260 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



happen in four or five days, when the sticks must 

 be spread and placed at iheir proper distances in 

 the house." There never was a greater error 

 than that contained in the above extract. To- 

 bacco thus housed, would be completely ruined 

 long before the five days should have elapsed. 11' 

 intended to be cured without fire, the house should 

 be as open as possible lor the I'ree admission ol 

 air. The sticks on which the tobacco is hung 

 should be placed i'rom eight to twelve imhes 

 apart, according to the size of the tobacco, so that 

 the air could circulate freely between the ranges 

 of sticks. It should be continued in this open 

 order until the tobacco is partially cured, when it 

 may be rehung in much closer order, so as to 

 make room for the later cutting. If hung m open 

 sheds, with tight roofs, so much the better, so 

 that the rain ia prevented llom beating in on the 

 tobacco, which may be done by setting up fiance 

 rails or rough plank against the open sides ol' the 

 shed. 



If intended to be cured by fire, the house should 

 be rendered as tight as possible, in all parts, except 

 the root; through which the smoke must escape. 

 But instead ol being crowded together, as recom- 

 mended in the extract given above, it should have 

 epace enough to prevent the plants on the different 

 sticks from pressing hard against each other, afier 

 the tobacco has completely jiallen. Instead of 

 euffering the tobacco to hang four or five days be- 

 fore fire is put under it, the house, should be filled 

 as soon as possible, and fire put under it iriime- 

 diately,' \o pTGvent the danger of house burning, 

 yor the first few days the fire shoutH he moderate, 

 till the edges of the leaves turn of a yellow color. 

 The fires should then be gradually raised and the 

 house kept sufficiently warm to cute the tobacco 

 in a few days. In making kite-foot tobacco, the 

 rule is, I believe, that the tobacco, stalk and all, 

 must be cured in forty-eight hours from the time 

 the fires are raised, which, as I have already 

 rem,arked, must be when the leaves begin to turn 

 yellow around their edges. After thus com- 

 mencing to change color the entire leaf very soon 

 assumes a beautifiji yellow hue, and the object 

 is to cure it before it turns to a nutmeg brown. 

 If the curing is not very speedy, it will, or a great 

 part of it, change to the latter color before the 

 operation is completed. 



The next thing to be done, after the tobacco is 

 housed and cured, is stripping. This must be 

 delayed till the stem as well a.« »be leaf of the to- 

 bacco is thoroughly cured. • Si ripping can only 

 be performed when tobacco is in such high case 

 as to render the stems perlt'ctly pliable, or at least 

 such a portion of them as will supply a sufficient 

 quantity of /i/m"' Zcaues, that is, leaves to ti* the 

 tobacco in hands. To perQ)rai this operation 

 neatly, the s'em of the leaf with which the hand 

 is tied should be soft and pliant. As seasons for 

 stripping are precarious, whenever tobacco, alter 

 being ^ifficipmly cured, comes inio case, a quan- 

 tity for future stripping s' ould be tak<>n down, and 

 packed in close bulk, with the tails in the centre 

 and the but? of the sialks out. This bulk should 

 be enclosed by llie walls of the house on two or 

 three sides, and plank on the other, and should be 

 well stufled all around between the enclosure and 

 buts, so as to exclude the air. Thus packed away, 

 tobacco will remain in case for a long time, but 

 care must be taken not to pack it down when in 



too damp order, otherwise it will go through a 

 heat, and be greatly injured, unless it be stripped 

 out in the course of a lew .days. If put down in 

 proper order, it may be stripped out at leisure, pro- 

 vided it is not packed in bulk belbre the weather 

 has become cool, say November or December. 

 When stri()ped and lied in hands it must be put in 

 bulk, lapping the tails in the middle and leaving the 

 heads all on the outside of the bulk, so that they 

 can become thoroughly dry. If not in too high 

 order when [)ut in bulk, as above directed, it may 

 be suffered to remain till February, when it should 

 be hung on sticks, the hands as close as they can 

 be convenienily placed to each other without 

 pressing them together, and hung in the tobacco 

 house, leaving the sticks so far apart as to admit 

 the air to circulate between them. In this situa- 

 tion the tobacco will become thoroughly dry in a 

 lew days. It must be left hanging until a rain 

 shall again bring it in case, it will be observed 

 that the leaf, in contradistinction to ihe stem, will 

 first come i/i cose, whilst the stem will be Ibund 

 still dry and briule. This is precisely the order 

 in which tobacco should be, when il is to he finally 

 bulked down lor market or prising in hogsheads. 

 It should now be put down in a very large bulk, 

 which may include the planter's entire crop. The 

 number of courses may be six, eight, or any 

 larger number, and the whole'should be enclosed 

 by the walls of the house and plank, and closely 

 surrounded and covered with soft straw, so as per- 

 fectly to exclude the air. In this condition it may 

 be kept for any length of time, and will be 

 ready at all times lor hauling to market in the 

 hand or prising. One precaution only will be 

 necessary. When the cover of the bulk is taken 

 off for the purpose of taking out a part of the 

 tobacco lor prising or sale, the entire course or 

 courses, on the to|), should be taken off smoothly, 

 and the cover carefully replaced. This is neces- 

 sary lo prevent the top of the bulk Irom becoming 

 too' dry. When prising in the summer, some 

 elder bushes may be spread over the bulk to keep 

 the tobacco damp. Tobacco prepared as herein 

 directed, may be kept any number of years in 

 bulk, or may be transieri^ed to hogsheads and kept 

 lor any length of time, not only without injury, 

 but will constantly improve by age. 



It should bn remarked, that to make tobacco ol' 

 a very superior qualiiy. great care should be 

 taken when the stripping process is going on, to 

 separate all the injured or delective leaves from 

 the prime tobacco. To this end every plant should 

 pass through the hands of a crood judge of tobac- 

 co, who should cull out all the injured and defec- 

 tive leaves, which should be kept and sold sepa- 

 rately. The balance of the leaves maybe strip- 

 ped and tied by small hands, who are not skilled 

 in the quality of tobacco. As many persons 

 should be employed in calling as may be neces- 

 sary lo furnish employment lo all the less skilful 

 hands. Sometimes, especially in kite foot tobac- 

 co, three different qualities should be made. 



I have now gone through the entire process of 

 tobacco culture, in which I liave endeavored to 

 include every thing which can be ol practical use 

 to the tobacco planter ; and have gone as much 

 into detail as will enable him, with a little practice 

 and the exercise of a sound judgment, to under- 

 stand and appl.v the whole process to the best ad- 

 vantage. 



