IMPROVEMENTS, 407 
the method of curing is by air-drying instead of by “firing” 
or by “flues.” In New England the strongest timber, as oak, 
is used for building, as the weight of the plants before fully 
cured is immense. The shed is braced at every point and 
generally rests upon stone posts so as to allow a good circula- 
tion underneath the building. Poles are used for hanging, 
either round or sawed, when the plants are hung with 
twine; when hung on tobacco hooks, laths are used, the 
hooks attached to the lath; more frequently the plants are 
strung upon the laths without the aid of hooks, the lath 
PS 
at onan 
MODERN CONNECTICUT TOBACCO SHED. 
passing through the center of the stalk an inch or two 
from the end. ‘The doors lengthwise of the building 
are simply the outside boards hung on hinges, every second 
or third being chosen according to the ideas of curing enter- 
tained by the grower. Some planters are of the opinion 
that the plants need all the air that can be obtained, and 
keep the sheds open during both day and night, while others 
open the doors only now and then—closing during warm 
days, and during a storm. Sometimes the doors are hung on 
hinges at the top—opening but partially and not allowing as 
free circulation as when hung on the sides. 
Another building of late has been built by the growers in 
the Connecticut valley, called a stripping house. This build- 
ing is frequently attached to the shed. or near by so that 
stripping may be performed during all kinds of weather, 
