TOBACCO 211 



plows, while in the Southern states single stocks with sweeps are mostly- 

 used. Cultivation usually ceases when the plants have received their 

 final topping. As soon as the seed-head appears it should be taken out 

 along with about three or four leaves with cigar type tobaccos, while the 

 heavy and export types are topped down to eight or ten remaining leaves, 

 according to the growth of the plant and the style of leaf desired. The 

 Maryland and Burley tobaccos have more leaves left on the plant after 

 topping, but not as many as the cigar types. All types of tobacco will send 

 out shoots or suckers after being topped, and these should be broken 

 off, so that all the strength of the plant will go into the leaves on the 

 main stalk. 



Tobacco is subject to insect pests from the time it germinates in the 

 plant-bed to the time it is harvested. The flea beetle which lives on the 

 young plants in the bed can be controlled by using kerosene and wood ashes. 

 In the field the bud worm, horn worm and grasshopper destroy the leaves. 

 These can be controlled by the use of Paris green, either applied dry mixed 

 with cornmeal or ashes for the bud worm and in a solution at the rate of 

 one pound of Paris green to 100 gallons of water, for the horn worm. More 

 detailed instructions for controlling these pests will be found in the chapter 

 on "Insect Pests." 



Methods of Harvesting. — Various methods are used in the different 

 tobacco districts in harvesting tobacco. In the heavy and export districts 

 the entire plant is cut. The stalk is first split down the middle about two- 

 thirds its length ; then cut off close to the ground. The plant is then hung 

 across a stick about four feet in length holding from six to eight plants, 

 according to their size. When a stick is filled it is placed upon a wagon 

 and taken to the curing barn. In the Burley and Maryland tobacco dis- 

 tricts the plant is simply cut close to the ground and speared upon the stick, 

 the stalk not being cut as in the former method. This method of harvesting 

 is also used in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and to some extent in the 

 New England states with the binder and filler grade of cigar leaf tobacco. 



For the cigar wrapper tobaccos of Florida, Georgia, Texas and the 

 New England states, the leaves are picked off the growing plants as they 

 ripen, beginning with the sand or bottom leaves. The leaves are placed in 

 baskets and taken to the curing barn, where, by means of a needle, they are 

 strung upon strings attached to sticks, each string holding about thirty- 

 five leaves. The ends of the string are fastened to each end of the stick, 

 which is then hung upon the tier poles in the barn where they remain 

 until cured. The bright flue-cured tobaccos of North and South Carolina, 

 also Virginia, are harvested by a similar method, differing in that the leaves 

 are tied upon the string in pairs and sometimes in triplets instead of the 

 individual leaves being strung upon the string by means of a needle. 

 Cigar leaf tobacco, harvested by the priming or single-leaf method, will 

 cure much quicker than when the whole plant is cut and will produce 

 tobacco of more uniform color and finer texture; besides, there will be less 



