68 TOBACCO. 



cutting the whole plants is "better than gathering the 

 leaves singly. 



For cutting down the plants, a long knife or chopper 

 is used. A man takes the plant with his left hand about 

 9 inches from the ground, and with the knife in his right 

 hand, cuts through the stem of the plant just above the 

 ground. If the plants are sufficiently " wilted," he may 

 lay them on the ground and proceed to cut down others ; 

 if, however, they are so brittle as to cause the leaves to 

 be injured by laying them down, he should give them 

 to another person, to carry them at once under shade. 

 During bright weather, the plants should not be allowed 

 to lie exposed to the sun on the ground, or they will 

 become sun-burnt, and lose in value. A temporary shed 

 should be erected ; it might be simply a light roof ot 

 palm-leaves or thatched straw, supported by poles ; a 

 large tree standing near will also serve the purpose. 

 Under this shade, parallel rows of posts are put up, and 

 on the posts, light poles or strong bamboos are fixed 

 horizontally. The parallel lines should be about 4J feet 

 apart and the horizontal poles about 4-5 feet from the 

 ground, according to the height of the tobacco plants. 

 Rods are cut in lengths of 5 feet, and laid over the parallel 

 bars, so that they will project about 3 inches at each end. 

 A very light and convenient shelter sometimes used for 

 sun-drying in America, consists of rods laid crosswise, 

 supported on four upright poles, and covered with a 

 sloping roof of boards. The plants that have been cut 

 are immediately brought into the shade, tied in pairs, and 

 hung across the rods. They must not be hung so close 

 as to press each other, and the rods should therefore be 



