Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-10-08

the furnaces near the ground. This will
create draught and cause the moist air to
move out quicker, and thus prevent all dan
ger of sweating. A frequent examination
of the tobacco at the top of the barn will
greatly aid in following the above direc-
tions, but withal, practical experience is
absolutely essential to success.
THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE LEAF IN
"ORDER."
After the curing, the tobacco being per-
fectly dry, it will be necessary to bring it to
the proper condition for handling, which
can be done by what is known as "order-
ing" The process is as follows Cover the
fues thickly with wet straw and keep this
straw constantly and thoroughly saturated
with water. Raise the Temperatures to about
80 degrees. This causes the vapor to ascend
and this must be done until the tobacco be-
comes soft and plant enough to be handled
without damage. This process should be
commenced two or three hours before day
| light, so that the tobacco can be removed
| from the barn before the sun has risen
enough to dry it. If the weather is warm
or the atmosphere damp the right condition
of moisture may be secured by leaving the
door open during the night.
STORING CURED TOBACCO.
The most approved plan in storing is to
double or treble the quantity on the sticks
by rehanging and placing the tobacco near
er together. Lay the sticks in a coop with
the ''butts" of the stalks outward. BY do
ing this the leaf is not so liable to be affect
ed by the frequent changes of temperature
of the late autumn, winter and spring, but
retains its color and improves in flavor.
Tobacco which has greenish tinge will i'm
prove in both color and flavor. A closely
boarded and we'll covered frame house, with
| ~ Il, loft hot ba oil oon
freely underneath, is the best for storing
and after handling, but great many plant
ers pack it away in log barns on planks laid
upon the lower tiers, while others store it in
the upper rooms and garrets of their dwell
ings.
| STRIPPING THE LEAVES FROM THE STALKS.
This is done in damp weather when the
leaf becomes soft enough to handle and tie
in bundles. It is necessary in such seasons
to hang up as much as can be stripped in
day on the tier poles of the barn to allow
it to come in order to handle, but not long
enough to become too soft, in which case it
is easy to bruise and liable to change color.
The leaves are pulled off the stalks by
skilled hands, separated according to quail
ty and color into seven or eight grades, and
classed as sand lugs, smooth lugs, first,
second, third and fourth grades of leaf,
bright and dark tips.
An assOrter pulls off from one to three
leaves at the butt of the stalk and drops
them in pile to be tied in bundles by a
boy or girl. These are the "sand lugs," or
common smokers. One to three Of the next
leaves are ''smooth lugs," or fancy smokers.
These are held in hand by the assorter and
six or eight leaves together are tied by him
in bundles. All the ragged, or worm eaten
leaves 60 to one class or one or the other OF
fbo ,oly Thn n Mt
is then thrown into pile which is separat-
ed into the different grades of leaf and tips
as before mentioned, and tied as the other
in bundles.
All the grades are kept separate and hung
upon sticks for convenience in ordering.
1t is laid down in "coops" and weighted so
as to be kept close. Before carrying to
market, if it is found too dry, it should be
hung up during a damp season and allowed
to come in "market order" The stems
should bend without breaking nearly the
it is delivered at the market warehouses,
where it is offered for sale.
WHAT 1T WILL BRING.
The average price of well-cured yellow or
"bright" tobacco is about 40 cents per
pound. Some of the fancy grades in small
lots, sell as high as - or SO per pound.
Often crop is sold in the hill, before curing,
at $lO0 to 5000 per acre. Many farmers re-
alze from 5000 to $500 per acre on the crop.
SNAKE PECULIARITIEs.-1n an article
about the animals at the Philadelphia 70
illogical Garden, the Ledger, Of that city,
says "The snake power of Kissing is eXem-
plified, to remarkable degree, in the big,
ugly, grayish pine snake of New Jersey
and elsewhere. This snake is not poisonous,
but it is said there are many New Jersey
husbandmen who would not believe the
statement. Inside the lower jaw is whis-
| tie formation, which enables these snakes,
after filing their bodies with air, to make
| the dreaded Kissing sound There is a pc
cular sensitiveness in the tails of many
snakes, and in no serpent at the 400" is
this more readily seen than in the pine
snake. When its tail is touched it will
glide away as fast as it can, but when 1t IS
teased by touching some other part of the
body it will give vent to its madness by his
sing. Mr. Thompson says that even rattle
snakes can be routed if person only has
chance to toy with their tails.
Mr.. Thompson eXplaias how he takeSthe
venom liquid from the mouths of rattle
snakes. He has collected a considerable
quantity of venom for DR.. S. Weir Mitchell,
who it is said has been engaged for some
time in the work of uscertaining the compo-
nent parts of the poison. Mr.. II. uses lasso
: formed of stick, to which leather strapis
fastened SO as to form loop at one end. A
person holding the longer end and pulling
the strap tightens the loop about the neck OF
the snake, and then Mr.. Thompson, by seiz-
ing the neck of the serpent with his right
hand, forces its mouth open. With plate
held in his left hand he collects the venom
as the fangs of the snake are vainly opera
ting on the chnaware or glass. a large di-
; amond rattlesnake will deposit Il teaspoon
full of the poison, which is of deep yellow
color, and looks something like melted but
ter. After the poison has been in bottle
for some time it changes into small yellow
crystals.
asy~ One of the most curious properties of
quicksilver is its capability of dissolving or
forming amalgams with other metals: A
sheet of gold foil dropped into quicksilver,
disappears almost as quickly as snow take
when it drops into water. 1t has the power
of separating or Of readily dissolvlng those
refractory metals which are not acted upon
by our most powerful acids. The gold and
silver miners pour it into their machines
holding the gold bearing quartz, and, al,
though no human eye can detect a trace of
the precious substance, so fine are the par
ticles, yet the liquid metal will hunt them
out and incorporate it into its mass. BY
subsequent distillati0n it yields it into the
hands of the miners in a state of virgin
purity. Several years ago, while lecturlng
before class of ladies on chemistry, we had
occasion to purify some quicksilver by fore
ing it through chamois leather. The scrap
remained on the table after the lecture, and
an old lady, thinking it would be very nice