44A SUCKERS. 



" This operation, simply, is that of pinching off with the 

 thumb nail* the leading stem or sprout of the plant, which 

 would, if left alone, run up to flower and seed ; but which, 

 from the more substantial formation of the leaf by the help 

 of the nutritive juices, which are thereby afforded to the 

 lower parts of the plant, and thus absorbed through the ducts 

 and fibres of the leaf, is rendered more weighty, thick, and 

 fit for market." 



Now the custom is to top for shipping from eight to ten 

 leaves, for coal-curing from ten to twelve, according in both 

 cases to strength of soil and time of doing the work. 



In Mexico " as soon as the buds begin to show themselves 

 the top is broken off. Not more than from eight to ten 

 leaves are left on the plant, without counting the sand-leaf, 

 which is thrown away," and destroyed in the same manner 

 as the Dutch are said to do of spies. In some countries the 

 plants are not topped at all, and the leaves are left upon the 

 stalk until fully ripe, when they are picked. 



The next labor following the topping of the plants is called 



SUCKEEIKG. 



Immediately after topping the plants, shoots or sprouts 

 make their appearance at the base of the leaves where they 

 join the parent stalk. They are known by the name of suckers 

 and the removal of them by breaking them off is called sucker- 

 ing. At first the suckers make their appearance at the top of 

 the plants at the base of the upper leaves, and then gradually 

 appear farther down on the stalk until they are found at the 

 very root of the plant. The plants should be suckered before 

 the shoots are tough, when they will be removed with difficulty, 

 frequently clinging to both stalk and leaf, thereby injuring the 

 latter, as the leaf very often comes off with the sucker if the 

 latter is left growing too long. The plants should be kept 

 clean of them and especially at the time of harvesting. 

 An old writer on tobacco says of Suckers and Suckering : 

 " The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make 

 its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or stalk, near to 



*Many of the Virginians let the thumb nail grow long, and harden It In the candle, for thli 

 purpose : not for the use of gouging out people's eyes, as some have thought fit to insinuate. 



