Chapter XIII: Tobacco Culture (2)

The "horn worm" feeds upon the finest and largest leaves. They are not found as often on the top leaves--especially those growing on the very highest part of the stalk, as they prefer the ripe leaves and those lower on the plant. The horn worm, if large, eats the leaves in the finest part of them, frequently destroying half of a leaf. They leave large holes which renders the leaf worthless for a cigar wrapper, leaving it fit only for fillers or seconds. In Cuba the tobacco plant is assailed by three different kinds of insects--one attacks the foot of the leaves; a second the under side; a third devours the heart of the plant. In Colombia the following are the great enemies of the tobacco plant: A grub, named _canne_, which devours the young buds; the _rosca-worm_, which commits its depredations in the night only, burrowing in the ground during the day; the grub of a butterfly, called by the Creoles _palometa_; a species of scarabæus called _arader_, which feeds on the root of the plant; and a species of caterpillar[77] which is called in the country the _horned-worm_, so voracious as to require one night only to devour an entire leaf of tobacco. At the South, and especially in Virginia, the housewife's flock of turkeys are allowed to range in the tobacco fields and devour many of these pests.

[Footnote 77: Wallace says of worming tobacco in Brazil:
"The plants are much attacked by the caterpillar of a
sphinx moth, which grows to a large size, and would
completely devour the crop unless carefully picked off.
Old men, and women, and children are therefore
constantly employed going over a part of the field every
day, and carefully examining the plants leaf by leaf
till the insects are completely exterminated."]

Almost as soon as the plants have been transplanted, the work of

CULTIVATING

should commence. As the tobacco plant grows and ripens in a few weeks from the time it is transplanted in the field, it is of the utmost importance that the plants get "a good start" as soon as possible. In a favorable season, and with ordinary culture, the plants will do to harvest or "cut" in from eight to ten weeks after transplanting. From the rapidity of its growth it will readily be seen that the plant should come forward at once, if large, fine leaves are desired. In a week from the time of transplanting a light cultivator should be run between the rows, stirring the soil lightly, after which the plants should be hoed carefully, drawing away from the hill and plant the old and "baked" earth and replacing it with fresh. If the hill is hard around the plant it should be loosened by striking the hoe carefully into the hill and gently lifting the earth, thus making the hill mellow. This is apt to be the case with stiff, clayey soil, which, if possible, should be avoided in selecting the tobacco field.

It is doubtless as true a saying as it is a common one with Connecticut tobacco-growers, that the plants will not "start much until they have been hoed." Where the first hoeing is delayed two or three weeks, the plants will to a certain extent become stunted and dwarfed, and will hardly make up for the delay in growing. In from two to three weeks, the field should be hoed again, and this time the cultivator should mellow the soil a little deeper than the first time, while the hoeing should be done in the most thorough manner. Draw the earth around the plant and cut up with the hoe all grass and weeds, and remove all stone and lumps of manure and any rubbish that will hinder easy cultivation, or retard the growth of the plants. At this period the most careful attention must be given to the plants, as they are (or ought to be) growing rapidly, and upon their early maturity will depend the color and texture of the leaf.

In a short time the plants may be hoed for the third and last time (as a fourth hoeing is but rarely necessary). At this time they have attained considerable size, (say two or three feet high) and are rapidly maturing, and ere long will be ready to harvest. At the last hoeing the plants should be "hilled up," that is, the earth should be drawn around the plant under the leaves, causing it to stand firmly in the hill, and keeping the roots well protected and covered. The tobacco plant requires constant cultivation, and the cultivator may be run through the rows after loosening the earth and turning up the manure towards the plants.

Some growers of tobacco in the early stages of its growth apply some kind of fertilizers to the backward plants; this will be found to be of advantage, and should be done just before a rain, when the plants will start in a manner almost surprising. A little phosphate or Peruvian guano may be used, but should be applied with care or the plants may be retarded instead of quickened in their growth.

There is much to be done in the tobacco field besides cultivating and hoeing the plants. In many hills there will be found two plants, which should be re-set at the second hoeing if needed, and if not, pulled up and destroyed, as it is better to have one large plant in the hill than two small ones. Again, after the last hoeing, the tobacco should be kept free from worms. If any have been overlooked they will have attained to a good size by this time, and will devour in a short time enough tobacco to make a "short six."

From this account of the cultivation of tobacco as practiced in the Connecticut valley, one will readily see that the labor performed during the growing of the plants should not be superficial. On their rapid growth depends the color and texture of the leaf. Plants that are slow in maturing never make fine wrapping leaves or show a good color. Where the growth is rapid the plants will be more brittle than if of slower growth, and must therefore be handled with care in passing through the rows to worm, top, and sucker the plants.

