No. 4.] HARVESTING AND CITRING TOBACCO. S9 



Dr. Gakxet?, It is true that tlio dry-weather crop is less 

 \aliialile than that grown in a ('()nij)arativc1y wet season. All 

 plants grow thicker lea\'es when the season is dry than when 

 it is normal or wetter than nsnal. It is easy, therefore, to 

 get a tohaeco leaf that is too thick and too heavy. Something 

 can he done in cnring to correct this, bnt the tronhle cannot 

 be entirely o\-ercome in that Avay. 1 think that the cost of 

 irrigation Avould be too great a bnrden on the valne of the 

 crop. If a plant were needed every year you conld afford it, 

 bnt you might have wet seasons for three years after installing 

 the plant, and it would be lying idle and undergoing deteriora- 

 tion, without being of use. 



jMr. ParmeiVter. Taking into consideration the increase 

 in weight, the saving of the bottom leaves and the decreased 

 liability to pole sweat, is it not settled that the correct way to 

 harvest tobacco is to pick it ? 



Dr. Garner. Theoretically, I should not hesitate to say 

 that tobacco should be picked ; practically, it would depend 

 on labor supply and those things that come into the question 

 of the increased cost. 



Mr. Graves. The common theory is that the lower leaves 

 should be picked the day after topping, but I have seen the 

 lower leaves double in size after the tops have been broken off. 



Dr. Garner. It does not necessarily follow that they 

 should be doubled in size. If we are going to gain in weight 

 at expense of quality, it is a doubtful proposition. I am not 

 so sure but that sometimes the first picking should be made 

 before the plants are topped ; at other times it might properly 

 wait for some days. In shade-grown tobacco not topping at 

 all has been extensively practiced, and with success. 



j\rr. Crae^ts. I have seen tobacco where the lower leaves 

 were well matured at the time of topping, and at other 

 times they have been hardly large enough to be of any use. 

 With favorable weather after topping they increased in size 

 and also made leaves of a very desirable quality. In the 

 first case they had not the size that would ajipeal to the 

 buyer, and I dcmbt very much whether they had the quality 

 before they had the growth. 



