20 



HOW TO KAISE TOBACCO. 



topping as soon as the blossom-buds appear, others 

 prefer to wait until in blossom. I think there is no 

 harm in letting the earliest plants bloom before being 

 topped, but after once beginning, they should be 

 broken off as soon as the buds begin to look yellow, 

 and the latest plants as soon as the buds appear. A 

 new beginner will be apt to top the plants too high. 

 The object is to ripen and develop as many leaves as 

 the plant can support ; if topped too high, the top 

 leaves are small, and when cured are nearly worthless, 

 and the other leaves are not as large or heavy, where- 

 as, if topped too low, then you lose one, two, or three 

 leaves, which the plant might have supported. As a 

 general rule, a plant just in blossom should be topped 

 doion to where the leaves are full seven inches wide, 

 leaving on the stalk from fifteen to eighteen leaves. 

 This will leave the stalks about two and a half feet 

 high in good tobacco. Later in the season top the 

 plants sooner and lower. Let as many of the earliest 

 plants as will be wanted remain for seed. One plant 

 will furnish seed enough to put out five acres, at least. 

 These should be wormed and suckered like the rest, 

 only leaving the suckers above where you would ordi- 

 narily break it off, were you to top it. The piece should 

 now be looked over every other day, to break off the 

 suckers and catch the worm. This should be done as 

 soon as the dew is off in the morning, and towards 

 night, as the worms are eating then, and can be found 

 more readily, while in the heat of the day they remain 

 hid. Great care should be taken not to break off the 

 leaves while going through it, as they are nearly all 

 wasted before the crop is ripe. 



SucKERiNG. — As soon as the top is broken off the 

 sap is thrown into the leaves, causing them to expand 

 rapidly. In the mean time suckers will start out just 

 above where each leaf joins the stalk ; these must be 

 broken off, or the growth of the leaf will be check- 

 ed, as the sap will be thrown into these young sprouts. 

 Those nearest the top will start soonest, and 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 wUl 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. 



Cutting and Hanging. — The plants grow rapidly 

 and require less than three months from the time of 

 setting before they are ready to cut. Any one used 

 to the cultivation of the crop 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 first to the fifteenth of September ; they should 

 not be cut immediately after a heavy rain unless in 

 danger of frost, as a portion of the gum washes out, 

 but should be allowed to stand two or three days. 

 The cutting should not begin until the dew is off; a 

 cloudy day is best, for when the sun shines hot, they 

 will not have time to wilt sufiiciently before they will 

 sunburn, which may be known by the leaves turning 

 white and looking puckered. Commence on one side 

 of the piece, laying the plants all one way, in order to 

 faciUtate loading. The plants may, most of them, be 

 broken off easily, by gently bending them over one 

 way and another. Small plants, which will not break, 

 may be sawed off with an old saw or cut with a 

 hatchet. If the sim shines too hot, the plants should 

 be turned over carefully to prevent burning. After 

 lying an hour or two to wilt suflSciently, so as not to 

 break by handling, they may be carted to the barn or 

 shed. Ample room for curing should be provided, 

 and if any one expects to raise tobacco for any length 

 of time, it is best to have a building built expressly 

 for it. 



Buildings. — In the first place one wants to know 

 about how much room they will need, and then build 

 accordingly. To hang an acre of good tobacco re- 

 quires a building about thirty by twenty-four feet 

 with fifteen-feet posts. Two girths should be framed 

 into the posts on all sides of the building ; one five 

 feet above the sill, and the other ten feet above, to 

 rest the poles on, also to nail the covering boards to. 

 This gives a space of five feet for each tier of plants. 

 Have a beam run across the center of the building, 

 with a post in the middle with girths to correspond 

 with those on the side, extending lengthwise through 

 the middle of the building for the poles or rails, each 

 twelve feet in length, to be laid upon ; or if sticks are 

 to be used (as hereafter described) lay rails or poles 

 once in four feet for the sticks to rest upon. Place a 

 ventilator upon the center of the roof, and have one 

 board in every four feet hung on hinges, to be opened 

 or closed at pleasure. If made with a floor and a cel- 

 lar underneath, to let down the tobacco into when 

 ready strip, it is all the better. We will now return 

 to the crop, and commence hanging it. A common 

 way of doing it is by tying with common twine. 

 Tie the end of the string tightly around the but of on« 

 plant, and by placing it against the side of the pole 

 nearest you, put another plant on the opposite side an^ 

 carry the string over and around it, placing the plants 

 alternately on each side of the pole until filled, ther 

 fasten the string, place the pole in the right place, (it 

 should be nearly right before it is filled,) and commence 

 on the next one in like manner, having some one to 

 hand the plants as wanted. As to how thick to hang it 

 depends upon the size of the plants, but in good-sized 

 tobacco about nine inches on each side is close enough. 



