No. 4.] TOBACCO RAISING. 149 



hand of it, and the hands bundled, or the leaves can be 

 drawn from the string and bundled loose. Stripping and 

 bundling c;tn be done much more quickly, easily and neatly 

 when the leaves are primed. The danger of getting the 

 leaf out of condition or bruised is also much less. 



Now, as to yield. We got at the rate of 1,258 pounds 

 of primed Sumatra per acre in the bundle, — less, by 250 

 pounds, than last year, when we planted two inches closer 

 in the row. To summarize : — 



The shading cost $249 56 



Stringing the leaf, 49 .80 



Extra lath for hanging, 5 39 



Total, $304 75 



To which we must add the extra cost of setting the piece, 

 extra barn room, extra labor and some little fuel (lanterns), 

 on the seed beds. 



Now, we are not getting rich very fast on 25 cents a 

 pound for our New r England Havana, with 1,800 pounds to 

 the acre, or $450 gross receipts per acre. If we raise 1,250 

 pounds of Sumatra leaf instead, we must get 37^2 cents a 

 pound for it in the bundle to meet the ordinary expenses, 

 and more than 25 cents per pound to meet the extra ex- 

 penses of the new method of growing and harvesting, — yes, 

 very considerably more, to offset the risks and uncertainties 

 of a new method of doing business. 



I have given you as full a statement and as fair a one as I 

 can. The one vital point I have not yet touched, — what 

 will Xew-England-grown Sumatra leaf bring in the market? 

 Ours is not yet sold, and must always be sold at a disad- 

 vantage, because it is such a small lot. It is not a " pack- 

 ing," as dealers say. But this winter or the following spring 

 it is likely that some considerable lots of this New England 

 Sumatra, fermented, sorted and baled, will be sold to ex- 

 perienced dealers, and that the prices will be made public. 

 If so, we shall know what money value experienced dealers 

 put on the finished leaf nearly ready for manufacture, — 

 not, be it remembered, on the leaf in the bundle as it leaves 

 the farm. It is to be hoped that we may also learn, from 



