The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-07-25
Bright Tobacco.
How to Cure and Manage the
Crop.
PRUNING AND TOPPING.

| OH, usually lEOll tHItt " SfA ititueS
above the surface OF the hill, and the bud
is broken out, leaving from ten to four
teen leaves on the stalk. The former
process is called 'priminy," the latter
':topping.' Too high printing us we'll
as topping delay the growth of Elephant,
and as early maturity is all-itnportant
to successful curing, the general practice
is to prime low aud top at not exceeding
ten leaves, unless the plants promise to
be very large, in which case more leaves
are left to prevent too coarse a growth.
If the season is wet and the plant luxu-
RANT and vigorous, higher topping will
be required, and if dry, lower. 1t is the
practice of some planters to top high,
early in the season, and if afterwards it
be found that too many leaves have
been left it is easy to remove them
Upon the good Judgment OF the topper
depends the crop, and none but skilled
hands should undertake this work. 1t
requires experience to be able to tell
from the appearance of the plant how
many leaves should be left, and nothing
save practice can give this.
Generally there is but little topping
done till the cultivation is finished. 1t is
then continued from week to week until
all the plants are topped. AS the season
advances the number of leaves left must
be less and less in order to bring the
plants to maturity. The topping should
be finished by or before the 10th of
August. Ii any, but few plants should
be allowed to remain untOpped after this
date.
Successful management at this stage
of the crop depends greatly upon the
good Judgment of the planter, who must
be governed by the appearance and the
early or late seasons; the great desldera-
tum being to bring in as much weight of
plant as can be matured in time for
curing.
WORRYING AND sCCKERING.
The worms are not usually plentiful
or troublesome till the topping begins.
Sometimes, however, they make their
appearance soon after the crop is planted.
| Worming is slight work and can be done
by girls or boys, who will be apt to keep
them off if prizes are given for helargest
number caught, or some plan adopted
to create rivalry among the catchers.
The crop should be gone over at least
once if not twice n week. AS long as it
remains in the field the worms will con
tinue to cut and eat the leaves, and
nothing but the most untiring watchful-
ness and labor will keep them down.
Very soon after the topping is COM
menced the plants will begin to put out
suckers. These should not be allowed to
grow more than three or four inches
before they are pulled off. Both worm
ing and suckering can so on at the same
time, and it is necessary to go over as
often for one as the other. External
vigilance is not in this case the ''pricc Of
liberty" but absolutely necessary to
secure a good crop with whole leaves
The suckers make the leaves light and
the worms make them ragged.
CUTTING.
Let your tobacco stand on the hill
until thoroughly ripe bearing in mind
not to cut any until u barn can be filled
with plants of uniform ripeness, color
and quality. Put seven medium sized
plants on IL stick four and a half feet
long. Let the plants go from the cut
ter's hands over the stick in the hands of
the holder. After being filled the stick
should not touch the ground for any
length of time; in fact It's better for
them to go directly from the holder to
the wagon and from the wagon to the
barn, where they should be TERED about
eight inches apart-that is if the tobacco
is of medium size.
We think those that are seventeen and
| half feet square are the best for curing
successfully; barn of this size with four
firing tiers below the ioists, will hold
about four hundred and fifty sticks.
TEMPERATURE.
After filling the barn with ripe tobacco
start the heat at about ninety or Il
hundred degrees Fahrenheit and keep it
| there for thirty or thirty-siX hours
which length of time is commonly
required to yellow tobacco, some taking
little longer or shorter time. Right
here is where man must exercise his
Judgment, as neither the best theory nor
the most minute directions will serve-it
is practice that makes good curer.
After finding the best leaves in the
barn of a uniform yellow and the other
OF pea-green, one can, as general
rule, begin to raise the heat from the
yehOwing heat at the rate of five degrees
every two hours. When one hundred
and fifteen degrees is reached, it is time
to give the tobacco air by cracking
open the door and making holes as large
as mans hand on each side of the
barn near the bottom logs; which treat
ment will be found to be of great advan-
tage, as the tobacco will comm ence
drying off and the tails will begin to
turn up. Continue to increase the heat
at the above rate until one hundred and
thirty-fve is reached, where the heat
must be kept for twelve hours, which is
the length of time required to cure the
leaf. Raise the heat now five degrees
every hour and q half until it gets to
one hundred and eighty degrees This
heat will in short while cure both stem
and stalk. AS general rule, by follow
ing these directions, tobacco will come
out OF the barn pretty uniform yellow
TO cure it a bright, clear yellow, it must
have all the heat it can bear until it
| reaches one hundred and thirty-fiyc de-
grees.
ORDERING AND HANDLING.
After tobacco is thoroughly cured, let
1t come in order enough to handle welE
then move from curing barn to packing
barn, or some tight house, and bulk
down so that it will retain its color. as
exposure reddens it.
STRIPPING.
When ready for stripping take as much
| buked tobacco as one wants, and hang
at some damp time in a curing barn, so
as to bring it in order to handle. In
stripping select leaves Ofuniform sizeand
color, making about six or seven differ
ent grades, and tie in bundles of six
leaves. After tying the bundles should
be hung on IL stick, putting about
twenty-five bundles on stick, and the
sticks put down in a bulk perfectly
straight. This will press the tobacco
out fiat and cause it to make bette.
appearance on the market 1t should
remain in bulk for several days And in
many markets they bring it from home
on the sticks and pull them ont as they
lay 1T on the scales at the warehouse,
keeping it always fiat.
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