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HOW TO EAISE TOBACCO. 



This work should be done early, the sooner the better, 

 so that the plant does not lose much strength by their 

 growing. These leaves must not be tor7i off, especially 

 not downward, because the plant would be injured, 

 and instead of throwing the strength gained into the 

 other leaves, it would be thrown away to heal the 

 wound. The distance from the ground this priming 

 should be done, depends upon the variety grown and 

 npon the time at which the work is done : four to six 

 inches is the right distance. This priming is not done 

 by every one. One farmer may practice it, while his 

 neighbor does not ; but sorts the lower leaves separ- 

 ately, and sells them as so-called "lugs," for which he 

 gets a little over half the price of the good upper 

 leaves. Those who do not prime, must generally top 

 lower, or they must risk that the whole plant, or at 

 least the upper leaves, will not mature fully. 



Topping is done to throw the strength, which would 

 go to develop seeds, into the leaves. It must, there- 

 fore, be done as early as the seed-buds show them- 

 selves, if not earlier. This work must be done, and 

 the question is, how to do it. If there are but few 

 leaves on the plant, even these will not ripen, if it is 

 not topped ; if there are many, then the grower has 

 the choice either to break off the flower-stalk only or 

 to take off one or more leaves also. This should be 

 done in answer to the questions : 1st. Is there time 

 enough to ripen even the upper leaves fully ? and, 2d, 

 Are the plant and the soil strong enough to ripen all 

 leaves, even the upper ones ? The answers to these 

 queries will decide the way of topping. If yes, he 

 takes off the flower-stalk only ; if no, he tops to eight, 

 ten, twelve, fourteen, or sixteen leaves, according to 

 his judgment, that is, he allows so many leaves to re- 

 main on the plant. Here will be seen the importance 

 and benefit of starting the plants early from seed. 

 This alone may increase the yield one half. 



SucKERiNG follows shortly after topping, and is done 

 for the same reason — to concentrate the strength of 

 the plant in the leaves. A sucker is a little branch 

 appearing at the place where the stem of the tobacco- 

 leaf joins the stalk. They draw off nutriment, while 

 they will never be good for any thing, and therefore 

 must be removed. This is one of the tiresome opera- 

 tions in tobacco culture, for these suckers do not all 

 appear at the same time ; they first appear on the 

 lower leaves, and then on the middle, and lastly at 

 the top leaves. They even push out again sometimes 

 after they have been removed. They demand the 

 planter's whole attention, and he has no rest on ac- 

 count of them, until the plant is fully matured. 



Priming, topping, and suckering must not be done 

 during a rain, or when the dew is on the plants, or 

 they will get rust-spots, which will get larger every 

 day and at last destroy the whole leaf. 



Harvesting. — The maturity of tobacco is seen, if 

 the leaves, which were green up to now, when held 

 against the sun, show yellowish, reddish, or brownish 



spots, feel sticfiLy, and when bent break off short and 

 clean. Before this period sets in, the drying-house 

 should be in good order. This house is built to give 

 room for the free hanging up of the tobacco, so that 

 it is protected from the sun, wind, and rain, and is 

 allowed to dry by the free circulation of the air. Any 

 building, therefore, will answer which has a good roof, 

 boarded sides, and enough windows and air-holes (which 

 can be closed at will) to keep up a mild circulation of 

 air inside, and also to keep out strong and too quick 

 drying winds. If the tobacco is grown on a large 

 scale, the house should have large doorways to drive a 

 wagon in and out. There must be sticks all over the 

 house, either cross or lengthwise, and these sticks must 

 be ready and in their places. Now the work of harvest- 

 ing the crop is commenced on a clear or cloudy but 

 not rainy day. The mature plants (those not ripe are 

 left longer on the field if not too late in the season) 

 are cut off near the ground, two of them tied together 

 by the but-ends and hung up in the field on i-iders, 

 which rest on two forks fastened in the ground, and 

 they are left there until evening to wilt ; then they are 

 brought to the drying-house and hung up. The to- 

 bacco is hung up on the upper sticks first, and the 

 work continued downward ; care is taken that the 

 sticks are six to eight inches apart, also that the plants 

 are not too near together on the sticks, because the 

 air should have free passage among the plants, and 

 when they touch or rub against each other, unsightly 

 spots are produced. The sticks must be pretty wide, 

 so that the two plants which are tied together, and 

 one of which hangs on each side, are held well apart. 

 Later, when the tobacco has dried oS" somewhat, the 

 sticks and plants may be moved a little nearer to each 

 other ; but the plants on the upper sticks must not 

 touch those on the lower ; they should be so arranged 

 that one lower stick is just in the middle of the space 

 between two upper ones. 



Another method of harvesting may be followed by 

 those who cultivate tobacco on a small scale, or who 

 have hands and time enough. As all the leaves on the 

 plant do not ripen at the same time, but the under 

 leaves are always a little earlier than the upper ones, 

 they may gather the crop in the leaf, that is, taking 

 only the matured leaves from the stalk ; this must be 

 done daily, and so long as there are leaves on the 

 stalk. In this way the crop will be harvested slower, 

 and it will cost more, but the tobacco will be of more 

 even quality and better. The leaves are strung on 

 strings instead of being hung up on sticks, with the 

 same care and precautious as recommended for hang- 

 ing up the whole plants. After the leaves are off, the 

 stalks must be cut off" or pulled up, for they would still 

 vegetate, and needlessly take away nourishment from 

 the soil. 



No more tobacco, leaves or plants should be cut 

 than can be taken to the drying-house and hung up 

 the same day. Mild, clear weather will be beneficial 



