646 



TOBACCO 



TOBACCO 



cable to intgr-till the tobacco until shortly before 

 the top leaves are taken off. In dry seasons this 

 serves to retain the soil moisture by preventing 

 excess evaporation due to soil capillarity. 



When the plants begin to bud, all except the in- 

 dividual plants saved for seed purposes should be 



Tobacco-field in Louisiana. 



topped. No very definite rule can be given for this 

 process, but it is the custom to break off the top 

 of the plant just below the first seed sucker. The 

 height of topping must be governed largely by the 

 local soil and climatic conditions. It is necessary 

 to remove the suckers before they reach sufficient 

 size seriously to injure or dwarf the plant or inter- 

 fere in the development of the leaves. In most 

 cases it will be found necessary to remove the 

 suckers two or three times, and more frequently if 

 the season is one which promotes rapid growth. 

 If seed is to be saved on any of the plants, the 

 flower-cluster should be covered with a light and 

 strong paper bag before any of the flowers blossom, 

 in order to prevent cross-fertilization. The bags 

 should be kept in good condition and not allowed 

 to injure the top of the plant in any way. They 

 should remain over the flowers until a sufficient 

 number have been fertilized to produce a good 

 supply of seed. 



The time for harvesting will depend to a consid- 

 erable extent on the season. The ripeness of the 

 leaves can be distinguished by the development of 

 irregular, light yellowish colored patches over the 

 surface, and a thickening and crumpling of the 

 body of the leaves. The leaves should be harvested 

 before they become overripe, and it is the usual 

 practice to pick them at three or four different 

 periods, the lower leaves maturing first, the middle 

 leaves next, and the top leaves last, generally 

 allowing six to eight days between each two pick- 

 ings. After picking, the leaves are carried to the 

 curing shed in baskets made for this purpose, and 

 are strung on four-foot laths specially arranged 

 for them, at the rate of thirty to forty leaves to 

 the lath. The leaves are arranged back to back 

 and face to face, and are regularly strung on the 

 cord attached to the lath. The laths are then hung 

 in the curing shed, where the leaves are allowed 

 thoroughly to cure. When the tobacco is primed 



from the stalk, it should not take more than three 

 weeks to cure ; when it is hung on the stalks, four 

 to six weeks are necessary. 



The manipulation of the curing barn is governed 

 entirely by the condition of the weather and the 

 nature of the tobacco, so no fixed rules can be 

 given. However, in a general way, it can 

 be said that the barn should be opened 

 during the day and kept closed at night. 

 If there are frequent showers and but lit- 

 tle sunshine, the barn should be kept 

 closed and small fires started at points 

 distributed throughout the building. 

 [See under Connecticut Havana tobacco, 

 following.] 



When the midribs are thoroughly cured 

 the leaves are ready to be taken to the 

 packing-house. To get the tobacco in 

 condition to handle, all the ventilators 

 should be left open for one night, being ■ 

 opened about six o'clock in the- evening. 

 Unless the night is a dry one, the tobacco 

 will soften before morning and be in con- 

 dition or " good order" ; that is, it will 

 have taken up sufficient moisture to make 

 it soft and pliable. The barn should then be tightly 

 closed, in order to retain the moisture, and the 

 leaves taken from the laths and tied into hands of 

 convenient size. The bottom, middle and top leaves 

 should be kept separate in the barn. After the 

 tobacco has been taken down and packed, it should 

 be sent at once to the warehouse for fer- 

 mentation. 



The fermentation of the tobacco is to be 

 done in bulk, and this sweating process must 

 be watched with unusual care, in order to 

 prevent disaster to the crop. It is necessary 

 to turn the bulk several times during the 

 process of fermentation, in order to keep the 

 temperature at the desired point. The ob- 

 ject of turning the bulk is to reverse its 

 construction, thereby bringing the top, bot- 

 tom and outside layers into the middle of the 

 new bulk. This plan will permit a uniform 

 fermentation of all the tobacco in the bulk. 

 A convenient and practical size of bulk con- 

 tains 2,000 to 3,000 pounds. The tempera- 

 ture of the center of the bulk should in 

 no case be allowed to rise above 120° 

 Pahr., -and after the temperature falls 8° to 

 10° the bulk should be turned. The desira- 

 ble maximum tem- 

 peratureis 115° . 

 Pahr. It usually 

 takes six to eight 

 weeks to complete 

 the process of fer- 

 mentation. After 

 fermentation, the 

 tobacco must be 

 sized.sorted accord- 

 ing to the different 

 market grades, tied ^^ g„_ ^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^ 



up in hands, and (tMs implement is explained 



packed. near the end of page 647.) 



