204 TOBACCO LEAF. 



thus weakening the barn. It is better to use timbers of 

 good size, and build a substantial structure at a some- 

 what increased cost, than to erect a frail structure that 

 the first big wind might blow down. 



The poles on which the tobacco is hung by tying 

 should be 2x5 inches, of good timber ; spruce is the 

 best. These are cheaper in the end than round poles, 

 even if the latter cost nothing, if the plants are to be 

 tied to them ; when laths are used, however, the round 

 poles are just as good. In a barn 30 feet wide, the 15- 

 foot poles should be placed crosswise of the barn, one 

 end resting on the middle girder, and the other end on 

 the outside girder near the boarding. Koof tiers, if 

 there are any, should be hung lengthwise of the barn. 

 When tobacco is hung on slats, the bents should be 16 

 feet long, so as to take four lengths of four-feet slats. 

 This would make a three-bent barn 48 feet long. 



The covering should be of good boards, of uniform 

 width. They should be lined, so that the barn can be 

 made tight. Every other board should be hung for a 

 door and left as long as will swing under the eaves. 

 These may be hung in two ways ; either on two hinges, 

 to open outward in the usual way, at b (as shown in 

 Fig. 40), or the door may have one hinge at the top and 

 open outward at the bottom, as seen at a, Fig. 40. The 

 latter door will keep the sun and rain off the tobacco 

 hanging next to the boarding, but the two-hinged door is 

 generally preferred, as giving the least trouble and better 

 circulation of air. The eaves should extend two feet 

 over the outside of the barn, so that the water will fall 

 clear of the boards, and thus be prevented from tric- 

 kling through upon the tobacco. Many pounds of fine 

 leaf are every year damaged by the barn being faulty in 

 this particular. The end of the barn needs doors for 

 ventilation only at the top, where four are all that are 

 necessary, as shown in Fig. 40. Some growers advocate 



