H 



of 50 wooden poles, eight feet above the ground and 

 arranged 33 feet apart from each other m any direction. 



The exceptional labor represented by the erection of 

 miles of cloth screening is an annual, and unavoidable, 

 routine. The covering provides wrapper leaf with neces- 

 sary protection from the sun's direct heat and heavy 

 winds, and-though to a lesser degree-some defense 

 against temperature changes and hungry insects which 

 like their tobacco raw. The consequent humidity within 

 the tents approximates the tropical atmosphere of the 

 East Indies, long the major source of fine wrapper leaf. 



Shade-grown tobacco develops a stalk that frequently 

 grows as high as the ceiling cover. Curiously enough, 

 this type does not take deep root despite its height and 

 the weight of its leaves. As an added protection against 

 heavy wind and rain it is occasionally necessary to sup- 

 port the voung plants with strings attached to overhead 

 wires. 



and-picked harvesters 



As the leaves mature each is most carefully removed 

 by hand. This tedious "priming" begins with two or 

 four bottom leaves, the first to ripen. The plants of each 

 field will be primed five to seven times. The harvesting 

 is ordinarily carried out by thousands of young men of 

 slender build. Workers of this physique are needed for 

 they can move between the rows of plants without 

 brushing against, and possibly bruising, the delicate 

 leaves. Placed in canvas baskets, the leaves are trans- 

 ported to curing sheds for drying, a process that takes 

 from six to eight weeks. 



