CUEING. 87 



scale, any shed will do, provided that it contains a suffi- 

 cient number of doors and windows to admit of regulating 

 the circulation of air. A roof made of straw seems to 

 answer very well. The shed should be high enough to 

 admit of hanging 3 rows of tobacco in it, one above the 

 other. The bottom tier for the first row should be about 

 3-5 feet from the ground, according to the size of the 

 plants, which should not touch the ground ; the second tier 

 should be 3-5 feet higher than the first ; the third, 3-5 

 feet higher than the second ; the whole being 10-17 feet 

 high from the bottom of the shed to the highest tier. The 

 tiers must be so arranged that the tobacco when hung on 

 the upper tier should not touch that of the lower one, and 

 that the rods on which the tobacco has been hung in the 

 field fit exactly. The windows must face each other, and 

 be placed between the tiers, so that the bottom part of the 

 window is on the same level as the tier. When cultivating 

 on a large scale, the same arrangements are made, but the 

 building is higher, and is provided with a cellar, in which 

 to place the tobacco for the purpose of stripping, &c. 



The drying-shed being ready, the plants immediately 

 on arrival at the shed are transferred from the conveyance, 

 on the rods, to the lowest tier. No rule can be given 

 as to the distance the rods should be placed from each 

 other, as it varies according to the species of the plant, the 

 degree of ripeness, and especially the state of the weather. 

 The purpose of hanging the plant here on the lower tier 

 is to cause the leaves to dry gradually, and assume a good 

 yellow colour, and to create a slight fermentation in them, 

 while allowing such a circulation of air between the plants 

 as will facilitate the gradual escape of the moisture from 



