TOBACCO AND ITS CULTURE. 147 



which burrows in the ground in the daytime and comes to the 

 surface to feed at night. The tobacco worm is hatched from 

 an egg laid by the tobacco miller upon the under side of the 

 tobacco leaf, and usually may be found there. They are 

 much more troublesome some seasons than others. The 

 only sure method to rid the plant of them is untiring vigi- 

 lance in picking them off by hand and destroying them. This 

 work continues as long as the tobacco remains in the field, 

 and sometimes they are carried on the plant to the building, 

 where they continue to feed upon the plant till they fall to 

 the ground and die. 



The work of topping and suckering tobacco is a work upon 

 which there is a difference of opinion as to the time when the 

 work should be done. My own opinion is that the bud 

 should be broken off as soon as the plant is so far advanced 

 as to show the character of the plant. A strong and healthy 

 plant will bear to be topped higher than one not so healthy. 

 The plant can be topped higher ea7'Ii/ in the season than late; 

 and where there are some plants quite late in their growth, 

 these should be topped much lower than those further ad- 

 vanced, which have been topped earlier. It is clear that all 

 superfluous growth allowed is at the expense of the strength 

 of the plant, which is a sufficient reason for early topping ; 

 and further, after the plant has been topped, it is less likely 

 to be injured by wind and storm ; and further, if the topping 

 is delayed till fully blossomed out, the quality of the leaf is 

 affected unfavorably. The number of leaves to be allowed 

 to remain on the plant varies with the variety of seed, with 

 the time in the season when it is topped, whether early or 

 late, and with the fertility of the soil ; some varieties will not 

 mature more than twelve or fourteen leaves, while others 

 will mature from sixteen to twent3^ 



The risk to the crop from hail-storms and wind stimulates 

 the tobacco grower to early harvesting, so as to have his crop 

 safe under cover. There is certainly a feeling of relief when 

 the crop is safely housed, but there should not be so much 

 haste as to harvest before the crop is ripe, as the market 

 value is often injured by its being cut before it is matured. 

 To be able to judge accurately when the crop is in its best 

 condition to harvest, if ever acquired, can only be by experi- 



