, 1888-11-15
NEW TERRITORIAL INDUSTRY.
The Kittitas Localizer says:

Inc hltJlJus LOChlI6T shys'
"Some very fine tobacco was raised this
season on the Wenatchee, near Mission
creek, Kittitas county. Some of the set
tiers made the leaves into twists, but none
of them understood the process OF curing
it,"
The cultivation and cure Of tobacco
requires great care and labor, but
when the yellow leaf is ready for mar.
ke., it yields the producer greater
return than any other crop. II will
be great day in the history OF Wash
ington territory when We demonstrate
our ability to cultivate tobacco sue
cessfully, and in order to help test the
matter, thoroughly, the REVIEW takes
pleasure in furnishing its Kittitas
friends with little information ON
the subject.
In order to raise tobacco, the first
thing to be done, is to select IL moist,
rich spot for plant bed; burn it over
until the soil is hardened; then grub
the ground; SOW the seed; rake them
in; roll the ground over; and then
cover the ground with brush or cloth
to keep off insects.
When the plants grow up four or
five leaves in size, uncover them |;
when they get about two or three
inches long, begin to draw them,
continuing to do SO as they reach a
sufficient size. AS fast as they are
drawn, they should be set out in hills,
about eighteen inches in diameter and
the same distance apart.
When the plant begins to "spread
the hill" pull the dirt away by scrap
ing off about hoefull on each side.
The next work consists of "prun.
ing"-pulling the bottom leaves off the
stalk to give it a chance. to grow-and
when this is done the dirt should be
thrown back around the plant.
After pruning" comes topping"
which consists of pinching out the
bud; the best time to do this is when
the plant has ten or twelve leaves.
After topping" suckers begin to ap-
pear; they must be pulled, as fast as
they come, in order to make good
heavy tobacco.
When the plant begins to turn-to
get yellow and green spotted-it is
ready for cutting, by splitting the
stalks down the middle to below the
bottom leaf, and then severing them.
After cutting, straddle the stalks ON
sticks and hang them up until the leaf
gets yellow. Then the tobacco il
ready for curing.
The curing house may be built Of
logs, thoroughly chinked and daubed,
with an airhole in the roof, and tier
poles to lay the sticks on-just like cur
ing hams. If the curing is done with
wood fuel, the chimney should be
built far enough from the barn to
avoid smoke and danger from sparks
say five or six feet-with fiue,
made OF rock or brick, running from
it through the barn. Curing with
charcoal is better than using flue
because the heat can be regulated bet
ter and made stronger; it is be-
sides cheaper and less dangerous
Smoke should not be suffered to enter
the barn, as it makes the tobacco black
and bitter. The charcoal fires should
be placed, in little piles, all around
the walls and over the floor Of the harm
and must burr slowly at first, grad
ually increasing in heat and kept
constantly going until the leaf is
cured. The heat must be graduated
according TO circumstances by ther-
mometer kept for the purpose and
must be constantly regulated until
the leaves begin to dry and curl; too
much heat before they reach this stage
causing them to sweat and turn black.
Charcoal, made from oak, is very good
for fuel.
When the leaf has been cured thor
oughly, the fires must be allowed to
die down may be put out entirely on
dry windy days-while the stem is cur
ing: else the leaf will be scorched.
The most particular part ofthe whole
business is right here, for while the
stem is curing, careful watch must be
kept, on the one hand, to keep the leaf