70 



cutting in the afternoon, say 3 o'clock ; let it wilt and 

 lie out until tlie dew is oif next day, and take it in before 

 tlie sun gets hot enough to burn it. I prefer the first 

 plan, because a heavy dew may fall on the tobacco, and 

 next day be cloudy, leaving the tobacco wet and un- 

 pleasant to handle. After cutting, allow the tobacco to 

 wilt long enough to make the leaves tough, so that they 

 can be handled without tearing. Great care is now 

 necessary to keep the tobacco from sun-burning ; cutting 

 should be commenced as soon as the dew is oS, and all 

 that is cut should be housed by 11 o'clock, unless it is 

 cloudy; from 11 to 2 o'clock the direct rays of the sun 

 on the tobacco, after it is cut, will burn the leaves in 

 20 minutes ; after 2 p. m., as a general thing, there is no 

 danger of such burning, the sun's rays not striking direct 

 on the tobacco. Have a waggon at hand, with stiff boards, 

 12 feet long, laid on the running gears ; as soon as the 

 tobacco is wilted so that it can be handled without 

 breaking, commence loading on both sides of the waggon 

 on the front end, lapping the tobacco the same as loading 

 fodder, keeping the butts out on both sides — build about 

 2 feet high, and so on until loaded." 



Any one accustomed to the cultivation of the crop, says 

 Bishop, " knows when it is ripe, — the veins of the leaves 

 are swollen, the leaves begin to look spotted and feel 

 thick and gummy. The ends of the leaves will crack on 

 being doubled up. After it is ripe, the sooner it is cut 

 the better, as it is liable to injury by frost or hail, and 

 will not increase in weight as fast as the worms eat it, 

 and the leaves get broken by catching them. The plants 

 will generally ripen from the 1st to the 15th of Sep- 