A century ago the Virginia planters cultivated their tobacco fields in the following manner:--

"Hoeing commences with the first growth of the tobacco after
transplantation, and never ceases until the plant is nearly
ripe, and ready to be laid by, as they term the last weeding
with the hoe; for he who would have a good crop of tobacco,
or of maize, must not be sparing of his labor, but must keep
the ground constantly stirring during the whole growth of
the crop. And it is a rare instance to see the plough
introduced as an assistant, unless it be the slook plough,
for the purpose of introducing a sowing of wheat for the
following year, even while the present crop is growing; and
this is frequently practiced in fields of maize, and
sometimes in fields of tobacco, which may be ranked amongst
the best fallow crops, as it leaves the ground perfectly
clean and naked, permitting neither grass, weed, nor
vegetable to remain standing in the space which it has
occupied."

The next operation to be performed in the tobacco field is known by the name of

TOPPING,

and is simply breaking or cutting off the top of the stalk, preventing the plant from running up to flower and seed. By so doing the growth of the leaves is secured, and they at once develop to the largest possible size. The leaves ripen sooner if the plant is topped, while the quality is much better. There are various methods of topping as well as different periods. Some growers top the plant as soon as the capsules appear, while others wait until the plants are in full blossom. If topped before the plants have come into blossom, the operation should be performed as soon as possible, as a longer time will be required for the leaves to grow and ripen than when topping is delayed until the plants are in blossom. In the Connecticut valley most growers wait until the blossoms appear before breaking off the top. Topping must not be delayed after the blossoming, in order that all danger from an untimely frost may be avoided. The top may be broken off with the hand or cut with a knife, the latter being the better as well as the safer way. Sometimes the rain soaks into the stalk, rotting it so that the leaves fall off, injuring them for wrappers. Top the plants at a regular height, leaving from nine to twelve leaves, so that the field will look even, and also make the number of leaves to a plant uniform. Late plants may be topped with the rest or not, at the option of the grower. This mode of topping refers more particularly to cigar rather than cutting leaf. Those varieties of tobacco adapted for cutting leaf should be topped as soon as the button appears; top low, thereby throwing the strength of the stalk into a few leaves, making them large and heavy. The number of leaves should not exceed fourteen. Let it stand from five to six weeks after it is topped. The object in letting it stand so long after topping is to have it thoroughly ripe. This gives it the bright, rich, golden color, entirely different from cigar leaf, but very desirable for chewing leaf. On account of the length of time it must stand after topping, it is desirable to take that which has been topped early, in order to have it ripen, and get it in before a freeze, although ripe tobacco is not injured by cold nights, and will sometimes stand even an ordinary frost.

The manner of topping in Virginia by the first planters in the colony, is thus described:--

"This operation, simply, is that of pinching off with the
thumb nail[78] the leading stem or sprout of the plant,
which would, if left alone, run up to flower and seed; but
which, from the more substantial formation of the leaf by
the help of the nutritive juices, which are thereby afforded
to the lower parts of the plant, and thus absorbed through
the ducts and fibres of the leaf, is rendered more weighty,
thick, and fit for market."

[Footnote 78: Many of the Virginians let the thumb nail
grow long, and harden it in the candle, for this
purpose: not for the use of gouging out people's eyes,
as some have thought fit to insinuate.]

Now the custom is to top for shipping from eight to ten leaves, for coal-curing from ten to twelve, according in both cases to strength of soil and time of doing the work.

In Mexico "as soon as the buds begin to show themselves the top is broken off. Not more than from eight to ten leaves are left on the plant, without counting the sand-leaf, which is thrown away," and destroyed in the same manner as the Dutch are said to do of spies. In some countries the plants are not topped at all, and the leaves are left upon the stalk until fully ripe, when they are picked.

The next labor following the topping of the plants is called

SUCKERING.

Immediately after topping the plants, shoots or sprouts make their appearance at the base of the leaves where they join the parent stalk. They are known by the name of suckers and the removal of them by breaking them off is called suckering. At first the suckers make their appearance at the top of the plants at the base of the upper leaves, and then gradually appear farther down on the stalk until they are found at the very root of the plant. The plants should be suckered before the shoots are tough, when they will be removed with difficulty, frequently clinging to both stalk and leaf, thereby injuring the latter, as the leaf very often comes off with the sucker if the latter is left growing too long. The plants should be kept clean of them and especially at the time of harvesting.

An old writer on tobacco says of Suckers and Suckering:--

"The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make
its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or stalk, near
to the junction of the leaves with the stem, and about the
root of the plant and if these suckers are permitted to
grow, they injure the marketable quality of the tobacco by
compelling a division of its nutriment during the act of
maturation. The planter is therefore careful to destroy
these intruders with the thumb-nail as in the act of
topping, and this process is termed suckering."

After this operation is performed the planter ascertains in regard to the

RIPENING OF THE PLANTS.

As soon as the plants are fully ripe they not only take on a different hue but give evidence of decay. The leaves as they ripen become rougher and thicker, assume a tint of yellowish green and are frequently mottled with yellow spots. The tobacco grower has two signs which he regards as "infallible" in this matter. One is that on pinching the under part of the leaf together, if ripe it will crack or break; the other is the growth of suckers to be found (if ripe) around the base of the stalk.

