 leaves to create heat and rot the good tobacco. 

 If found to be heating, it should be changed 

 about and aired, and be stripped immediately. 

 If found to be drying out, further evaporation 

 may be checked by covering the heaps with 

 damp straw or corn-fodder. Tobacco is usually 

 stripped into two qualities, " ground-leaf," or 

 "fillers," and "wrappers; " the leaves that lie 

 next the ground, generally from two to four, 

 are always more or less damaged by sand beat- 

 en on by the rain and other causes, hence they 

 only command about half the price of the good 

 tobacco or "wrappers." The ground-leaves 

 are taken off first, and tied up separately in 

 bunches or "hands;" this is performed in the 

 following manner: Take off one leaf after 

 another, until there is contained in the hand a 

 sufficient number to make a bunch about an 

 inch in diameter at the foot-stalks, which must 

 be kept even at the ends, and holding the 

 bunch clasped in one hand, take a leaf and 

 wrap it around (beginning at the end of the 



bunch), confining the end under the first turn ; 

 continue to wrap smoothly and neatly until 

 about three inches of the leaf remains, then 

 open the bunch in the middle and draw the re- 

 maining part of the leaf through. This forms 

 a neat and compact "hand," that will bear a 

 great deal of handling without coming open. 

 After the ground-leaves have been removed, 

 the good leaves are stripped off and tied up the 

 same as the ground-leaves, with this exception : 

 the leaves of each stalk should be tied in a 

 bunch by themselves, to preserve a uniformity 

 in color and size, as tobacco is sold in the mar- 

 ket according to' color and size; therefore if the 

 leaves of a large and a small plant, or of a dark- 

 colored and a light one, be tied up together, it 

 at once diminishes the appearance and value 

 of the crop. 



The stalks should be burned on the land 

 which is to be put in tobacco the next year. 

 Where the plant is cultivated for the manufac- 

 ture of chewing-tobacco, it will require some- 

 what different treatment. It is sorted into 

 four or five qualities, and many growers do not 

 make it up into "hands," but pile the leaves 

 upon each other, in masses four to six feet di- 

 ameter at the base, and from one and a half to 

 two feet at top; it is then covered with blank- 

 ets, straw mats, etc., and fermented till the 

 heap gets warm, when it is broken up and 

 packed over again, the position of the leaves 

 being changed. This fermenting process occu- 

 pies from twenty to forty days, and requires 

 close watching and good judgment. When it 

 is completed, the leaves are tied up in bundles 

 of half a pound to a pound weight, stretched 

 even, and packed in boxes or hogsheads, pressed 

 tightly, and covered when it is ready for mar- 

 ket. The best qualities are used for fine-cut 

 tobacco ; the seconds and inferior for plug and 

 fillers of cigars, while the poorest and the stems 

 are made into snuff. 



In the Northern and Northwestern States it 

 is usual to pack the tobacco, after it is stripped 

 and sorted, in bulks, where 'it probably under- 

 goes some fermentation, and is in condition for 

 sale, or for packing in boxes or hogsheads, as 

 may be desired. The following is the descrip- 

 tion of the bulking process, as conducted in 

 Ohio : When a sufficient quantity is stripped to 

 commence bulking, make two places to bulk in, 

 one for prime and one for ground leaf; let 

 the space be according to the quantity of to- 

 bacco to bulk. A bulk 3 feet high and 20 feet 

 long will hold ten boxes, or about four thousand 

 Ibs. of prime tobacco; the sides of the bulk 

 must not be enclosed, but left open, so that the 

 butts can dry out ; at each end of the bulk put a 

 bulkhead of boards to build against, about three 

 feet wide and four feet high ; secure this up- 

 right and firm; do not build on the ground, 

 but on a platform or floor. Commence at one 

 end against the bulkhead, take one hand of to- 

 bacco at a time, straighten and smooth it, and 

 lay it on the floor at one side of the bulk ; take 

 another as above, press it against the first, and 



