Chapter V: Of the Manner in which it is usually cured

When the plant is found, agreeable to the preceding directions, to be fit for gathering, on the first morning that promises a fair day, before the sun is risen, take an axe or a long knife, and holding the stalk near the top with one hand, sever it from its root with the other, as low as possible. Having done this, lay it gently on the ground, so as not to break off the leaves, and there let it remain exposed to the rays of the sun throughout the day, or until the leaves are entirely wilted, as it is termed in America; that is, till they become limber, and will bend any way without breaking.

But if, on the contrary, the rain should continue without any intervals, and the plants appear to be full ripe, they must be cut down and housed immediately. This must be done, however, with great care, that the leaves, which are in this state very brittle, may not be broken. Being placed under proper shelter, either in a barn or a covered hovel, where they cannot be affected by the rain or too much air, they must be thinly scattered on the floor, and if the sun does not appear for several days, so that they can be laid out again, they must remain to wilt in that manner; which is not indeed so desirable as in the sun, nor will the tobacco prove quite so good.

When the leaves have acquired the flexibility before described, the plants must be laid in heaps, or rather in one heap, if the quantity be not too great, and in about twenty-four hours they will be found to sweat. But during this time, when they have lain for a little while, and begin to ferment, it is necessary to turn them; bringing those which are in the middle to the surface, and placing those which were at the surface, in the middle, that by this means the whole quantity may be equally fermented. The longer they lie in this situation the darker coloured the tobacco becomes. This is termed "sweating the tobacco."

After they have lain in this manner for three or four days, for in a longer time they may heat so much as to grow mouldy, the plants may be fastened together in pairs, with cords or wooden pegs, near the bottom of the stalk, and hung across a pole, with the leaves suspended, in the same covered place, a proper interval being left between each pair. In about a month the leaves will be thoroughly dried, and of a proper temperature to be taken down. This state may be ascertained by their appearing of the same colour as those imported from America, with which few are unacquainted. But this can be done at no other season than during wet weather; for the tobacco being a plant greatly abounding with salts, it is always affected if there is the least humidity in the atmosphere, even though it be hung in a dry place. If this rule be not observed, but they are removed in dry weather, the external parts of the leaves will crumble into dust, and a considerable waste will attend its removal.

As soon as the plants are taken down, they must once more be laid in a heap, and pressed with heavy logs of wood for about a week. This climate, however, may require a longer time. While they remain in this state, it will be necessary to introduce your hand frequently into the heap, to discover whether the heat be not too intense; for in large quantities this will sometimes be the case, and considerable damage will accrue from it.

When they are found to heat too much, that is, when the heat exceeds a moderate glowing warmth, part of the weight by which they are compressed must be taken away; and the cause being removed, the effect will cease. This is called "the second or last sweating," and when compleated, which it generally will be in about the time just mentioned, the leaves may be stripped from the stalks for use. Many omit this last operation, but I think it takes away any remaining harshness, and renders the tobacco more mellow. The strength of the stalk also is diffused by it through the leaves, and the whole mass becomes equally meliorated.

When the leaves are stripped from the stalks, they are to be tied up in bunches or hands, and kept in a cellar, or any other place that is damp; though if not handled in dry weather, but only during a rainy season, it is of little consequence in what part of the house or barn they are laid up. At this period the tobacco is thoroughly cured, and equally as proper for manufacturing as that imported from the colonies.

Having gone through the whole process, if it has been properly managed, that raw fiery taste so frequently found in the common sale tobacco will be totally eradicated, and though it retains all its strength, will be soft and pleasing in its flavour. Those who are curious in their tobacco in the northern colonies of America sprinkle it, when made up into the roles for keeping, described in the first chapter, with small common white wines or cyder, instead of salt water, which gives it an inexpressibly fine flavour.