CULTIVATION. 65 



will require breaking off twice before the plant is ripe ; 

 those at the bottom must all be broken off. This is 

 the hardest and slowest work of all. Not only will these 

 suckers check the growth of the plants, but if allowed to 

 grow will soon break or pry off the leaves, or cause 

 them to grow out at right angles from the stalk, rendering 

 them more liable to be broken off. It is a good plan to 

 have a piece of corn on the north side of a piece of 

 tobacco, or, at least, two or three rows, to shield the 

 growing plants from winds." 



Priming is defined by Thomas as " pulling off the 

 bottom leaves to the number of 4 or 5," and he says that 

 any plant large enough to be topped ought to be primed 

 first. All conditions being favourable, he considers that 

 in Ohio, a " tobacco plant will ripen in as many weeks, 

 from the time of topping it, as there are leaves left on the 

 stalk. Consequently, if the topping is done early, it can 

 be topped high, if later, it must be done lower, and if still 

 later, still lower. Planters differ very much at this point. 

 Some will top as high as 16 leaves, others 10, and a great 

 many at 8. My own opinion is, that a plant topped at 

 10 will weigh as much as one at 16, topped at the same 

 time, and on the same kind of land. About a week after 

 a plant has been topped the suckers will begin to grow. 

 A sucker is only an auxiliary branch which shoots out at 

 the junction of the leaves to the stalk. If not removed, 

 they will grow, and bloom, and ripen seed, and in doing 

 so they will ' suck ' the parent-stem of much of its 

 vitality. When the crop of suckers are about 1 inch long 

 they can be pulled or rubbed off, and it should surely be 



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