TOBACCO. 611 



not to be cut in wot weather, when the leaves lose their natural gummy sub- 

 stance, so necessary to be preserved. About this period, the cultivator is apt 

 to be rendered anxious by the fear of allowing the plants to remain in the field 

 longer than necessary ; until experience removes those apprehensions, he should 

 be on his guard, however, not to destroy the quality of his tobacco, by cutting 

 it too soon. When the cutting is to commence, there should be procured a 

 quantity of forked stakes, set upright, with a pole or rider setting on each fork 

 ready to support the tobacco, and to keep it from the ground. The plant is 

 then cut obliquely, even with the surface of the ground, and the person thus 

 employed should strike the lower end of the stalk, two or three times with the 

 blunt side of his knife, so as to cause as much of the sand or soil to fall from 

 it as possible, then tying two stalks together, they are gently placed across the 

 riders or poles prepared to receive them. In this state they are allowed to re- 

 main in the sun or open air until the leaves have somewhat withered, whereby 

 they will not be liable to the injury which they would otherwise receive, if 

 they came suddenly in contact with other bodies when fresh cut. Then place 

 as many plants on each pole or rider as may be conveniently carried, and take 

 them in the drying house, where the tobacco is strung off upon the frames 

 prepared for it, leaving a small space between the two plants, that air may 

 circulate freely among them, and promote their drying. As the drying ad- 

 vances, the stalks are brought closer to each other, so as to make room for those 

 which yet remain to be housed. 



In drying the tobacco, all damp air should be excluded, nor ought the drying 

 of it to be precipitated by the admission of high drying winds. The process 

 is to be promoted in the most moderate manner, except in the rainy season, 

 when the sooner the drying is effected the better ; for it is a plant easily 

 affected by the changes of the weather, after the drying commences. It is then 

 liable to mildew in damp weather, which is when the leaf changes from its 

 original color to a pale yellow cast, and from this, by parts, to an even brown. 

 When the middle stem is perfectly dry, it can be taken down, and the leaves 

 stripped from the stalk and put in bulk to sweat, that is, to make tobacco of 

 them ; for before this process, when a concentration of its better qualities takes 

 place, the leaves are always liable to be affected by the weather, and cannot well 

 be considered as being anything else than common dry leaves, partaking of the 

 nature of tobacco, but not actually tobacco. The leaves are to be stripped from 

 the stalks in damp or cloudy weather, when they are more easily handled, and the 

 separation of the different qualities rendered also more easy. The good leaves 

 are at this time kept by themselves as wrappers, or caps, and the most defective 

 ones for fillings, or tripa. When the tobacco is put in bulk, the stem of the 

 leaves should all be kept in one direction, to facilitate the tying of them in 

 hanks : afterwards make the bulk two or three feet high, and of a proportionate 

 circumference. To guard against the leaves becoming over-heated, and to 

 equalise the fermentation or sweating, after the first twenty-four hours, place 

 the outside leaves in the centre, and those of the centre to the outside of the 

 bulk. By doing this once or twice, and taking care to cover the bulk either 

 with sheets or blankets, so as to exclude all air from it, and leaving it in this 

 state for about forty days, it acquires an odor strong enough to produce sneezing, 

 and the other qualities of cured tobacco. The process of curing may then be 

 considered as completed. Then take some of the most injured leaves, but of 

 the best quality, and in proportion to the quantity of tobacco made, and place 

 them in clean water, there let them remain until they rot, which they will do 

 in about eight days ; then break open your bulks, spread the tobacco with their 

 stems in one direction, and damp them with this water in a gentle manner, that 

 it may not soak through the leaf, for in this case the leaf would rot. Spongo 

 is used in Cuba for this operation. Then tie them in hanks of from twenty-five 

 to thirty leaves ; this being done, spread the hanks in the tobacco house for 

 about twelve hours, to air them, that the dampness may be removed, and after- 

 wards pack them in casks or barrels, and head them tight, until you wish to 

 manufacture them. 



The object of damping the tobacco with this water, is to give it elasticity, 

 to promote its burning free, to increase its fragrance, to give it an aromatic 



2 B 2 



