No. 4.] HARVESTING AND C LUING TOBACCO. 81 



IIakvestixg bt Cutting the Plant versus Picking the 



Leaves. 



This brings its to the last topic for discussion, a comparison 

 of the methods of harvesting and curing by cutting the plant 

 and by picking the leaves. We will not attempt to discuss at 

 this time the economic phases of the question, such as the 

 relative cost of the two methods and the labor supply, but will 

 consider briefly the merits of the two processes as regards 

 yield and the quality of the cured leaf. There is no doubt 

 that it costs more to harvest by picking the leaves, and the 

 important question is whether the increased value of the crup 

 is sufficient to justify the use of the method. 



We have found by careful tests that a leaf cured by 2)icking 

 will weigh 10 to 15 per cent more than when cured on the 

 stalk. There is no doubt of this fact, and the reason is easily 

 explained. It has already been pointed out that while the 

 plant is growing in the field a portion of the food supply man- 

 ufactured in the leaf is carried into the stalk to feed other 

 portions of the plant, and exactly the same thing happens in 

 the curing barn. E\'ery grower knows that while the leaves of 

 the cut plant soon die and cure down, the stalk remains green 

 for weeks and even months. It is also a familiar fact that the 

 young suckers on the plant may grow considerably in the barn. 

 The stalk and suckers continue to live because they draw food 

 from the dying lea^■es. I have often heard expressed the opin- 

 ion that the leaf draws from the stalk, but this would be a 

 case of the dead feeding on the living, which is not nature's 

 way of proceeding. It has also been found that if suckers are 

 allowed to remain on the stalk when harvested, the cured leaf 

 will be lighter than when they are removed, and this is 

 because the suckers draw food from the mature leaves through 

 the stalk. We see, then, that there is a clear gain of 10 or 15 

 per cent in curcil weight when tobacco is picked, and this 

 means, of course, that the leaf has more body. This may or 

 may not be desirable, depending on the condition of the to- 

 bacco when harvested ; and, in my opinion, picking will give 

 better results with what may be called a wet-Aveather crop than 



