64 i THE FARMERS HANDBOOK. 



Harvesting. 



Some three to five weeks after topping, maturity will be reached, and 

 there will be various indications that the time for harvesting has arrived. 

 The varieties which have been distributed by the Department, if planted 

 under suitable conditions, on reaching maturity, should show lighter shades 

 (if green, a golden sheen when looked at in certain lights, and in some cases 

 a yellowisb blotchy discoloration, or yellow spots. When the leaf is folded 

 between the fingers, too, it will crack across. 



Plants should not be cut or handled while the dew is still on the leaves, 

 or after rain, until the gummy feeling has returned to the leaf. 



There are several methods of harvesting. 



The "Priming" Method. 



It will be observed that all the leaves on the plant do not ripen at the same 

 time, but in all cases "they start to mature from the bottom upwards. To 

 secure the best results, and obtain an even cure, each leaf should be taken off 

 separately as it reaches maturity. 



The leaves are then placed in baskets or other suitable receptacles and 

 taken straight to the barn to be strung in the shade, care being taken that 

 after "priming" they are kept out of the sun as much as possible. The 

 leaves are then made up into " hands " containing four in each. A 4-feet 

 stick will take about twenty " hands," ten on each side. In each " hand " of 

 four leaves two should face one way and two the other, the middle two 

 having their backs together. When the tobacco is to be flue-cured, the " hands 

 should not be jammed up close together, but there should be a space of a few 

 inches between each on either side of the stick. Where air-curing is prac- 

 tised, the leaves should be placed dose together until they have assumed a 

 yellow colour, after which they should be opened out as above. 



The method of stringing it is somewhat difficult to describe. The stem- 

 butts of each " hand " are strung with a twist of the string to hold them 

 together. The string, which is about twice as long as the stick, is held fast 

 permanently at one end by being pressed into a slit in the wood, and when 

 the required amount of tobacco has been strung, the loose end of string is 

 run through another split at the other end, and made secure. The grower 

 quickly finds out how it is done, after a trial or two. 



Hanging may also be carried out by threading each leaf with a needle and 

 twine through the midrib, but the process is a tedious one. Yet another 

 method is to put fixed wires through the curing stick, so that they project 5 

 inches on each side, and are 7 inches apart. The leaves can be hung on the 

 wires by piercing through the steam-butts. Leaf so strung is very liable to 

 damage by tearing when the stick is being handled, and it is not possible to 

 bulk down without removing the leaves from the wires. 



Harvesting the Whole Plant. 



When the whole plant is to be harvested, a fine discrimination must be 

 shown in order that the largest proportion of leaves shall be at the right 

 stage to ensure a satisfactory cure afterwards. As stated above, the whole 

 of the plant does not ripen at the same time, and where the whole plant is 



