EXPERIMENTS WITH TOBACCO. 
21 
SUCKERING. 
Suckering follows as the result of topping, and is done 
for the same purpose—to concentrate the whole strength of 
the plant in the remaining leaves, and must be attended to 
diligently until the crop is housed. The operations of prim¬ 
ing, suckering and topping must not be done during a rain¬ 
storm, or when the plants are wet at any time, or the result 
will be rust spots on the leaves, which will ultimately destroy 
them. 
CUTTING AND HARVESTING. 
The plant is ripe when the leaves assume a mottled ap¬ 
pearance, and when in doubling up the leaf it breaks, instead 
of bends. It should not be allowed to get overripe, or it 
will cure up spotted, instead of a solid color. 
The plants in this experiment were split down the center 
while growing in the ground, and then cut off close to the 
latter, and and left on the ground to wilt. We found that 
one hour was as long as it was safe to allow the more vigorous 
kinds to so remain without scorching, and about half that 
time for the thinner-leaved Havannas. It is best, however, 
to cut either during a cloudy day or in the morning or after¬ 
noon, not allowing the plants to remain out over night. 
Having cut and wilted the plants, they are now ready 
for housing, first placing them straddled across sticks for 
convenience in hanging up to cure. Tobacco sticks are 
round, or are split out like lath about one inch square at 
one end, and generally a few inches longer than the dis¬ 
tance between the joints of the tobacco house. 
BARN. 
In this structure the tobacco is hung up to cure. It 
should be strong enough to carry the plants and to resist 
storms. The inside of the shed is divided up by rails 
into widths, to accommodate the laths, and also into tiers, 
far enough apart to allow the different tiers to hang free 
of each other. 
