11 



whether wrapper or filler, etc. If the soil is soft the transplanting is 

 done by hand; but if it is hard, the work is generally done with a 

 hoe or a big knife called a "machete." No care is taken to set the 

 roots quite straight in the ground, and it has been observed that the 

 tap root has been placed in the hole in such a way that it was com- 

 pletely doubled upon itself. The young plants are pulled out of the 

 seed bed by hand, often without any rootlets and frequently with 

 the tap roots broken off. In setting the seed plant they generally 

 take it in the left hand, place the root in a horizontal position in a 

 hole prepared by one stroke of a hoe, and then press a piece of hard 

 earth on the roots, covering the hole with earth and leaving only a 

 few of the leaves above the ground. Other planters set the plants 

 too shallow, leaving the greater part of the stem of the plant exposed. 

 Some planters make rows with a native wooden plow and set the 

 young plants out in the ridges thus formed, while others, on the con- 

 trary, place them in the furrow made by the plow. Within fifteen 

 or twenty days after transplanting the first cultivation or hoeing is 

 undertaken, and from ten to fifteen daj^s later a second hoeing is 

 given, at each hoeing a little earth being thrown around each plant. 

 If necessary the fields are hoed and weeded again, but usually 

 this hoeing and weeding is done only twice. Cultivation and hoeing 

 is generally done too deeply and too near the plant, no fear being- 

 felt of damaging the roots. It is believed that considerable damage 

 results from the practice, owing to disturbing the plants' connection 

 with the soil and destroying or injuring the feeding roots. 



TOPPING. 



Topping consists in pinching off the terminal bud and leaving the 

 requisite number of leaves. This takes place from f orty to sixty days 

 after transplanting, and opinions differ greatly as to the number of 

 leaves to remain on the plant. Some planters at Cayey leave from 

 8 to 20; at Caguas, from 15 to 20; at Utuado, from 12 to 16; at 

 Jayuya, from 12 to 14; but a majority of the planters in all districts 

 leave from 10 to 12 leaves and do their topping as soon as it is possible 

 to pinch off the button flower. The object of low and early topping is 

 to obtain larger and heavier leaves. The practice of low topping and 

 late harvesting is attributable to the fact that during the Spanish 

 regime, prior to 1898, the market demands were for a dark, heavy 

 leaf containing a large amount of nicotin. The American market, 

 which now uses most of Porto Rico's tobacco, demands a light, thin, 

 mild leaf, and the system of topping and harvesting should be changed 

 in order to meet the new demand. After topping, a great number of 

 suckers appear on the plant, which are taken off usualty at intervals 

 of from four to eight days, until harvesting begins, which takes 

 place from three to three and a half months after planting. After 

 topping, many planters weed and cultivate again. 



