22 
EXPERIMENTS WITH TOBACCO. 
CURING. 
It is during the process of curing that the chief dif¬ 
ferences occur in the management of this plant from that 
which obtains at a lower and moister altitude than this. 
It will not do to allow drafts of air to strike it, or it will 
dry up very quickly, when it will be found impossible to 
color it. The drying of the leaf is due to our very dry 
atmosphere, and must be counteracted, or the leaf will 
not color. To get over this difficulty, we lay the tobacco 
in thin layers on the ground, and cover with straw or 
sacking, watching it frequently, and turning it to pre¬ 
vent its heating. This will partially color the leaf, when 
it is taken to the barn and crowded somewhat closely to¬ 
gether, where the coloring is completed. As the leaves 
dry, it will pay to keep crowding it together, for the best 
colored leaf will be found in the center of the tiers of 
sticks. If the shed is dry, wet the floor, and keep it so 
until the leaf is completely finished, which will be ac¬ 
complished by the latter end of October. The Havanna 
tobaccos require most care to get the leaf to color. The 
Burley and General Grant will take on a bright color in 
the barn, by simply keeping it close, and without piling 
it in layers in the field. 
STRIPPING. 
When the leaf is thoroughly cured it is ready for 
stripping, which consists in stripping the leaves from the 
stalks and tving them in bundles, called “ hands.” Be- 
fore doing this, it is necessary to dampen the floor, to get 
the leaf pliable enough to handle. In tying into 
“hands,” the leaves are sorted according to color and 
size. The bright colored, large and perfect leaves are of 
the best quality, and are tied by themselves. The second 
quality is a grade below this, and is the red or brown tobacco. 
The third grade is called “ lugs,” and consists of the lower 
and damaged leaves, and is also kept separate. The “ hands” 
are tied on sticks until readv for sweating:. 
