29 



ott' half the leaves in lliis way and then cnt the balance of the stalk. 

 Tobacco is never cnt or primed when wet with rain or dew, as this 

 canses the leaves to sunburn and little holes to form, which lowers tlie 

 value of the leaf. The cut tobacco is very carefully kept from the 

 ground and thepekoelan is covered while being hauled from the field to 

 the drying shed. 



The contract with the coolie ends with the delivery of the tobacco to 

 the drying shed and its acceptance by the European assistant. After 

 the main crop of tobacco has been cut, the best of the suckers, which 

 have come out in the last few days before cutting, are allowed to grow 

 and mature. These suckers are usually topped at about ten or even 

 eight leaves, and the coolie receives for them, commonly, about half the 

 rate of the other tobacco. They receive about $3.20 per thousand plants 

 for the very best suckers, although occasionally $4.80 is given, but uot 

 often. The very small sucker plants are not accepted at all, but are 

 thrown away. These plants always have to be kept separate. Alter 

 the sucker crop has been secured the stalks of the tobacco plants still 

 in the ground are taken out, root and all, by the coolies before they 

 leave the held and go to the fermenting shed. This is done to prevent 

 the growth of additional sucker crops, which would exhaust the soil 

 without doing any good. The stalks of tobacco, after being stripped 

 in the drying shed, are scattered over the held intended for the next 

 year's crop. 



When the tobacco is hauled in by the coolie he is supposed to i)ut 

 ten plants on the stick, as already explained, in such a way that it can 

 be readily examined by the European assistant. The tobacco is pur- 

 chased of the coolie at the rate of $6.40 ^er 1,000 plants for the best, 

 and about 80 cents per 1,000 plants for the worst tobacco he delivers. 

 He is therefore required to i)ut up plants of the same kind together on 

 the same stick. 



Each coolie has a small book in which is entered the tobacco deliv- 

 ered by him. The assistant also keeps a book for the same purpose, 

 with the number of his field, and sends in a report regularly to the 

 manager, so that proper credit can be given to the coolie for the tobacco 

 delivered. 



The assistant also keei^s a book showing the quantity of tobacco in 

 each of the drying sheds, and in case of fire this book is the basis of 

 settlement with the insurance company. It is necessary to have the 

 sheds insured, at least while the tobacco is in them, as fire not only occurs 

 occasionally from external causes, but the native battaks frequently 

 set the sheds on fire for imagined wrongs or to secure redress of real 

 grievances. 



HANGING AND CURING. 



When the coolie arrives at the shed with a load of tobacco he is met 

 by a helper wlio has prepared the tobacco slats and has hanging on 

 each of them ten little strings with a loop in each. Matting is spread 



