The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-07-17

dOne-they would never appear in
such uncomfortable hordes later in the
season. The suckers should be pulled
off every week as they appear, and
ought never to be permitted to get
over two inches long; for if permitted
to grow large they abstract much that
would otherwise go to perfect a rich,
silky leaf No planter need expect a
crop of fine grade who does not pull
off the suckers while small, and pre-
vent the hornworms from riddling the
leaves.
CUTTING AND HOUSING.
Do not be in a hurry to begin cut
ting your tobacco until it is ripe, and
enough fully and uniformly ripe to fill
barn. A thin butcher or shoe knife,
we'll sharpened, and wrapped with a
soft cloth around the handle and ex-
tending an inch along the blade, will
do the work effectually and be easy to
the hand. Try it. Put knives into
the hands of experienced cutters only,
men who know ripe tobacco, ard will
select plants uniform in color and tex
ture, and will cut no other. Have
your sticks all ready in the field, and
placed in piles convenient sticking a
stick vertically in tie ground over
each pile that they may be more easily
found when wanted. Pine sticks, rived
three fourths Of an inch by one and
one-fourth inch, and four and one-half
feet long, drawn smooth, are best.
Start together two cutters and one
stick holder-tEe cutters carrying two
rows each and the stick holder walking
between them. The cutter takes hold
of the plant with his left hand at the
top near where the knife enters the
stalk with his ight he splits the stalk
down the centre observing to guide
the knife SO as not to sever the leaves)
to within three inches Of the point he
intends to sever the stalk from the hill;
and as the knife descends his LETT hand
follows the slit or opening, and when
the plant is severed from the hill, by
dexterous movement of the left hand
the plant is straddled across the stick
in the hands of the holder. When the
stick has received about SIX medium
plants, If intended for brights, it is
ready to go to the barn, either carried
by hand if near, or hauled on a wagon
if distant. If it is necessary to use the
wagon, prepare bed sixteen feet long
to hold three coops or piles, on which
place tobacco as cut, and after placing
twenty-five or thirty sticks of cut to-
Dacco on each coop, drive to the barn
to be unloaded.
Tobacco suitable for brights is best
handled in this way, as it is bruised
less than if handled by any other
mode. Try it, planters, and kuow for
yourselves. Very heavy tobacco will
break less if, after being cut by the
above mode, the sticks are placed |
gently on the ground and the plants
allowed to wilt before being removed
70 the barn. But tobacco of medium
Size bruises less to handle it without
willing. Cutting and housing by this
node you never have any sun-cured
obacco. For brigh,s, it has been
ound best to commence curing at once,
Is soon as the barn can be filled.
"sUN-CURED TOBACCO"
Just here it may be well to give our
practice in sun-curing. If the crop is
90 rich and coarse for brights. then it
nay be good policy to cure it sweet.
10 do this properly, erect scaffolds at
,r near the barns, on which place the
obacco as soon as cut. But some, in
'rder to obviate the hauling of heavy
,reen tobacco, place the scaffolds in
n near the tobacco field. But it is
lever safe to scaffold tobacco away
rom the barn for after the leaf is par
tally dry it ought never to be caught
'ut in the rain; which may happen if
he tobacco is placed on scafolds away
rom the barn. When rain threatens,
hat on scaffolds near the barn may
cry soon be placed out of danger, but
lot SO that on scaffolds afar off.
But the flue cured filters command
learly or quite as much as sun-cured,
nd the risk is much less.
To cure filters with flues, let The to-
'acco be placed in the barn as soon as
ut, and raise the heat in the barn to
ighty-hve or ninety degrees Fahren
elt, and then go about other business.
>indle fires in the flues every morning,
aiSing the heat to ninety degrees, and
hen leave as before, and continue to
% this for four or five days until the
obacco is thoroughly yellowed. If
he tobacco has much sap, it may be
ecessary to continue the yellowing
rocess from five to seven days to yell
DIV properly. When the leaves have
ssumed a mottled, piebald appear
nee, run the heat to one hundred de-
rees and let it remain at that point
1r three or four hours. Then raise
he heat two and a halt degrees an
our until one hundred and thirty is
cached. Keep the heat at this poin:
ntll the leaf is cured, and then move .
p gradually to one hundred and sew, |,
nty or one hundred and eighty, and
hus cure stalk and stem. If cured
roperly, there will be much of the
,af mahogany, while the remainder
'lll run from a bright dapple to a
berry red.
SHIPPING TOBACCO"