EXPERIENCE OP PBAOTICAL GKOWEES. 



go too close to the h-I , or you may displace the plant ; 

 i.)llow with a hoe, removing all grass and weeds, leav- 

 ing the tobacco master of the situation. Dig gently 

 the surface of the hill, and draw a little fine dirt around 

 the plant, and strive to keep the soil around the hill 

 as mellow as possible without disturbing the plant. 

 After going over in this manner, plow the opposite 

 way, going twice in a row. Some prefer the cultiva- 

 tor for going over the first two times, and, I think, 

 perhaps it would be preferable, as it pulverizes the 

 ground better than the shovel-plow. After going over 

 the field twice, in the above manner, commence again 

 with the double shovel-plow, the way the tobacco was 

 planted, following Avith the hoe, giving it a good hoeing 

 as before. Use your judgment about the amoui'' of 

 tillage needed ; keep clear of weeds ; keep the ground 

 mellow, and when the plants have spread so that they 

 are bruised by the hoe and plow, stop cultivating. 



Worms. — As soon as worms appear, which is general- 

 ly when the leaves areas big as a man's hand, go over 

 the tobacco, looking carefully at every plant. The 

 worms usually stay on the under side of the leaf; if 

 you see a hole in the leaf, no matter how small, raise 

 it up and you will generally find a worm under it. 

 Worming can not be done too carefully. Miss one or 

 two worms on a plant, and before you are aware of it 

 the plant is nearly eaten up. When you find a worm, 

 take hold of it with the thumb and fore-finger, giving 

 your thumb that peculiar twist which none but those 

 who are practiced in it know how to do, and put the 

 proper amount of pressure on, and my word for it you 

 will render his wormship harmless. Worming has to 

 be continued until the tobacco is cut ; the last worm- 

 ing to be immediately preceding cutting and housing. 



Topping. — The tobacco is ready to top when the 

 button (as the blossom or top of the stalk is called) 

 has put out sufficiently to be taken hold of, without 

 injury to the top leaves. As tobacco is not regular in 

 coming into blossom, it is the usual practice to let 

 those stalks that blossom first, run a little beyond their 

 time of topping, and then top all that is in button as 

 you go. There is no particular hight to top at, but 

 as a general thing sixteen to eighteen leaves are left ; 

 judgment is necessary to determine where to top ; if 

 topped too high, two or three of the top leaves are so 

 small as not to amount to much ; if topped low, the 

 tobacco spreads better ; if just coming out in top, 

 reach down among the top leaves, and with thumb and 

 fore-finger pinch the top or button off below two or three 

 leaves ; if well out in top, break off several inches 

 down from the button and four or five leaves below it. 



Spckering. — As soon as the tobacco is topped the 

 suckers begin to grow ; one shoots out from the stalk 

 at the root of each leaf, on the upper side. When the 

 top suckers are from three to four inches long, the 

 suckering should be done ; with the right hand take 

 hold of the top sucker, with the left take hold of the 

 next, close to the stalk, and break them off, and so 



proceed, using both hands, stooping over the stalk, 

 taking care not to injure the leaf. Break the suckers 

 about half-way down the stalk, the balance being too 

 short to need removing until the second suckering. In 

 about two weeks from topping, the tobacco is ready to 

 cut ; now give it the last worming and suckering, 

 breaking all suckers off down to the ground, and re- 

 move every worm, if you don't want your tobacco eaten 

 in the sheds. 



Cutting and Housing. — As a general rule tobacco 

 should be cut in about two weeks from topping, at 

 which time the leaves assume a spotted appearance 

 and appear to have fulled up thicker ; double up the 

 leaf and press it together with thumb and finger, and, 

 if ready to cut, the leaf where pressed will break crisp 

 and short. Do not let your tobacco get over-ripe or 

 it will cure up yellow and spotted ; it is better to cut 

 too soon than too late. Take a hatchet or short corn- 

 knife, grasp the stalk with the left hand, bend it well 

 to the left, so as to expose the lower part of the stalk, 

 strike with the knife just at the surface of the ground, 

 let the stalk drop over on the ground without doubling 

 the leaves under, and leave it to wilt. The usual prac- 

 tice is to worm and sucker while the dew is on in the 

 morning, and as soon as the dew is off to commence 

 cutting. There are some who advocate cutting in the 

 afternoon, say three o'clock ; let it wilt and lie out until 

 the dew is off next day, and take it in before the 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 unpleasant 

 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 ; cut- 

 ting should be commenced as soon as the dew is off, 

 and all that is cut should be housed by eleven o'clock, 

 unless it is cloudy ; from eleven to two o'clock the 

 direct rays of the sun on the tobacco, after it is cut, 

 will burn the leaves in twenty minutes ; after two, as a 

 general thing, ther.e is no danger of such burning, the 

 sun's rays not striking direct on the tobacco. Have a 

 wagon at hand, with stiff boards, twelve 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 wagon on the front end, 

 lapping the tobacco the same as loading fodder, keep- 

 ing the buts out on both sides — build about two feet 

 high, and so otf until loaded. 



Tobacco Barn. — Mine is 50 by 33 feet, with 18 feet 

 posts ; the tiers are four and a half feet apart. I hang four 

 full tiers of tobacco, and hang between the purline plates 

 in the comb, a half tier ; the bents of the frame are 16| 

 feet apart. I hang on four-feet sticks made of hick- 

 ory, rived one half inch by IJ inches, shaved and 

 tapered at one end to receive an iron socket ; I have 

 sawed sugar-tree scantlings IGf feet long, 3 by 4 

 inches thick, for the ends of the sticks to rest on and 



