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CHAPTER in. 



CURING. 



Growing tobacco is only half the battle. Having raised 

 a crop to a state of perfection, the next object is to cure it 

 for the market. This branch of the business demands 

 fully as much care and skill as the purely agricultural 

 part preceding it, and is perhaps equally influenced by 

 the weather. The best crop ever grown may be com- 

 pletely spoiled by injudicious conduct during the dry- 

 ing, &c., while a growth of moderate quality may be 

 made the most of by extra care and trouble. 



Harvesting. — The leaf being matured, it should be 

 harvested only after the dew is off the plants, and not 

 on a rainy day. There are two modes of harvesting — 

 gathering the leaves singly, and cutting down the whole 

 plant. Gathering single leaves admits of removing them 

 from the plant as they ripen; the bottom leaves are 

 removed first, and the top ones are left some time longer, 

 until they have attained full maturity. The cultivator 

 is thereby enabled to gather his crop when it possesses 

 the greatest value. This plan necessitates, however, a 

 great amount of labour, and, in a hot climate, the single 

 leaves are apt to dry so rapidly as not to attain a proper 

 colour, unless stacked early in heaps. But stacking in 

 heaps involves great risk of the leaves heating too much, 

 and developing a bad flavour, whereby the tobacco loses 

 more or less in value. For Indian circnmstances generally, 



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