Sept. 1906.] 239 Edible Products. 



leaf tobacco should be primed, i.c, the leaves gathered as they ripen; this needs 

 considerable judgment and practice on the part of the grower ; the leaves ought to 

 be pulled when slight indications of a brownish colour appear round the edge of the 

 leaf and on the tip ; occasional spots will appear at other places on the surface. The 

 ordinary indications of ripeness which govern tobacco grown in the open fields, 

 sucli as yellow blotches, curliag of the leaf, and the snapping of the midrib when 

 bent, will not apply to shade-grown tobtcco. By experiment at Hope it is advised to 

 harvest the leaf at an early stage of ripeness. By going over tlie field in this way 

 and picking the leaves as they ripen, the leaves are of a uniform dogree of ripeness, 

 and this is a very desirable object. At the same time there is danger in harvesting 

 too green, as in such cases the leaf has an uneven colour when cured. If allowed to 

 ripen fully, its texture and toughness and its delicate, pea-green hue will be spoiled. 



Three or four leaves are generally taken off in the first priming ; then an 

 interval of several days will elapse before another priming can be made. It is usua 

 to make five or six primings of a crop, which occupies a period of from five to six 

 weeks. As the leaves are picked off the stalk they should be kept straight, placing 

 them back to face, and laying them in baskets 36 inches by 18 inches and 12 inches 

 deep, lined with shade cloth, with tiie butts to the ends of the basket, and the tips to 

 the centre ; they are carried in these baskets to the curing house. Never pick the 

 leaves while the dew or rain-drops remain on them as spots will result. It is 

 preferable to cut in the afternoon as the sun is getting weaker ; in the forenoon unless 

 cloudy there is a danger of sunburn. 



CURING. 



When the leaves are taken to the curing house thirty or forty are threaded 

 on a string, each end of which is fastened to a lath, 4 feet to 6 inches long by f inch 

 thick. The leaves are placed on the string face to face and back to back to prevent 

 curling; the laths are put closely in the bottom barraderas, where they may remain 

 from forty-eight to seventy-two hours according to the moisture in the house, then 

 carried up and adjusted on the upper barraderas, the laths put about 6 inches apart. 

 The drying of the leaf in the curing house is entirely governed by the conditions of 

 the weather. However, in a general way, if the house be filled with green tobacco, 

 and the weather be hot and dry, the house should be tightly closed for about three 

 days, by which time the tobacco will turn yellow ; the house should then be opened 

 at night and kept closed during the day ; this is done to prevent rapid curing which 

 gives a green and uneven colour. To obtain the best results, the tobacco should 

 become fairly moist and fairly dried out once in every twenty-four hours. The 

 opening and closing of the house require to be done with judgment, because it is by 

 the process of allowing the tobacco to become alternately soft and dry that the leaf 

 is properly cured. If the season during which the tobacco is being cured is exces- 

 sively hot and dry, as was the case in curing this crop, means must be found to keep 

 the house moist. In this case it was found necessary to hang cloth round the 

 inside of the house to retain moisture ; also instead of threading the leaves on string 

 and fastening to the laths immediately on being brought into the house, the leaves 

 were partly sweated on the floor of the curing house, spread in lots of twelve leaves 

 one above the other, back to back, and face to face, covered with green banana 

 leaves. If the floor of the house is made of earth, it is necessary to spread old 

 shade cloth or bags beneath the leaves to keep them off the damp floor, otherwise 

 the bottom leaves will get black and discoloured. Particular care must be taken 

 not to sweat the leaves when damp with wet or moisture. Allow them to remain 

 in this position for forty-eight hours, or until the edges of the leaves turn a yellow 

 colour, the remainder of the leaf will also be of a slightly yellow shade ; when this 

 colour is attained, thread as previously described ; put the laths on the bottom 

 barraderas for twenty-for hours, allowing the leaves on each lath to touch one 

 another ; shut the house during the day and open at night. 



