is started .soon after the plants are set in the field. The rows of 

 tobacco are harrowed or plowed from 3 to 5 times, during the first 5 

 times, during the first 5 or 6 weeks after transplanting, to keep the 

 grass and weeds down, and to loosen the soil and push it to the 

 tobacco plants. The last plowing, known as ' 'laying the crop by' ' , 

 is usually done about the time the plants are knee high. 



A few weeks after the crop has been * 'laid by' ' the plants of 

 tobacco begin to bloom. These blooms are broken out so that the top 

 leaves on the plants will develop. 



There are many insects and pests that prey on tobacco during the 

 growing season, which must be kept under control or the crop of 

 tobacco will be destroyed. Growers have to spray and dust their 

 tobacco with insecticides several times during the growing and 

 harvesting season to keep these insects and pests under control. 



>.r 



;>?*^' 



In harvest i ng flue cured tobacco, 2 to 4 leaves are primed each week 

 as they mature. 



Harvesting 



Harvesting tobacco is one of the most laborious tasks that 

 exists in North Carolina, and probably in the United States. Com- 

 petition has forced growers of most crops to mechanize and do less 

 handwork, but with tobacco, almost every step to improve quality has 



7 



