The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-02-19

the leaves from mud ana dirt. LII
setting out tobacco hole is made IN
the hill with the fingers or a short
sbarpened stick Into this opening
the roots of the plant are inserted
and the earth is pressed firmly about
them. In transplantiug tobacco it is
important to obtain an even stand.
When the plants grow evenly they
may be cultivated easily and effect
lively, and they may all be topped
and harvested at the same time. To
obtain this even stand of growth, the
soil must be put in good condition,
the hills must be made of mellow
earth and we'll irmed or patted with
the hoe, the deadly cutworm must be
hunted out and killed, and good
plants must be Sc: in place of those
destroyed at the first opportunity.
CULTIVATION.
The best time to kill the weeds is
just before they appear upon the sur
face. Stir the soil often and keep it
loose and mellow. If the soil is
heavy or has been beaten down with
rain, the first cultivation should be
deep. The roots of the tobacco plant
grow rapidly, soon filing the earth
completely between the rows. The
tobacco field should, therefore, he
well cultivated early in the season,
and late cultivation, il necessary,
should be shallow.
The hornworm generally puts IN
an early appearance, and it must be
hunted diligently throughout the
season and destroyed, or it will great
ly injure or ruin the crop. The first
week OF its existence is occupied in
eating several small holes in the leaf
near the spot where the egg was de-
posted by the parent moth. generally
upon lower leaf These small
holes indicate its hiding place during
tue first week of its life and will aid
in its discovery.
PRUNING AND TOPPING.
Pruning consists in stripping of
the lower leaves, leaving the stock
bare or S inches above the surface
of the hill. In topping, that is, re-
moving the upper or flower stals,
from s to u leaves are left upon the
plant, according TO strength of soil,
type of tobacco, ETC. Good soil will
mature greater number Of leaves
than poor soil, and the bright varie-
ties are topped higher than the dark
OF export varieties.
The leaves of the tobacco plant
stand in eight perpendicular ranks.
The ninth leaf stands over the first.
This fact will assist the beginner in
determining the number of leaves
upon plant without counting them.
With practice the point at which a
plant should be topped can be fixed
at glance.
Suckers should not be allowed to
sap the plant. They should be brok-
en- off every week, care being taken
not to injure the leaves.
CUTTING AND CURING.
About s;A weeks after the plant
has been topped It will fully have at
tained it: growth. The leaves will
become thick and brittle, breaking
easily, and they change in color from
green to a pale yellowish green.
These conditions indicate that the
plant is ripe and ready for the har-
vest. With a thin butcher knife the
stalk is split from the top to within
few inches of the bottom leaves; the
stalk is then cut just below the lowest
leaves. The plant is placed astride
upon sticks, and these sticks are
hung out of doors upon scaffold,
which consists OF two poles standing
on an incline as far apart as the
sticks are long, so that the plants
hanging from the sticks will not in
terfere; or else the plants are i'm
mediately conveyed to the curing
barn.
sun CURED TOBACCO.
Sun-cured tobacco is hung first
upon scafolds for from five to ten
days, according to the weather, and
is then hung in the barn, where it is
cured by air alone, no fire being
used.
Properly constructed barns for
curing tobacco by this process, or by
what is known as the air, curing pro-
cess, should be built practically air
tight, with sdjustible yentilators.
Rail pens or cheap and open sheds
are, however, often used as a make
shift from lack Of means or desire to
erect better buildings.
CURING WITH OPEN FIRES.
The custom of curing tobacco with
open fires is still practicel to some
extent. The tobacco is placed upon
scafolds four OF five days until it is
we'll yelloWed, when IL is hunS III the
barn and fires are kindled under it.
The fires are made to burn with the
least possible blaze, slowly at first,
but the heat is gradually increased,
and maintained continuously until
the leaf, except the upper half of the
stem is entirely cured. This process
is fast losing its old time popularity,
and will doubtless soon be super
seded by better methods.
CURING BRIGHT TOBACCO WITH FLUEs.
This is a somewhat pihicult pro-
cess, requiring practice to insure the
best results The curing barn should
be made nearly air-tight and pro-
vided with ample ventilation readily
We give the Raglaud