57^ 
Supplement to the " Trojncal AgricuUurisi'' [Feb. 1, 195l 
THE CULTIVATION AND CURING OF 
TOBACCO. 
( Continued.) 
8. Harvesting. 
When the leaves feel thick and gummy, and 
begin to turn yellow with brown spots, they 
are considered to be mature and should be cut off. 
Tobacco should not be cut overripe. Hurvestiug 
of a plot should not be done at once; the mature 
plants are to be gathered first. The best time 
for harvesting is morning, as soon as the dew is 
off the plants. They should lie for some time in 
the sun, say for two hours, to make them sufti- 
ciently wilted, so that they can be handled without 
breaking. Care should be taken not to let 1 hem 
become too much sunbiuut. It is better to cut 
whole plants (close to the roots) than gather the 
leaves singly. Harvesting should be delayed for 
two or three days if there be heavy rainfall, which 
washes away the gummy matter of the leaves 
9. Drying and Fermenting. 
Immediately after the plants are conveyed to 
the house, they should be hung up on strings 
beneath the roofs of a well-ventilated house six 
inches apart. They should remain in this state 
for more than two month-, or until they ai'e 
quite dry. When very hot or strong winds blow, 
the windows and doors of the house should be 
closed. In very dry weather, the floor of the 
shed should be occasionally sprinkled with water, 
in or(Ier to keep the uir of the room sufficiently 
moist- In June, when the rains commence again, 
the plants are taken down, stripped and handled 
Best medium and worst qualities should Le 
separated at the lime of stripping. 16 to 20 leaves 
are lied up into one bundle. These are put into 
large heaps 3 to 4 feet square by 5 to 6 feet high, 
and well pressed down with hands. The leaves 
are transferred from one place to another at inter- 
vals of about a week or so ; fresh heaps being 
made, top leaves going into bottom, and bottom 
leaves coming to the top. This transference also 
involves examination of the leaves. Care should 
be taken to prevent e.vcessive heating. At the 
end of the rains the leaves are considered to be 
fully cured and quite ready for sale. The heat 
may be broken up earlier, if so desired. 
10. Methods of Curing in vogue in Bengal. 
The modes of curing differ in the different 
districts ; and it would be well to cite here the 
systems of curing in Rangpur, Jalpaiguri, Nadia 
and Tirhut, which are the principal seats of 
tobacco culture in Bengal. 
Mode of Curinyin Rangpur and Jalpaiguri. — The 
methods of curing followed in Rangpur and Jal- 
paiguri are almost the same. The leaves of 
mature plants are cut off singly in the morning 
and are left in the sun for all day long. In the 
evening small bundles of four leaves are suspended 
along the roof of the house — generally a cowshed. 
After two months, i.e., about the middle of June, 
they are taken down. Eight small bundles are 
then tied up into a larger bundle. Leaves are not 
sorted according to their quality, though the 
tobacto growers are aware tliat the topmost leaves 
are the best. The bundles of leaves are then put 
into a large lieap. The bundles are taken out and 
dusted, and the heaps nre made at intervals of 
eight or ten d^ys, until the tobacco is wanted for 
sale. It is be>^t to keep on the heap till about the 
close of the riiiiiy season. Tobacco thus kept is 
said to bring higher prices. 
Mode of Curing in Nadia. — " When cut, the 
stems with leaves on them are allowed to remain 
spread out in the sun for two hours. They are 
then cut into pieces, each of which contains 
a pair of leaves and a portion of the stem. 
These pieces are then arranged on the ground 
in layers of 9 to 10 inches thick, and are 
allowed to remain in the sun for two days. Rain, 
of course, at such a time is most destructive. 
Tobacco in this half-dried state is taken home by 
the cultivator, who strings the sections together, 
and suspends them on rows of strings in the longest 
apartment of his premises, usually the cowslied. 
The leaves after being thus suspended for about 
a month are thoroughly cursd. They are then 
taken down on a damp or foggy day when they 
are a little soft, and made into bundles of about 
11 maunds weight each, the strips of leaves being 
cut into lengths of about a ycrd, and folded over 
and laid one on another. The above description 
relates to the Hingli tobacco of Ranaghat ; the 
inferior sorts appear to be merelj' made up into 
bundles and subjected to the alternate action of 
sun's rays by day, and of the dews at night." — Vide 
Collector of ^v'adia's Report, 1874. 
Methods of Curing in Tirhoot. — "Plants are 
allowed to be on the ground as cut for a day or 
two ; they are then carried to some grassy spot 
and laid out to catch the sun during the day, and 
the dew at night, being turned daily. After this 
has gone on for eight or ten days, every third or 
fourth day the plants are stacked together till 
they get heated, when they are again spread out 
to cool. If at this time the dew is thought not 
sufficient to cool the plant, at evening time a little 
water is scattered over the leaves as the lie : this 
goes on for twenty days or more. The plants are 
then brought into cover and stacked ; they are 
changed every third or fourth day, the top going 
to be bottom, and so on. It is important now to 
prevent them getting over- heated : if the leaves 
show a tendency to get crisp, tlie leaves are 
covered with plantain leaves or damp grass, over 
which is put a blanket to make the heap sweat. 
The leaves are then separated by khurpi or huswa 
from the stem. They are then tied five or six 
together with strips of date leaves and piled 
together. These piles are again watched carefully 
till it is evident that the leaves will not heat any 
more. They are then tied up in bundles of four 
maunds each, wrapped round with straw, and are 
then fit for llie market; if not immediately sold, 
they are stowed away in some dry place. If the 
leaves are not of a good colour, the cultivator 
may, before opening them for sale, get a little good 
tobacco, boil it, and sprinkle the juice over them 
after the lust process of drying ; but this is more a 
trick of trade than a method of curing, which being 
really nothing more than a careful alternative of 
heat and moisture, no extraneous matter being 
iutroducedf"— Collector of Tirhoot's Keporti 
