526 Transactions of thk American Institute. 



artificial drying to save the crop. Under such circumstances it is 

 recommended that a flue of mason work be made across the floor of 

 the building covered with sheet iron, and leading from a furnace out- 

 side the house on one side, to a chimney at a safe distance on the 

 other. A trench is sometimes dug, and a log or two of wood placed 

 in it and fired ; but this gives the tobacco a smoky smell and taste 

 that is not much liked by buyers. Other objections are : Cost of 

 labor and of wood, and the risk of losing both tobacco and building. 

 A better practice is to have stoves, with pipes to convey the smoke 

 (which is of no value in drying), outside the house. With this 

 arrangement, the heat may be safely kept at eighty or 'ninety degrees. 

 But, doubtless, the better plan, especially for a beginner, is to run no 

 risks, have plenty of room, hang the crop thin in houses not too large, 

 having windows and doors sufticient to admit light and air freely in 

 pleasant weather, and by closing them in bad weather to exclude rain 

 and dampness, which have bad eflect on the color and quality of the 

 crop. The Cuba grower would force the drying in wet weather and 

 retard it in dry weather, as either extreme is, in his opinion, injuri- 

 ous. Left to atmospheric influences alone, the curing requires, in 

 ordinary seasons, about three months. By the exercise of a little 

 judgment one will soon learn to know when the process is complete. 

 There should not be the least greenness of color or scent about the 

 stalk, the stem, or any portion of the leaf ; and the stems should be 

 so brittle that they will snap short when bent in dry weather. 



Broom Cokn. 

 Mr. A. McKnight, Galesburg, 111., having seen some questions on 

 this subject from a Club correspondent, forwarded the subjoined facts 

 and figures : If the inquirer wishes to raise fifty acres he will need 

 two span of horses, $500 ; two wagons with racks, $250 ; two sets 

 harness, eighty dollars ; two plows, forty-five dollars ; two cultivators, 

 eighty dollars ; two harrows, thirty-five dollars ; one roller, forty 

 dollars; one scraper, $225 ; one power and fixtures, $150 ; one press, 

 seventy-five dollars ; one planter, ninety-five dollars : shed, twenty- 

 four by eighty, with ribs and lath to dry on, $300. The usual way 

 of putting in the crop is : Plow, roll, harrow, and then plant in drills, 

 five rows to the rod, with the seed two inches apart in the rows. 

 When up, roll, harrow, running wide end forward, till large enough 

 for cultivator. Then cultivate, and don't be afraid to do it often. 

 When ready to harvest, that is, when in the blow, table by breaking 



