28 



SAVma SEED. 



At the time of topping, a few plants are left for seed. The best, 

 finest, and healthiest looking plants are selected for this purpose. 

 These, of course, are not toi)ped, but are allowed to grow and blossom 

 at their full height. Some of the planters take off all fche leaves when 

 they grow large enough, but usually only those at the bottom are 

 removed. If any of the plants that have been selected for seed show 

 subsequent signs of sickness they are, of course, immediately topped 

 and harvested when ripe. When ripe the little balls containing the 

 seed are carefully cut off with a knife or scissors. The seed ijlants 

 frequently grow as high as 10 feet, and it is necessary in gathering the 

 seed to use a bench to stand on. The cutting must be done very care- 

 fully so that the seed shall not fall out. When gathered the balls are 

 taken to an assistant's house and spread out on a large piece of linen or 

 calico. They are then put out in a moderate sun, or, better, in a place 

 where there is a warm current of air. When perfectly dry the seed is 

 pressed out of the hull by hand and the hull thrown away. The seed 

 is, of course, full of dirt and fragments of the hull which must be 

 removed. After it has been thoroughly dried it is put through a sieve 

 or strainer in the open air, by which process, and by blowing the seed 

 as they fall, the dirt is removed as much as possible. The seed is again 

 dried and is put through a small seed mill. As it comes slowly out 

 from the mill a wheel is operated which blows away the lightest seed 

 and chaff' and allows only the heaviest and best seed to fall near the 

 mill, where they are caught on sheets. The seed is divided into two 

 grades, No. 1 and No. 2, according to the weight. There is little dif- 

 ference, but No. 1 is considered somewhat the better. The seed is then 

 put up in quart bottles and well corked, or put in clean, empty 5-gal- 

 lon oil cans and well covered with cloth. It is occasionally examined 

 to see that no lumps form and that no worms attack it. About 300 

 plants are considered necessary for one quart bottle of good seed. The 

 coolie is paid from $7.20 to $8 per thousand for the plants. 



CUTTING AND HOUSING. 



Formerly the entire stalk of tobacco was cut and brought to the 

 drying shed by the coolie in a conveyance called ^'pekoelan," a rude 

 sled. About forty-five or fifty plants can be placed upon this convey- 

 ance. The coolie cuts the i)lants off* with a knife in a slanting way 6 

 inches above the ground, and puts them carefully in the pekoelan. 

 When he has cut a load he takes it to the drying shed. As all the 

 leaves never ripen on the plant -at the same time, much green tobacco 

 is in this way carried to the shed. 



Eecently the system of priming has been adopted. In this method, 

 instead of cutting the whole stalk, the leaves are taken off from the 

 stalk and carried to the drying shed in baskets. Some growers prime 



