OTHER FARM CROPS 597 



To obtain the best results the tobacco should become moist and be 

 fairly dried out once in every twenty-four hours. 



When the midribs are thoroughly cured the leaves are ready 

 to be taken to the packing house. To get the tobacco in condition 

 to handle, all the ventilators should be left open for one night, open- 

 ing them about 6 o'clock in the evening. Unless the night is a dry 

 one, the tobacco will soften before morning and be in condition or 

 "good order" ; that is, it will have taken up sufficient moisture to make 

 it soft and pliable. The barn should then be tightly closed, in order 

 to retain the moisture, and the leaves taken from the laths and tied 

 into hands of convenient size. The bottom, middle, and top leaves 

 should be kept separate in the barn. After the tobacco has been 

 taken down and packed it should be taken at once to the warehouse 

 for fermentation. 



The fermentation of the tobacco is to be done in bulk, and this 

 sweating process must be watched with unusual care in order to pre- 

 vent disaster to the crop. It is necessary to turn the bulk several 

 times during the process of fermentation in order to keep the tem- 

 perature at the desired point. The object of turning the bulk is to 

 reverse its construction, thereby bringing the top, bottom, and out- 

 side layers into the middle of the new bulk. This plan will permit a 

 uniform fermentation of all the tobacco in the bulk. A convenient 

 and practical size of bulk contains from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds. The 

 temperature of the center of the bulk should in no case be allowed to 

 rise above 120 F., and after the temperature falls from 8 to 10 de- 

 grees the bulk should be turned. The desirable maximum tempera- 

 ture is 115 F. It takes usually from six to eight weeks to com- 

 plete the process of fermentation. After fermentation the tobacco 

 must be sized, sorted according to the different market grades, tied 

 up in hands, and packed. 



Connecticut Havana Tobacco. There is a very limited amount 

 of plant food in tobacco seed on account of the small size of the 

 individual seed, so that the reserve material for the nourishment of 

 the young plants is soon exhausted; consequently the tobacco seed- 

 lings are forced to prepare their own food much sooner than is tho 

 case with most other crops. For this reason it is absolutely necessary 

 for tobacco growers to get the soil and plant food in the seed beds in 

 the best possible condition for use by the young plants in order to aid 

 the slow-growing young plants during the critical period of the first 

 stages of growth. The seed beds should be located so that they will 

 get all the benefit possible from the warm rays of the sun during 

 the early spring days, as well as protection from the cold north and 

 northwest winds prevalent at that time of the year. A southern 

 slope where good drainage can be secured is preferable, and a good, 

 rich, and friable soil is desirable for the tobacco seed beds. 



As a rule 200 square feet of seed-bed space should be provided to 

 furnish sufficient seedlings for an acre of tobacco, although if the 

 tobacco is to be transferred at different periods a less area will be 

 found to be sufficient. The seed beds are generally 8 feet wide and as 