Tatham says:--

"Much practice is requisite to form a judicious discernment
concerning the state and progress of the ripening leaf; yet
care must be used to cut up the plant as soon as it is
sufficiently ripe to promise a good curable condition, lest
the approach of frost should tread upon the heels of the
crop-master; for in this case, tobacco will be among the
first plants that feel its influence, and the loss to be
apprehended in this instance, is not a mere partial damage
by nipping, but a total consumption by the destruction of
every plant. I find it difficult to give to strangers a full
idea of the ripening of the leaf: it is a point on which I
would not trust my own experience without consulting some
able crop-master in the neighborhood; and I believe this is
not an uncustomary precaution among those who plant it. So
far as I am able to convey an idea, which I find it easier
to understand than to express, I should judge of the
ripening of the leaf by its thickening sufficiently; by the
change of its color to a more yellowish green; by a certain
mellow appearance, and protrusion of the web of the leaf,
which I suppose to be occasioned by a contraction of the
fibres; and other appearances as I might conceive to
indicate an ultimate suspension of the vegetative
functions."

After the plants have ripened the operation of cutting or

HARVESTING

begins. The cutter passes from plant to plant cutting only those plants that are ripe. In harvesting a light hatchet or saw may be used or a tobacco cutter which is the better and not as liable to injure the leaves. The plants may be cut either in the morning (after the dew is off) or just at night, providing there are no indications of frost. Lay the plants carefully on the sides to avoid breaking the leaves. If the plants are cut during a very warm day they should be examined from time to time as they are liable to "sun-burn," an injury much dreaded by the planter, as sun-burnt leaves are useless for cigar wrappers.

After the plants are wilted on one side they are turned so that the entire plant will be in good condition to handle without breaking. Harvesting should be performed in the most careful manner. At this time the leaves are very brittle and unless the cutter is an experienced hand much injury may be done to the leaves. The stem of each plant is severed as near as possible to the ground and afterwards if hung on lath they are divided longitudinally to admit the air and dry them sooner. When the plants are to be hung on lath they may be wilted before "stringing" or not, at the option of the grower. Most growers are of the opinion now that the plants should be harvested without wilting at all, stringing on the lath as soon as cut and carrying them immediately to the shed.

When wilted in the field there is often much damage done to the leaves whether they are sun-burnt or not. Oftentimes the ground is hot and the plants in a few hours both on the under and upper sides become very warm and almost burnt by the rays of the sun. For this reason the manner of hanging on lath is the better way and in New England is fast displacing the old method of hanging with twine. When hung in this manner five or six plants to the lath are the usual number unless they are very large. When placed or strung on the lath the plants are not as liable to sweat or pole rot, owing in part to the splitting of the stalk, which causes the rapid curing of the leaves as well as the stalk itself. A new method of hanging tobacco has been introduced of late in the Connecticut valley by means of tobacco hooks attached to the lath. This mode is considered by many growers the safest way, and by others as no better than the more common way of hanging simply on the lath.

In Virginia in "ye olden time," the following method of harvesting was adopted:--

"When the plant has remained long enough exposed to the sun,
or open air, after cutting, to become sufficiently pliant to
bear handling and removal with conveniency, it must be
removed to the tobacco house, which is generally done by
manual labor, unless the distance and quantity requires the
assistance of a cart. If this part of the process were
managed with horses carrying frames upon their backs for
the conveniency of stowage, in a way similar to that in
which grain is conveyed in Spain, it would be found a
considerable saving of labor. It becomes necessary, in the
next place, to see that suitable ladders and stages are
provided, and that there be a sufficient quantity of tobacco
sticks, such as have been described to answer the full
demand of the tobacco house, whatsoever may be its size;
time will be otherwise lost in make-shifts, or sending for a
second supply.

"When everything is thus brought to a point at the tobacco
house, the next stage of the process is that termed hanging
the tobacco. This is done by hanging the plants in rows upon
the tobacco sticks with the points down, letting them rest
upon the stick by the stem of the lowest leaf, or by the
split which is made in the stem when that happens to be
divided. In this operation care must be taken to allow a
sufficient space between each of the successive plants for
the due circulation of air between: perhaps four or five
inches apart, in proportion to the bulk of the plant. When
they are thus threaded upon the sticks (either in the
tobacco houses, or, sometimes, suspended upon a temporary
scaffold near the door), they must be carefully handed up by
means of ladders and planks to answer as stages or
platforms, first to the upper tier or collar beams of the
house, where the sticks are to be placed with their points
renting upon the beams transversely, and the plants hanging
down between them. This process must be repeated tier after
tier of the beams, downwards, until the house is filled;
taking care to hang the sticks as close to each other as the
consideration of admitting air will allow, and without
crowding. In this position the plants remain until they are
in condition to be taken down for the next process."

