94 AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE. 



Prepare drying sticks long enough to rest upon two beams, 

 run them through the slits in the stalks and hang each plant 

 up to dry, the thick end upwards. They must be placed on 

 the sticks so as not to touch each other. Before hanging 

 the tobacco, take each stalk by the butt end and shake it 

 well to shake the leaves well asunder. In wet weather the 

 windows are closed, and smouldering wood fires are made 

 on the floor of the shed. The object is to prevent the 

 tobacco turning mouldy, and at the same time giving it a 

 good colour, and also the peculiar flavour prized by the 

 manufacturers. In dry weather no fires are wanted, and 

 the windows may be kept open to admit a free current of 

 air. In very dry weather the curing is helped by sprinkling 

 the floors. Tobacco requires hanging in this manner for 

 three or four weeks. The way to tell when it is dried 

 enough is to " try " one of the stalks, and if it breaks off 

 short it is sufficiently done. Wait for a damp day to take 

 the crop down, when the leaves will be limp and will not 

 break in handling ; or damp for this purpose also may be 

 got in well enclosed sheds by sprinkling the floors. 



Curing or Sweating the Leaf. When properly dried, 

 the leaf is put up in bundles or " hands," containing ten or 

 more each, weighing about half a pound. These are then 

 arranged for " sweating " the size of the heap according to 

 the quantity of tobacco ; the larger the bulk the better it 

 sweats. Pack it closely and straight, the butts or tied ends 

 of the " hands " on the outsides, and, if necessary to deve- 

 lope heat in the mass, keep it pressed as close as possible 

 by means of slabs of wood, bags, &c. Watch the bulk 

 well by removing some of the stuff on the top, and feeling 

 into the centre, and when it is so hot that we can scarcely 

 bear the hand in it the time is come for shifting ; put the 

 tobacco from the top of the heap by itself, and that from 

 the centre by itself (that being the most sweated), then 

 take the sides and bottoms and place them together. It is 

 then stacked again, putting that which was before in the 

 centre at the bottom and sides, and that from the bottom 

 and sides in the middle ; the stalks that are greenest should 

 be kept in the middle. It should be done quickly, so as 

 not to let the mass get cold, or it may not sweat so well the 



