246 • FARM CROPS 



should stand from time of topping until harvested. 

 Generally this is about 18 to 20 days. In very 

 warm growing weather 16 to 18 days will suffice. 

 No rule can be used for this. Experience is prac- 

 tically necessary to judge ripe tobacco. 



When to Harvest. — It is best, especially in dry 

 seasons, to harvest the tobacco before it is too ripe. 

 If the rain should come to freshen the plants, and 

 start them growing let them stand until they are 

 matured, otherwise harvest the tobacco before it 

 starts to fire up in the field. Much has been said 

 during the past few years concerning the harvest- 

 ing of tobacco by the priming method. This is to 

 pluck the leaves as they become nearly ripe, in- 

 stead of waiting to cut the whole stalk. Some 

 have made a success of it and others have not. The 

 principal drawback to the method is the little 

 knowledge we have of the proper stage of ripeness 

 tobacco should acquire to be in its prime for har- 

 vesting in order to make the best quality of goods 

 possible. 



The main point is not to delay the harvesting 

 until the tobacco is too ripe; better by far have 

 it a little on the green side of the line. As soon 

 as the leaves are matured; that is, have their 

 growth, they should be harvested. The longer a 

 leaf stays on the stalk after it has its growth, up to 

 the time it starts to fire, the more solid matter it 

 contains. If the leaf so loaded with solid material 

 is cured on the stalk, a part of the solid material in 

 the leaf is made soluble during the curing process 

 and transposed into the stalk, thus benefiting the 

 leaf; if the leaf is primed in the field this source of 

 outlet for the solid material is cut off and the leaf 

 cures down thick and boardy, instead of thin and 