In Cuba about the beginning of January the tobacco is ready for cutting. If the harvest is good, all the leaves are taken from the plants at once. Tobacco consisting of those leaves is called Temprano, or "Early Pipe." If, on the contrary, the harvest is not good, the immature leaves are left to grow. Tobacco formed of these leaves has the name of Tardio, or "Late Pipe." In every respect, appearance included, the Temprano is much superior to the Tardio. In the purchase of tobacco, it is a principal thing to ascertain how much or how little Temprano a parcel contains. Moreover, there are what may be called bastard leaves, which grow after the leaves proper have been gathered.[79] Tobacco made from these bastard leaves is easily recognizable, the leaves being long and narrow, of a reddish color, and a bitter taste.

[Footnote 79: Second crop, or Volunteer tobacco.]

The mode of harvesting tobacco in Virginia at present is thus described by a Virginia planter:--

"In bringing to the barn place the tobacco on scaffolds near
the barn-door, so that it can be readily housed in case of
rain. As Bright Wrappers and Smokers pay so much better than
dark tobaccos, it is advisable, whenever practicable, to
coal-cure all that ripens of a uniform yellow color. The
quality of the leaf will determine the hanging: 'Shipping'
should be hung seven to nine plants to the stick four and a
half feet long. To cure the plants properly requires some
experience, great care, and much attention. The plants
should not be 'cut' until fully ripe. Be careful in cutting
to select plants of a uniform size, color, and quality,
putting six or seven to the stick. Let the plants go from
the cutter's hands on to sticks held in the hands of women
or boys; and as soon as the sticks are full, place them
carefully on wagons and carry them to the barn. Place the
sticks on tiers about ten inches apart, and regulate the
plants on the sticks.

"It is impossible to lay down any uniform system or give
specific instructions. General principles will be suggested
to guide the planter amid the changeableness of seasons and
variableness of material to be operated upon."

In Turkey--

"The planters calculate always fifty-five days from May
12th, for their crops to be ready for gathering. When the
leaves show the necessary yellow tips, they are carried to
the house, and there threaded into long bunches by a large,
flat needle, about a foot long, passed through the stalk of
each."

In Ohio the process of harvesting tobacco for cutting is thus described by a grower:--

"When thoroughly ripe, having stood two or three weeks
longer than is necessary for cigar leaf, it is ready to cut.
This is done with a knife made for the purpose. It resembles
a wide chisel, except that the handle and chisel are at
right angles. Before cutting, the stalk is split down
through the center. Being ripe, it splits before the knife,
and following the grain the leaves escape unharmed. This
splitting is done in as little time as is necessary to cut
the stalk off in the ordinary way. Split it to within about
three or four inches of the ground, and cut it off in the
ordinary way with the same knife. Cut it off and hang it
over one of your sticks that you have driven slanting into
the ground near you. Cut and put six stalks on the stick,
and then lay it down on the ground to wilt, taking the usual
care to prevent sun-burn. When it is sufficiently wilted,
haul to the shed and hang it up."

In the East Indian Archipelago,
"as soon as the leaves are fully grown
they are plucked off, and the petiole and a midrib are cut
away. Each leaf is then cut transversely into strips about a
sixteenth of an inch wide, and these are dried in the sun
until a mass of them looks like a bunch of oakum."

In Persia, when the plants are ripe they are cut off close to the root, and again stuck firmly in the ground. By exposure to the night dews the leaves change from green to yellow. When of the proper tint, they are gathered in the early morning while wet with dew, and heaped up in a shed, the sides of which are closed in with light thorny bushes, so as to be freely exposed to the wind.

In Japan, the leaves are gathered in the height of summer. When the flowers are of a light tint, two or three of the leaves nearest the root are gathered. These are called first leaves, but produce tobacco of second quality. After the lapse of a fortnight, the leaves are gathered by twos, and from these the best tobaccos are produced. Any remaining leaves are afterwards broken off along with the stem and dried. These form the lowest quality of tobacco. After gathering, the leaves are arranged in regular layers and covered with straw matting, which is removed in a couple of days. The leaves are now of a light yellow color. They are then fastened by the stem in twos and threes to a rope slung in a smoke room, and after being so left for fourteen or fifteen days, they are dried for two or three days in the sun, after which they are exposed for a couple of nights in order that they may be moistened with dew. They are then smoothed out and arranged in layers, the stems being fastened together, pressed down with boards, and packed away in a dark room. D'Almirda says that in Java, the leaves are gathered and tied up in bundles of fifteen, twenty or thirty, and suspended from bamboo poles running across the interior of the shed, where they are left to dry for twenty days or more, according to the state of the atmosphere.

As soon as the plants have been hung in the shed the process of

CURING

begins. If fully ripe at the time of harvesting, the plants will "cure down" very fast and take on a better hue than when they cure less rapidly. During cool weather the doors and ventilators should be left open that the plants may have a free circulation of air and cure the faster. When, however, the weather is damp, they should be closed, to avoid sweating and pole rot. When a light leaf is desired, the tobacco shed should be provided with windows to let in plenty of sunlight, which has much to do with the color of the leaf. When a dark leaf is desired, all light should be excluded.

