88 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



price received. The increased weight might not mean better 

 tobacco. If we have a thick, heavy tobacco, a dry-weather 

 crop, I do not think curing by picking would be a good thing, 

 as we would be likely to get a leaf that would be too heavy. 



IMr. Graves. As the tobacco plant commences to rijien 

 from the bottom up, and as the bottom leaves, M'hich are very 

 good if picked at the proper time, have deteriorated a great 

 deal by the time the rest of the plant is ripe, is that not an 

 additional reason for picking? 



Dr. Garner. Yes, we get more leaves in picking, as well 

 as an increase of from 10 to 1.5 per cent in weight in the par- 

 ticular leaves. In our cx})criments last year Ave probably got 

 a total increase of 20 per cent in the weight of the crop 

 picked, for these reasons. 



Mr. Parmenter. Is not the process of spearing tobacco 

 and hanging it on laths to be preferred to hanging it with 

 twine ? 



Dr. Garner. It is a step in the right direction, but whether 

 it is important from a practical standpoint I cannot say. The 

 best plan is to split the stalk, according to the Virginia 

 method, but that you cannot do here, because you have too 

 many loaves on the stalk. There they have only eight or ten 

 leaves, and the experienced workers split the stalk very rap- 

 idly and rarely injure a leaf. That would not be possible 

 ■with your plants. 



Mr. Searle. How are we to know when the leaves are 

 ready to pick ? 



Dr. Garner. That is something for which no hard and 

 fast ride can be laid down, but it must be determined by each 

 grower for each particular crop. It is something that will 

 come with experience. In picking we pick the particular 

 leaves at just the time when they are most valuable, and it is 

 necessary to make several pickings. We are carrying on 

 experiments as to the proper time of picking, l)ut cannot as 

 yet make any definite statement. 



Mr. Smith. To what extent would it be practical to intro- 

 duce irrigation to get over the trouble of the dry-weather crop 

 curing darker and being of less value than that of a normal 

 season ? 



