342 ‘QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Nov., 1898. 
A Swiss Federal Commission of medical men formulated in 1893 the 
followimg recommendations :— 
1. A sanatorium for consumptives ought to bea secluded establishment, 
supervised and visited every day by a medical man. ; 
2. The strict observation of hygiene and medical precautions are of 
prime necessity. , 
3. A place in a high altitude, all other things being equal, has to be 
preferred before all others. 
Norx.—Dr. Sonderegger’s pamphlet concludes with a description of an ideal building for a 
sanatorium, which we omit as not being of any instructive value to a rural population, The 
foregoing, however, is of vital interest, and cannot be too widely read.—Kd. Q.A.J. 
CURING CIGAR TOBACCO. 
By R. S. NEVILL, 
Tobacco Expert. 
Growers of. tobacco should bear in mind that the housing and curing of 
a crop is the most important of all the work done; and that drying tobacco is 
_not curing it. It should be allowed to ripen well before cutting, aud the aim 
should be to so regulate the planting that not much time will elapse between 
the harvesting the first and the last of the crop. (See article on cultivation of 
tobacco.) The importance of this will be recognised when it is known that 
different stages of the curing require different treatment, and tobacco cut at 
different times will require a different treatment at a given time, which cannot 
be given unless you have a number of curing-sheds. 
A short time will not seriously affect results, but two or three weeks 
elapsing between the cuttings may be serious. You can tell by the thickening 
of the leaf and brown spots appearing on it when the tobacco 1s ripe; also by 
folding the leaf, it will break ; but the farmer that carefully watches his crop 
will detect the first signs of ripening. 
It is best to do the cutting after 3 p.m., when the sun is not so hot, unless 
the day be cloudy and cool, when it may be cut at any time; but never cut or 
handle tobacco when it is wet with dew or rain. A hard rain will wash the 
gum off, and unless the tobacco is very ripe itis best to let it stand a few days 
to again gather gum after such rain, but if it is very ripe it is best to continue 
cutting as soon as it has dried off. Splitting the stalk is not usually practised 
in cutting cigar tobacco. Many methods of gathering the crop are in use in 
the United States, but that most commonly practised is what 1s called stalk 
curing, and it is not a settled fact that other methods are better, except where 
the plant ripens unevenly. 
Take the stalk in the left hand, near the middle, and bend it over 
slightly, and with a quick stroke cut it off 2 or 3 inches above 
the ground. Lay the plant down carefully with butt to the sun, being 
careful not to bruise or break the leaves. When it has wilted, so as 
to be handled without breaking, it should be taken to the shed and 
hung. If hauled in the cool part of the day, it may be laid carefully on 
a board-bottom frame, butts out and tails lapping, but should be taken to 
the shed at once and taken off the wagon, and hung, as it will heat if left on 
too long, and ruin the leaf. Two methods are practised in hanging. Some 
use a spear, hollow at one end to fit over end of stick, and thus push the spear 
through the stalk 4 or 5 inches from the butt, and passing it on over the stick, 
and when full remove the spear and put it on another stick, andsoon. Others 
use a string, tying the plavt to the stick. Do not tie two plants together, 
but tie each separately, first on one side of the stick and then on the other, 
about 6 or 7 inches apart. If you tie two together they press against each 
other, and you are liable to have pole-burn if the weather is damp. The sticks 
of tobacco when placed in the shed should be about 12 inches apart, so that 
the plants will scarcely touch each other. The curing-shed should be so 