The time necessary for the curing of the plants will depend upon the ripeness of the plants as well as the weather during curing. There are three kinds or methods of curing, viz: air curing, sun curing and firing, or curing by flues. Air curing is the curing of the plants in sheds or barns. Sun curing is the process of curing in the open air, while "firing" is the process of curing by "smoke," the common method employed at the South and to some extent at the West. This is the common way of curing cutting leaf, while air curing is the manner of curing cigar leaf. Tatham, already quoted, gives the following account of the process as performed in Virginia of

"SMOKING THE CROP."

"From what has been said under the head of hanging the
plant, it will be perceived that the air is the principal
agent in curing it, but it must be also considered that a
want of uniform temperature in the atmosphere calls for the
constant care of the crop-master, who generally indeed
becomes habitually weather-wise, from the sowing of his
plants, until the delivery of his crop to the inspector. To
regulate this effect upon the plants he must take care to be
often among them, and when too much moisture is discovered,
it is tempered by the help of smoke, which is generated by
means of small smothered fires made of old bark, and of
rotten wood, kindled about upon various parts of the floor
where they may seem to be most needed.

"In this operation it is necessary that a careful hand
should be always near: for the fires must not be permitted
to blaze, and burn furiously; which might not only endanger
the house, but which, by occasioning a sudden over-heat
while the leaf is in a moist condition, might add to the
malady of 'firing' which often occurs in the field."

In Virginia the manner of curing tobacco at the present time, is thus
described by a planter.
"For curing tobacco the simplest method is
sun-curing or air curing and the one most likely to prove
successful. The tobacco barn should be so constructed as to
contain four, five or six rooms four feet wide, so that four
and a half feet sticks may fit, all alike. Log barns are
best for coal curing. All should be built high enough to
contain four firing tiers under joists covered with shingles
or boards and daubed close. Fire with hickory all rich,
heavy, shipping tobacco.

"As soon as the barn is filled kindle small fires of coals
or hickory wood, about twenty fires to a barn twenty feet
square, four under each room. Coal is best, but hickory
saplings, chopped about two feet long, make a good steaming
heat. The successful coal-curer is an artist, and all
engaged in the business are experimenters in nature's great
laboratory." A North Carolina planter gives an interesting
account of curing tobacco yellow. "Curing tobacco yellow,
for which this section is so famous, is a very nice process
and requires some experience, observation, and a thorough
knowledge of the character and quality of the tobacco with
which you have to deal, in order to insure uniform success.
Much depends upon the character of the crop when taken from
the hill. If it is of good size, well matured and of good
yellowish color, there is necessarily but little difficulty
in the operation. As soon as the tobacco is taken from the
hill and housed, we commence with a low degree of heat, say
95° to 100° Fahr., 'the yellowing' or 'steaming' process.
This is the first and simplest part of the whole process,
and requires from fifteen to thirty-six hours, according to
the size and quality of the tobacco, and this degree of
heat should be continued until the leaf opens a lemon color,
and is nearly free from any green hue. When this point is
reached, the heat should be gradually raised to 105° in
order to commence drying the leaf, and here lies the whole
difficulty in curing (I mean in drying the leaf). The last
degree of heat indicated, should be continued five or six
hours, when it should again be gradually raised to 110°,
when it should be maintained at this point, until the tail
or points of the leaves begin to curl and dry. Indeed it
will probably be safest for beginners to continue this
degree of heat until one-third of the leaf is dried.

"The temperature may then be gradually increased to 115°,
and kept for several hours at that point, until the leaf
begins to rattle when shaken, then again raise the heat to
120°, at which point it should be continued until the leaf
is dried, after which the temperature may be increased to
150° or 160° to dry the stem and stalks; the latter should
be blackened by the heat before the curing is complete.
Ordinarily it requires from two and a half to five days to
cure a barn of tobacco, dependent entirely upon the size and
quality. Put seven or eight plants on each stick and place
them eight inches apart on tier poles. In the yellowing
process the door of the barn should be kept closed to
exclude the air. When this point is reached for drying the
leaf, the door may be opened occasionally, and kept open for
twenty or thirty minutes at a time, especially if the
tobacco gets into a "sweat," as it is called, or becomes
damp and clammy.

"The temperature is raised in the barn by cautiously adding
coal from time to time to the fires, which should be placed
in small piles on the floor, in rows, allowing about five
feet between each pile, which should at first contain a
double handful of coal. In adding coal, you will soon learn
the quantity necessary to be applied by the effect produced.
Avoid raising the heat hastily after the drying is
commenced, lest the leaf should be scalded and reddened; on
the other hand, it should not be raised too slowly for fear
of 'raising the grain,' or the leaf becoming spongy and
dingy. Both extremes are to be avoided, and the skill
required is attained only by experience and observation. We
usually cut tobacco the latter part of the week, house it
and suffer it to remain until the first of next week, that
we may not violate the fourth commandment."

