602 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



When the plants begin to bud all except the individual plants 

 saved for seed purposes should be topped. No very definite rule 

 can be given for this process, but it is the custom to break the tops 

 off the plants just below the first seed sucker. As a rule the height 

 of topping must be governed by local conditions, such as the soil 

 fertility and the season. In most cases two or three of the top leaves 

 are removed in topping. It is necessary to remove the suckers be- 

 fore they reach sufficient size to seriously injure or dwarf the plant 

 or interfere with the development of the leaves. It will usually be 

 found necessary to remove the suckers two or three times during the 

 season in order to keep the plants free from these injurious branches. 



It has been found in the tobacco-breeding investigations that 

 by selecting seed from plants having few suckers, sucker-resistant 

 types of tobacco can be secured, and it is recommended that in the 

 case of all of the wrapper varieties of tobacco, particularly the Ha- 

 vana Seed tobacco, such a plan of seed selection be followed. In 

 saving seed from carefully selected plants the flower clusters should 

 be covered with a light and strong paper bag before any of the blos- 

 soms open, in order to prevent accidental cross-fertilization. These 

 bags should be of light but strong paper, and should be kept in good 

 condition and moved up the stalks occasionally so as not to allow the 

 bags to injure the tops of the plants in any way. These bags should 

 remain over the seed head until all of the flowers that are to be used 

 for seed-saving purposes have been fertilized, after which the bags 

 can be removed and the seed allowed to mature in the open. 



The time for harvesting this variety of tobacco varies with the 

 season, but the ripeness of the leaves can be distinguished by the de- 

 velopment of irregular, light yellowish colored patches over the sur- 

 face and a thickening of the body of the leaves. By crumpling the 

 leaf, if the surface breaks in straight lines, or "cracks," as the old 

 growers are accustomed to call it, the leaf is said to be in proper 

 shape for cutting. 



The plants are usually cut with a regular tobacco hatchet or 

 knife and are strung on laths. Five or six plants are usually strung 

 on each lath, after which they are hauled to the sheds in wagons 

 specially prepared for this purpose. These laths are usually 4 feet in 

 length, and are so hung in the curing shed that a space is left be- 

 tween each plant in order to get a circulation of air. 



The curing process requires as a rule from 4 to 6 weeks. The 

 manipulation of the barn or curing shed during this period is en- 

 tirely governed by the conditions of weather and the nature of the 

 tobacco, so that no fixed rules can be given. However, in a general 

 way it can be said that if the barn is filled with green tobacco and 

 the weather is hot and dry the ventilators should be open most of 

 the time for about 3 days, by which time the tobacco should begin 

 to yellow. The ventilators should only be closed to prevent too 

 rapid curing during this period. The barn should then be opened 

 at night and kept closed during the day. This is done to prevent 

 too rapid curing, which destroys the life of the leaf and produces 

 uneven colors in the tobacco. If there are frequent showers and but 



