(August, 1912. 



Cloth shade for the nursery beds has 

 given excellent results. These beds are 

 conveniently made 3 to * ft. wide. 



Sowing must not be too thick ; one 

 heaped tablespoon of seed to 100 sq, 

 yards of bed will serve 6 or 7 acres. It 

 is better, however, to allow a good mar- 

 gin and to have a succession of beds. It 

 is best to sow 6 or 7 weeks before rain 

 is expected and sow weekly till con- 

 sidered enough. 



Harden the plants by gradually re- 

 ducing watering and shade about a fort- 

 night before transplanting. Planting is 

 done 3x3 ft. If the plants incline to 

 become stunted, apply liquid manure. 

 If flies or worms appear, spray with a 

 mixture of 1 lb. Paris green, 4 or 5 lbs. 

 lime to 100 or 150 gallons water. For 

 cut-wurms sprinkle bed with lime and 

 water to wash lime off plants, or make a 

 trap of 1 lb. Paris green to twenty flour 

 or bran, or a mixture of arsenic and 

 sugar. The surest way is to hand-pick 

 the worms. 



Tapping and Harvesting. 



Topping must be done just before 

 flowering, and the resulting suckers re- 

 moved. An average of ten leaves is 

 allowed to develope. Ripening begins 

 about a fortnight after topping. 

 Better gather slightly overripe than 

 green. Gather in the morning and only 

 take the ripe leaves, avoiding a wet day. 



After tying the leaves to sticks they 

 are removed to the flue-barn. The fol- 

 lowing is a description of a 



FLUE-BARN :— 



Internal dimensions 16 x 16 ft., height 

 8 ft. to wall plate. From the furnace 

 outside a flue pipe of thin stove piping 

 is carried round the interior through 

 the wall and up above the roof. 



The internal space is divided into 

 tiers 2 ft. apart verticaily, and 4 ft. 

 centre to centre by means of rails built 

 into the wall ends giving four rooms. 

 The rails are supported by uprights at 

 intervals of 4 ft. 



Two inlet ventilators near the ground 

 and exit ventilator in each gate should 

 be provided, 



The sticks with the leaves are sus- 

 pended on the rails, the top tier being 

 first filled. Filling should be done quick- 

 ly and on the day of reaping. 



A slight fermentation by means of 

 heat is thus started and the leaf yellows. 

 Then the temperature is raised to drive 

 out moisture and fix the colour. 

 Treatment. 



The following is a description of the 

 treatment which has been satisfactory 

 in Rhodesia :— 



As soon as the barn is filled, close the 

 ventilators, raise the temperature of the 

 barn by means of a small fire to 85° F., 

 and keep at this through the night ; next 

 morning raise the temperature 1° per hour 

 till 90° F is reached ; should the weather 

 be dry some water may be sprinkled 

 on the floor of the bai n at this stage. 

 The temperature is maintained at 90° F. 

 till the leaf changes to a bright greenish 

 yellow, when the heat is increased 2° per 

 hour till 105° F. is reached. The ventil- 

 ators are then slightly opened, the 

 increase of heat 2° per hour is continued 

 till 115° F. is reached, by which time the 

 ventilators having been gradually open- 

 ed are at widest extent. The temper- 

 ature is now increased two or three 

 degrees an hour till 125° F. is reached ; 

 that heat is maintained till the leaf is 

 dry, when the temperature is again rais- 

 ed this time 5° an hour up to 160° F. at 

 which it is held till the mid-ribs are dry. 



The fire is then drawn and the tobacco 

 allowed to cool off and take up sufficient 

 moisture to allow of being stripped from 



the sticks. 



When the leaf is quite soft, but the 

 mid-rib near the butt brittle, the leaf is 

 in a condition to be handled, It is 

 stripped from the sticks, care being 

 taken that all midribs are thoroughly 

 dried out as these, if wet, will start 

 mould. The tobacco is then put in bulks 

 on a wood floor, the tails being inside 

 and the butts out, the tobacco being 

 piled up as high as can conveniently be 

 done. 



Maturing and Colouring. 

 It is then left to mature and colour for 

 a couple of months or more, when, on 