In California tobacco is cured by the method known as the "Culp process" from the name of its patentee. When the plant lies in the field, Mr. Culp's peculiar process begins which is described as follows:

"Tobacco had long been grown in California, even before
Americans came. He had raised it as a crop for fifteen
years; and before he perfected his new process, he was able
usually to select the best of his crop for smoking tobacco,
and sold the remainder for sheep wash. One year, two
millions of pounds were raised in the State, and as it was
mostly sold for sheep wash, it lasted several years, and
discouraged the growers. Tobacco always grew readily, but it
was too rank and strong. They used Eastern methods, topping
and suckering, and as the plant had here a very long season
to grow and mature, the leaf was thick and very strong. The
main features of the Culp process are, he said, to let the
tobacco, when cut, wilt on the field; then take it at once
to the tobacco house and pile it down, letting it heat on
the piles to 100° for Havana. It must, he thinks, come to
100°, but if it rises to 102° it is ruined. Piling,
therefore, requires great judgment. The tobacco houses are
kept at a temperature of about 70°; and late in the fall, to
cure a late second or third crop they sometimes use a stove
to maintain a proper heat in the house, for the tobacco must
not lie in the pile without heating. When it has had its
first sweat, it is hung up on racks; and here Mr. Culp's
process is peculiar.

"He places the stalk between two battens, so that it sticks
out horizontally from the frame; thus each leaf hangs
independently from the stalk; and the racks or frames are so
arranged that all the leaves on all the stalks have a
separate access to the air. The tobacco houses are frame
buildings, 100x60 feet, with usually four rows of racks, and
two gangways for working. On the rack the surface moisture
dries from the leaf; and at the proper time it is again
piled, racked, and so on for three or even four times. The
racks are of rough boards, and the floor of the houses is of
earth. After piling and racking for three weeks, the leaves
are stripped from the stalk and put into 'hands,' and they
are then 'bulked' and lie thus about three months, when the
tobacco is boxed. From the time of cutting, from four to six
months are required to make the leaf ready for the
manufacturer. "Piling" appears to be the most delicate part
of the cure, and they have often to work all night to save
tobacco that threatens to overheat."

In Mexico the leaves are hung up on bast[80] strings, dried in the shade and then sent to the chief depots, where, when they have undergone fermentation, they are sorted, and tied up in bundles. In Persia, the plants are carried to the shed and heaped, and in four or five days the desired pale yellow color is further developed. The stalks and center stem of each leaf are now removed and thrown away, while the leaves are heaped together in the drying house for another three or four days, when they are fit for packing.

[Footnote 80: The inner bark of the lime-tree.]

In Turkey the bunches of leaves are exposed to the sun to dry, and some months' exposure is necessary before they are sufficiently matured for baling. Rain sets in at a later period, and the tobacco becoming moist and fit for handling, is then removed from the threads, and made into bundles or "hands" of about sixty leaves each and tied around the stems.

After the leaves are thoroughly cured they are in condition for

STRIPPING.

The leaves of the tobacco are easily affected by the humidity of the atmosphere and during damp weather every opportunity is improved by the grower for taking down the tobacco preparatory to stripping. After taking down from the poles the plants should be packed in order to keep moist until stripped. The tobacco should not be removed from the poles when it drips or the juice exudes from either the stalk or the leaves. If stripped in this condition the leaves are apt to stain and thus become unfit for wrappers. The operation of stripping consists in taking the leaves from the stalk and tying them in bundles or hands with a leaf around the base of the hand. Each "hand" or bunch should contain at least eight leaves and from that number to twelve. If the plants are large the leaves of one stalk will form a hand; a poor leaf is used for binding as it can not be used for the same purpose as the leaves around which it is bound.

The old planters of tobacco in Virginia called this operation of taking off the leaves and tying them up "stripping and bundling" which is here described.

"When the plants of tobacco which are thus hanging upon the
sticks in the house have gone through the several stages of
process before the time of stripping, and are deemed to be
in case for the next operation, a rainy day (which is the
most suitable) is an opportunity which is generally taken
advantage of when the hands cannot be so well employed out
of doors. The sticks containing the tobacco which may be
sufficiently cured, are then taken down and drawn out of the
plants. They are then taken one by one respectively, and the
leaves being stripped from the stalk of the plant are rolled
round the butts or thick ends of the leaves with one of the
smallest leaves as a bandage, and thus made up into little
bundles fit for laying into the cask for final packing."

Hazard gives the following method of assorting and stripping tobacco in Cuba:--

"Among the Cubans, the leaves are divided into four classes:
first, _desecho_, _desecho limpio_, which are those
immediately at the top of the plant, and which constitute
the best quality, from the fact that they get more equally
the benefit of the sun's rays by day and the dew by night;
second, _desechito_, which are the next to the above; third,
the _libra_, the inferior or small leaves about the top of
the plant; and fourth, the _injuriado_, or those nearest the
root. Of the _injuriado_ there are three qualities; the best
is called _injuriado de reposo_, or 'the picked over,' and
the other two, firsts and seconds (_primeros_, _sequndos_).

