Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-01-29


be permitted to grow to q create
size than will permit them to be brok
EN- of easily. ..E 81. .l-
CUTTING AND sCAFFOLDlNG.
Tobacco should be thoroughly rip
before it is cut. 1t is the general con
celved opinion that the leaf is essie
to cure bright yellow color if Gu
before it becomes thoroughly ripe
But it Is an error, and is often tn
cause OF the production of chaffy
bitter nondescript, scarcely wortI
handling and marketing. When ripe
the fine varieties grown OH new Ian,
become very spotted or yellow bu
the coarse heavy staple on rich lots
frequently retains the green eve,
when ripe, but is very thick, quinn,
and brittle, aud the leaf will Away
crack on being pinched up and press
ed between the thumb aud finger.
Cutting is performed by splitting
the stalk with knife to within feul
inches Of the lower leaf, below whict
1t is cut off aud turned over Oh the
side of the hill. Ii the weather i.
very hot aud the ground dry, care
must be taken to prlvent its beina
burned by the sun; this can be pre-
vented by piling ten ortwelve plants
together, the stalks turned toward
tho ann. Ten average size plan ts, and
. greater number of large, should be
hung upon . stick OF four feet si1
inches in length. Some prefer housing
as 1T is hung; but if the weather is
clear aud dry it is much better to
hang on scaffolds sufficiently high t.
prevent the ends Of the leaves from
touching the ground. The stick is
hung on the scatfold five inches apart,
and when the leaf is thoroughly spot
ted it should be housed for curing.
The leaves should never attain solid
yellow before the curing process ia
commenced. If they do it is impos-
sible to cure bright fancy color.
The house should be tight up to the
first tier; not thoroughly tight above.
but enough SO to prevent the too
great escape of heat. In housing the
sticks should be hung on the tier at
regular distances apart, never closer
than five inches. Though the plant
be properly cultivated, handled and
skillfully cured, sill, if the heat ls
applied when it is crowded in the
house in sappy condition, it must
inevitably become house-burned and
almost worthless. p 1-a r..
CURING OR FIRING. d
This should be commenced by law
ing two large sticks of wood near
each other, in three or four parallel
layers, extending nearly across the
house, leaving from four to five feet
of open space between each layer
leading towards the door or opening,
10 that each tier can be appfoachedl
sasily from the door. Then kiudle
small fires three or four feet apart be-
tween each log Of wood with small
or any kind of fuel that ia not
Inclined to blaze aud ifa blaze should
'pring up suddenly, iC must be smoth-
'red down Immediately by pouring
'n 1t few ashes or dry earth, or by
pulling down the fire. The heat Of
he fire should be SO slight and in-
creased 80 gradually for six or eight
hours az seemingly to be impercepti-
'le. This is called the smoking pre-
'ess. But 1t is better to have the heat
Tithout the smoke if it were possible |
o 90 80. From the time the cutting |
commenced the heat must not re-
ede or abate, but must be kept slow.
y aud gradually on the increase. bak-
ns or drying the sap out of the leaf
nd stalk until the tails of the leaf
lx inches from the ends. At this I
tage, which is usually accomplished
u twenty or thirty hours, the walls
+ the house should he quite wa,m
nd the room filled with q disaqreea-
lie baking heat, which should be con-
inued without abatement until the
lain stem of the leaf is partially
ured, and until the stem is thorough.
y cured in thoee varieties Intended
or export demand, which is usually
in from three to five
ays. In order to retain the color
7hen the stem is not thoroughly
ured, a small baking fire NAV be
,ade under it whenever the weather.
J moist.
LAssINa, STRIPPING, FIRING AND
BULKING. -s... |
Stripping should never be done I'M
ess the steIh Of the leaf is thorouoh.
cured, 80 that it will not come
bose when tied into hands or bundles.
classing or sorting, and an eve must
Q had to color, texture, oil, length
nd width of leaf. In clsssine fine.
'afy, colory tobaccos, suitable for
trapping the fipe plug chewing, ali
I the smooth, yellow aud bright
potteo leaves OF uniform texture,
II and width, should be tied toqeth-
:. The dark and slightly ragged
,ould be classed together, aud each
those classes should be tied in neat
ondles not exceeding eight leaves to
10 bundle, including the tie leaf:
le chaffy aud ragged may be tied in
rger bundles together. The coarse.
ch tobacco, suitable for export de-
and, should be classed by putting
u of the rich, oily leaves Of average
re and texture, in the first class the
lightly ragged aud small rich leaves,
the second class. Beth of these !
asses should be tied up in neat i
andles, not exceeding ten leaves {
18th the tie leaf. All Of the ragged
ID chafty should be put in the tGird g
ass, and may be tied in larger bun {
es. Tobacco is very much benefit. {
q II stripped during the winter and 8
liked i'll (2) two course bulks, with i
e tails Tapped and heads exposed,
III weighted or pressed down with I
elghts, and let remain until the last /
!, March or the first Of April, and t
ke up and hang twenty bundles on a q
lex and hoist it in the house, plac- d
g the sticks five inches apart.
sDERINa, BULKING AND PRIzINa
All tobacco should be hung, not ex.
edihg twenty bundles to the stick
, after stripping or out of
e bulk IN the early spring before c
. weather gets warm, and the sticks O
u nVe inches apart on the tiers to a
DER Tor baiking aud prlzing when t
weather is warm and suitable. in
a month of May or June, which al fl
ays occurs in those months. When !,
bacco is in good safe order to take is
Wn and buik, the leaf is soft, the f;
I'm slightly stiff, and the bundle
nen pressed in the hand will ex- c
nj as soon as the pressure 1s re- :.
oved. The suresL test of the order n
the stem, which will crack or break .,
o-thirds of the way down the Il
I'M, when bent Or pressed between d.
fingers with the thumb pressing
the stem. The tobacco suited for Fl
port should never be ordered ex- IN
pt IN warm weather, and then lust ot
dry AZ 1t can be handled without ri