11 



pole. They begin at the top of the shed and are hung tier 

 after tier until the shed is full, the tiers being usually 5 feet 

 high. 



"Hanging on string" is another well-known method of har- 

 vesting, and many growers favor it above all others. The 

 plants are cut as before, only they are laid crossways of the 

 row, and after being allowed to wilt are loaded directly onto 

 low wagons, the butts laid all one way. The plants are then 

 drawn into the shed where they are hung on poles with tobacco 

 twine. The hanger carries a bag on his back which holds a 

 ball of twine. With this he hangs the plants about 8 inches 

 apart on the poles by tying a half hitch around each plant. 

 When the pole is full the twine is tied around the last plant, 

 broken ofY and the next pole started. 



Priming. 

 This new method of harvesting tobacco came with the shade- 

 grown tobacco, and has found favor among many growers who 

 grow the outside or sun-grown tobacco. The barn has to be 

 rigged differently, with the tiers only half as far apart as either 

 of the methods previously described. The plant is not cut, but 

 the leaves are picked off or "primed," as they ripen, four or 

 five at a time, beginning with the bottom one. The pickers sit 

 down between the two rows and "prime" both rows, placing the 

 leaves in little piles. These are picked up by another man and 

 placed in baskets and are drawn to the end of the row on a 

 hand truck, loaded onto a wagon, and taken to the shed where 

 the leaves are strung. Generally women and children do this 

 work, using large needles and stringing forty leaves on a string, 

 which has been knotted at one end. After the leaves are all 

 on, the stringer knots the other end of the string and hangs it 

 on a lath which has been notched at either end. These laths 

 are then hung up tier upon tier as aforesaid. In a few days 

 the second priming is taken and so on until the crop is har- 

 vested. Cases have been known where the first priming has 

 become cured and taken down before the last priming was 

 taken, thus giving a chance to use the shed a second time in 

 the same season. When the crop is to be primed it is not 

 necessary to top the plant. After the priming is finished the 