"Tobacco of the classes _desechito_ and _libra_, of which
the leaves are not perfect, is called _injuriado bueno_,
while all the rest, of whatever quality, that is broken in
such a manner as to be unfit for wrappers are called
_injuriado malo_. Amongst the trade in place of the above
names, the different qualities are simply designated by
numbers."

Meyer, a German writer who resided several years in Cuba, gives another classification, making ten classes altogether, while Hazard mentions only four general classes.

After the leaves are stripped from the stalk the process known as

ASSORTING

commences. Assorting tobacco is doing up in hands the various qualities and keeping them separate. In the Connecticut valley the growers make usually but two kinds or qualities excepting only when the crop is poor when three qualities are made, viz: Wrappers, Seconds, and Fillers. The Wrappers are the largest and finest leaves on the plant and should be free from holes and sweat as well as green and white veins. The leaves selected for this quality come from the middle and even the top leaves of the plant. The Seconds are made up of leaves not good enough for Wrappers and too good for Fillers. Such leaves sometimes are worm-eaten and of various colors on the same leaf--one part dark and another light. The fillers are the poorest quality of leaves to be found on the plants, and consist of the "sand" or ground leaves, one or two to each plant. Some of our largest growers in assorting the leaves keep each color by itself, an operation known as

SHADING.

This is a very delicate operation and requires a good eye for colors as well as a correct judgment in regard to the quality of the leaf. This mode of assorting colors in stripping is similar to that of shading cigars, in which the utmost care is taken to keep the various colors and shades by themselves. In shading the wrappers only are so assorted, and may be "run into" two or three shades depending on the number of shades or colors of the leaf. The better way is to make only two qualities of the wrappers in shading--viz., light and dark cinnamon "selections." Shading tobacco does not imply that it is carried to its fullest extent in point of color as in shading cigars, but simply keeping those general colors by themselves like light and dark brown leaves. Cutting tobaccos before being used are subjected to a process known as

STEMMING.

Tatham gives the following account of the process of stemming in Virginia a century ago:--

"Stemming tobacco is the act of separating the largest stems
or fibres from the web of the leaf with adroitness and
facility, so that the plant may be nevertheless capable of
package, and fit for a foreign market. It is practised in
cases where the malady termed the fire, or other casual
misfortune during the growth of the plant, may have rendered
it doubtful in the opinion of the planter whether something
or other which he may have observed during the growth of his
crop, or in the unfavorable temperature of the seasons by
which it hath been matured does not hazard too much in
packing the web with a stem which threatens to decay. To
avoid the same species of risk, stemming is also practised
in cases where the season when it becomes necessary to
finish packing for a market is too unfavorable to put up the
plant in leaf in the usual method; or when the crop may be
partially out of case. Besides the operation of stemming in
the hands of the crop-master, there are instances where this
partial process is repeated in the public warehouses; of
which I shall treat under a subsequent head.

"The operation of stemming is performed by taking the leaf
in one hand, and the end of the stem in the other, in such a
way as to cleave it with the grain; and there is an
expertness to be acquired by practice, which renders it as
easy as to separate the bark of a willow, although those
unaccustomed to it find it difficult to stem a single plant.
When the web is thus separated from the stem, it is made up
into bundles in the same way as in the leaf, and is laid in
bulk for farther process. The stems have been generally
thrown away, or burnt with refuse tobacco for the purpose of
soap-ashes; but the introduction of snuff-mills has, within
a few years back, found a more economical use for them."

As soon as the tobacco has been stripped it is ready for

PACKING.

It is necessary to pack the "hands" after stripping in order to keep it moist, or in nearly the same condition as when stripped. Select a cool place, not too dry or too damp, but one where if properly protected, the tobacco will remain moist. It should be packed loosely or compact, according as the hands are moist or dry. It may be packed in the center of the floor so that it may be examined from either side, or against the sides of the packing house, as may be thought best. Hand the tobacco to the packer, who presses the hands firmly with his knees and hands, laying the tobacco in two tiers and keeping the pile at about the same height until all is packed. If possible pack all together, that is, each kind by itself, as it is better to have the wrappers or fillers all together rather than in several places, as the moisture is retained better than when it is packed in small piles or heaps. Use in packing a plank or board, placing it against the front of the tier and bring the ends of the hands up against it. This will make the tobacco look much better and also render the process of packing firmer.

The tobacco may be packed any height or length desired, according to the quantity, but usually from three to four feet high will be found to be convenient while the length may be proportioned to the height or not. Tobacco may be packed by the cord or half cord so as to be able to judge of the quantity--good large wrappers averaging a ton to the cord. Seconds and Fillers will not contain as many pounds to the cord as wrappers. After the tobacco is packed, cover first with boards--planed ones are preferable,--or even shingles--and press firmly, especially if the tobacco is dry, then cover with blankets or any kind of covering, adding plank or pieces of timber if additional pressure is needed. It can now remain packed until sold or cased, and will hardly need to be examined unless packed while very damp or kept packed until warm weather.

