24 



HOW TO KAISE TOBACCO. 



fore, I will next give some hints upon the part of the 

 work next claiming the attention of the grower, and 

 that is 



SuCKERiNG. — 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 junc- 

 tion 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 an inch long they 

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

 done. In about a week or ten days a second crop of 

 them will appear. These must also be promptly re- 

 moved, and then the third crop will show itself, which 

 must be similarly treated. The longer they ai'e per- 

 mitted to remain on the plant, the' more they retard 

 its development, and delay its maturity. 



Worming. — This operation is simply to kill the 

 " tobacco-worms.'* These worms are hatched from 

 eggs deposited by what is called the " tobacco-fly." It 

 is a large, dusky-brown, winged miller, nearly as large 

 as a humming-bird. It lays its eggs on fair evenings 

 and moonlight nights in July and August. It can be 

 seen almost any clear evening, among what are called 

 " Jimson- weeds," sucking the flowers. The eggs will 

 hatch out in twenty-four hours, and the worms com- 

 mence eating when less than half an inch long, and con- 

 tinue to eat till they attain the length of four or five 

 inches. One worm, in six weeks, will destroy a plant so 

 completely as to render it utterly valueless. This pest 

 is vastly more numerous in some seasons than in others. 

 Four years ago there were ^carcely any ; but for the 

 last three years fliey have been destructively numerous. 

 The worming of the crop, when they are numerous, 

 Ls, by far, the most disagreeable and tedious labor at- 

 tending it. Much of the value of the crop depends 

 upon the care or inattention of performing this part 

 of the work. The crop may have been planted 

 in good time — plowed, hoed, primed, suckered, top- 

 ped, cut, and cured well ; yet it may have been so 

 riddled by worms as to be comparatively good for 

 nothing in market ; hence, they must be picked off and 

 destroyed, and that promptly. Having planted in due 

 time, worked, wormed, and suckered properly, the 

 crop begins to show signs of ripeness, and here the 

 question presents itself: 



When is Tobacco Ripe ? — This is, in truth, a simple 

 question, and every one will answer it by saying, when 

 it has arrived at, or attained to, perfection. But 4he 

 difficulty is, to know certainly when that is — to un- 

 derstand the accompanying indications. To a novice, 

 this is a difiicult question, and will remain one until he 

 has seen a specimen — a plant of ripe tobacco ; then 

 it is plain. As in many other plants, the ripeness of 

 tobacco is known principally by its color ; and it is 

 no easy matter to describe, with absolute accuracy, 

 any particular shade of color ; but there are other 

 signs accompanying, which have reference to the gene- 



ral appearance of the plant. With a little judgment 

 and discrimination, the following general rule will be 

 found to answer. I will first observe that, all things 

 favorable, tobacco can be primed and topped in six or 

 seven weeks after planting; and may be cut in as 

 many weeks, after topping, as there are leaves left on 

 the stalk. 



When a plant begins to ripen, it will gradually 

 assume a " piebald" or spotted appearance. As the 

 ripening advances the spots will become more distinct 

 and individuahzed. When the spots can be distinguish- 

 ed at the distance of ten steps, and the leaves of the 

 plant turn down, become stiff to the touch, and their 

 ends curl under, the plant is ripe, and should be cut. 

 From the moment it has arrived at maturity it begins 

 to decay. 



Cutting. — Remember that all the plants in your 

 crop are to be hung after they are cut — hung on 

 something, and hy something. Prepare a knife — a 

 butcher-knife answers well — have it sharp — enter it 

 at the top of the plant, where the top was broken 

 off. Enter it centrally; press it downwards, divid- 

 ing the stalk into two equal portions. Continue 

 it downwards till within five inches of the ground. 

 Withdraw the knife, and cut off the stalk close to the 

 ground. The plant is now cut. Lay it on the ground 

 with the lower end towards the sun. The plants 

 should be placed in rows as they are cut, in order to 

 facilitate the labor of gathering them. There is one 

 caution to be heeded in cutting tobacco, and that is, 

 do not let it be burnt or blistered by the heat of the 

 sun. In some varieties of tobacco this will be effect- 

 ed in one hour ; in others, not so soon. But this dan- 

 ger can be evaded in two ways : first, by cutting late 

 in the evening ; second, by throwing it in the shade, 

 or covering it so as to weaken the power of the sun. 

 Some vaft'ieties of tobacco will wilt (that is, become soft 

 or limber) in two hours ; others, in a longer time, ac- 

 cording to the degree of sun-heat. Having cut the 

 tobacco, and it being sufficiently wilted, the next step is 



Hanging. — The sticks to hang the plants on should 

 be split of straight-grained timber — should be four 

 and a half feet long, and at least one inch thick, and 

 one inch wide. The splinters should be shaved off 

 smoothly. The poles for the scaffold should be of 

 sufficient lerfgth and strength ; the forks, or other sup- 

 porters, must be tall enough to swing the plants six 

 inches above the ground. These scaffolds can be 

 erected around the fields, if small, or in it, if large. 

 Judgment must determine. 



The scaffolds erected, the sticks prepared, the to- 

 bacco well wilted and placed in piles around the scaf- 

 folds, the next business is to hang the plants on the 

 sticks. To do this neatly and expeditiously, place one 

 end of a stick on the outer end of one scaffold-pole, 

 and the other end squarely across on the end of the 

 adjoining pole, or any where else, to be convenient to 

 receive the plants. Hang twelve plants on a stick, 



