CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO. 15 



HARVESTING AND CURING. 



More satisfactory results are obtained when the leaves are "primed" 

 than when the entire stalk is cut. By cutting the entire stalk, much 

 green tobacco is carried to the shed, since all the leaves never ripen on the 

 plant at the same time. By the system of priming the leaves are taken 

 off the stalk as soon as they ripen, and carried to the drying sheds in 

 baskets. Sometimes half of the leaves are removed and the balance of the 

 stalk cut, and the leaves cured on the stalk. Tobacco should never be 

 cut or primed when wet with rain or dew, as this causes the leaves to 

 sunburn and little holes to form, which lowers the value of the leaf. If 

 the tobacco gives promise of being "wrapper" that is, if it is light 

 green, very sound in leaf, and of desirable size it should be primed at 

 an early stage of ripening. If, however, appearances indicate that it 

 'will prove "filler" tobacco, it should be allowed to thoroughly ripen. 



In the Cagayan Valley it is customary to make five gatherings of the 

 ripened leaves at intervals of eight days. The native cuts the leaves 

 while they are hot and drooping, collects them on his left arm until the 

 bundle is too large, when it is placed on carts and hauled to the sheds. 



The different primings should be kept separate in the shed, so that 

 they can be fermented separately, as each set of leaves from different 

 parts of the plant requires different treatment in the subsequent 

 fermentation. 



If the soil is rich and the season favorable, a second profitable crop 

 can be produced from the suckers. The first suckers, of course, should 

 be broken off from time to time; otherwise, they will sap, hinder, and 

 check the growth of the leaves. When all of the leaves have been primed 

 from the original stalk except four or six leaves at the top, two suckers 

 should be allowed to grow from the bottom of the stalk. These will be 

 well started by the time the top leaves of the original stalk are ripe. The 

 stalk should then be cut just above where the suckers sprout, and cultiva- 

 tion should begin' at once, by carefully placing soil up around the old 

 stubble. The suckers should not be allowed to have more than six or seven 

 leaves each. The growth of these will be rapid, and they will 

 mature early. Usually these are not primed, but the stalks should be 

 cut. In northern Luzon these mature in about three weeks and, in 

 years of great humidity, a second crop of suckers is allowed to grow. 



After harvesting, the tobacco is carried to the sheds for drying and 

 curing. These sheds are usually large enough to hold the crop from a 

 number of small fields. Many different kinds of drying sheds are used 

 and differences of opinion prevail as to the relative merits of each style 

 of shed. Some are broad and flat, others narrow and tall. The broad, 

 fiat type of barn is to be preferred, for the tobacco cures more slowly, and 

 better results are obtained. The interior of the shed is so constructed 

 that frequent tiers of rafters and posts allow ample support for hanging 