Wailes says of planting by the early planters of tobacco in Mississippi:--

"The larger planters packed it in the usual way in
hogsheads. Much of it, however, was put up in carrets, as
they were called, resembling in size and form two small
sugar-loafs united at the larger ends. The stemmed tobacco
was laid smoothly together in that form coated with wrappers
of the extended leaf, enveloped in a cloth, and then firmly
compressed by a cord wrapped around the parcel, and which
was suffered to remain until the carret acquired the
necessary dryness and solidity, when together with the
surrounding cloth, it was removed, and strips of lime-bark
were bound around it at proper distances, in such a manner
as to secure it from unwrapping and losing its proportions."

In Turkey, after the tobacco is made into bundles or hands, it is piled against the walls inside the dwelling rooms and a carefully graduated pressure put upon it until ready for baling. In Java, when the tobacco is ready to pack the leaf is examined, and if found quite brown, it is tightly pressed and packed up either in boxes or matting for exportation, or in the bark of the tree plantain, for immediate sale.

The next process on the tobacco plantation is that of

PRIZING, CASING, AND BALING.

The term prizing originated in Virginia, and as performed by the early planters, is thus described by an old writer on tobacco culture:--

"Prizing, in the sense in which it is to be taken here is,
perhaps, a local word, which the Virginians may claim the
credit of creating, or at least of adopting; it is at best
technical, and must be defined to be the act of pressing or
squeezing the article which is to be packed into any
package, by means of certain levers, screws, or other
mechanical powers; so that the size of the article may be
reduced in stowage, and the air expressed so as to render it
less pregnable by outward accident, or exterior injury, than
it would be in its natural condition.

"The operation of prizing, however, requires the combination
of judgment and experience; for the commodity may otherwise
become bruised by the mechanic action, and this will have an
effect similar to that of prizing in too high case, which
signifies that degree of moisture which produces all the
risks of fermentation, and subjects the plant to be
shattered into rags. The ordinary apparatus for prizing
consists of the prize beam, the platform, the blocks, and
the cover. The prize beam is a lever formed of a young tree
or sapling, of about ten inches diameter at the butt or
thicker end, and about twenty or twenty-five feet in length;
but in crops where many hands are employed, and a sufficient
force always near for the occasional assistance of managing
a more weighty leverage, this beam is often made of a larger
tree, hewn on two of its sides to about six inches thick,
and of the natural width, averaging twelve or fourteen
inches. The thick end of this beam is so squared as to form
a tenon, which is fitted into a mortise that is dug through
some growing tree, or other, of those which generally abound
convenient to the tobacco house, something more than five
feet above the platform. Close to the root of this tree, and
immediately under the most powerful point of the lever, a
platform or floor of plank is constructed for the hogshead
to stand upon during the operation of prizing. This must be
laid upon a solid foundation, levelled, upon hewn pieces of
wood as sleepers; and so grooved and perforated that any wet
or rain which may happen to fall upon the platform may run
off without injuring the tobacco. Blocks of wood are
prepared about two feet in length, and about three or four
inches in diameter, with a few blocks of greater dimensions,
for the purpose of raising the beam to a suitable purchase;
and a movable roof constructed of clap-boards nailed upon
pairs of light rafters, of sufficient size to shelter the
platform and hogshead, is made ready to place astride of the
beam, as a saddle is put upon a horse's back, in order to
secure the tobacco from the weather while it is subjected to
this tedious part of the process.

"That part of the apparatus which is designed to manage and
give power to the lever is variously constructed: in some
instances two beams of timber about six feet long, and
squared to four by six inches, are prepared; through these,
by means of an auger hole, a sapling of hickory or other
tough wood, is respectively passed; and the root thereof
being formed like the head of a pin to prevent its slipping
through the hole, the sapling is bent like a bow, and the
other end is passed through the same piece of wood in a
reversed direction, in which position it is wedged. These
two bows are in this manner hung by the sapling loops upon
the end of the prize beam or lever; and loose planks or
slabs of about five or six feet long being laid upon these
suspended pieces of timber, a kind of hanging floor or
platform is constructed, upon which weights are designed to
act as in a scale. A pile of large stones are then carted to
the place, and a sufficient number of these are occasionally
placed upon this hanging platform, until the lever has
obtained precisely the power which the crop master wishes to
give it by this regulating medium.

"The prizing or packing by the old planters must have been a
tedious affair, and far different from the quick work made
by the screw-press now owned by all well to-do planters. The
size of the hogsheads containing the tobacco was regulated
by law to the standard of four feet six inches in length,
but the shape of the cask varied according to the fancy of
the cooper, or roughness of his work. At this period (a
century ago), the tobacco hogshead was made most generally
of white oak; but Spanish oak, and red oak, were sometimes
used, when the usual kind could not be so readily commanded.
Now the hogsheads are made of pine, but are nearly as rough
as those made by the colonial growers.