Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



22 



[July, 1909. 



Priming.— When the plant commences 

 to bloom, and the lower leaves to turn 

 yellow, four to six of these should be 

 picked, removed from the field and des- 

 troyed ; in fact, in Turkey eight or ten of 

 the lower leaves are destroyed, although 

 in the Colony to remove so great a 

 number seems unnecessary. Compared 

 with the upper, the lower leaves are 

 weaker, smoother, flatter and thinner. 

 About ten days or a fortnight after 

 the priming— according to the weather 

 —the crop leaves proper commence to 

 ripen. 



Signs oj Ripening,— The indications of 

 ripeness are ; — 



(1) The lowest and the oldest leaves 

 show a yellowish tinge in place of 

 the previous vivid green, and this is 

 most obvious towards the tip of each 

 leaf. 



(2) A limp feeling instead of the erisp- 

 ness of an unripe leaf. 



(3) Translucency in place of the previ- 

 ous opacity when held up to the light. 



With Cavvalla and other varieties, 

 when grown on rich soil, yellowish 

 spots appear on the leaves, and when 

 these are distinct, the leaf is ripe. 

 These signs of maturity are much more 

 easily seen before sunrise or in cloudy 

 weather, as bright sunshine misleads 

 the eye. 



Gathering the Leaf.— The first illustra- 

 tion will give an idea how the leaf is 

 gathered. Each man takes a single row 

 of plants and the leaves are plucked 

 with the right hand, using the thumb 

 above and two fingers beneath the leaf 

 stalk, the main stem being held firm by 

 the left hand. The leaf is gathered in 

 the early hours of the morning, which 

 not only allows of easier discrimination 

 between ripe and green, but at this 

 time the leaf breaks from the stem 

 sharply without causing injury to the 

 plant. In packing, err rather on the 

 side of over-ripeness than risk taking 

 green leaves. For the foregoing reasons 

 the leaf is harvested from bright day- 

 break up till 8. a.m. in summer, and 

 until about 11 a.m. on dull and cloudy 

 days. Never under any circumstances 

 gather tobacco after rain till all signs 

 of moisture has disappeared, as the leaf 

 is apt to turn mouldy if this is done, 

 beside losing itb oil and gum. 



Unripe leaves always retain a green- 

 ish tinge, which is very objectionable ; 

 overripe leaves lose colour and strength. 

 One or more ripe leaves are plucked 

 from each plant, in no case over four 

 at one picking. The leaves are gathered 

 from the lowest leaf upward in succes- 



sion. The leaves gathered are placed 

 evenly one above the other, and all facing 

 the same way, in boxes or baskets. 

 Methodical handling at this stage facili- 

 tates subsequent treatment. The remain- 

 der of the day will be occupied in 

 manipulating the leaves gathered dur- 

 ing the morning hours. If left over the 

 day, fermentation is likely to set in. 

 This has happened occasionally (owing 

 to pressure of other work) when the 

 leaves turned black and had to be thrown 

 away. 



Threading the Leaf.— The second illus- 

 tration shows how the threading is 

 carried out. The baskets or boxes, when 

 full, are conveyed to a cool shed where 

 the leaves are graded into two or more 

 grades, according to size. Damaged 

 leaves are set aside. If the leaves are 

 properly sorted at this stage and graded 

 according to size, much time is saved at 

 later stages and a more uniform colour 

 is secured. This matter cannot be too 

 strongly emphasised. Ultimate price de- 

 pends very much on attention to this one 

 simple detail. Past experiments show 

 that those who neglected this matter 

 were put to much labour and trouble at 

 pressing time. The aim must be to keep 

 the leaves as flat as possible, and if they 

 vary in size the edges become folded 

 and crinkled and a ragged, shrivelled 

 effect is the result. The assorted leaves 

 are now picked up one by one and 

 threaded on to the tobacco ueedles at a 

 point about one-half inch from the base. 

 The leaves are then passed on to a thread 

 of strong twine about 8 feet long, care 

 being taken to keep all the butts of 

 the leaves at the same level. All leaves 

 must face the same way and be packed 

 close together. A rod is laid along the 

 string of threaded leaves, either end of 

 which is attached to the corresponding 

 end of the rod whilst securing bands, 

 keeping the threads to which the rods are 

 tied on at intervals of about a foot apart. 

 Finally a label is attached to each rod, 

 giving the date of picking and grade of 

 the leaves. 



First Step in Curing— The rods with 

 their burdens of leaves are taken to 

 the curing shed and supported at 

 their ends on wooden rails, and the rods 

 should be kept about 6 iuches apart 

 on the rails. The aim is to let the leaves 

 wither slowly anil turn to a pale yellow 

 colour without moulding or decaying. 

 Under ordinary circumstances this 

 process will occupy from three to four 

 days, including the day of picking, if 

 the leaves were properly ripe before 

 picking. If there is too much draught, 

 the edges of the leaves dry, and shrivel 

 instead of becoming faded and limp. 



