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154" TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA*. 
therefore, as I have said, for persons to be 
continually walking between the plants, in or¬ 
der to watch, and also to trim them at the 
proper periods. The tops are broken off at a 
certain height; and the suckers, which spring 
out between the leaves, are removed as soon 
as discovered. According also to the parti¬ 
cular kind of tobacco which the planter wishes 
to have, the lower, the middle, or the upper 
leaves are suffered to remain. The lower 
leaves grow the largest; they are also milder, 
and more inclined to a yellow colour than those 
growing towards the top of the plant. 
When arrived at maturity, which is ge¬ 
nerally shout the month of August, the plants 
are cut down, pegs are driven into the stems, 
and they are hung up in large houses, built 
for the purpose, to dry. If the weather is not 
favourable for drying the leaves, fires are then 
lighted, and the smoke is suffered to circulate 
between the plants; this is also sometimes 
clone, to give the leaves a browner colour than 
what they have naturally. After this they 
are tied up in bundles of six or seven leaves 
each, and thrown in heaps to sweat ,* then they 
are again dried. TV hen sufficiently cured,, 
the bundles are packed, by means of presses, 
in hogshead's capable of containing eight hun¬ 
dred or one thousand pounds weight. The 
planters send the tobacco thus packed to 
