y rot, which they will do in
about eight days; then break open your _bulks_, spread the tobacco
with their stems in one direction, and damp them with this water in
a gentle manner, that it may not soak through the leaf, for in this
case the leaf would rot. Sponge is used in Cuba for this operation.
Then tie them in hanks of from, twenty-five to thirty leaves; this
being done, spread the hanks in the tobacco house for about twelve
hours, to air them, that the dampness may be removed, and afterwards
pack them in casks or barrels, and head them tight, until you wish
to manufacture them.

The object of damping the tobacco with this water, is to give it
elasticity, to promote its burning free, to increase its fragrance;
to give it an aromatic smell, and to keep it always soft. This is
the great secret of curing tobacco for cigars properly, and for
which we are indebted to the people of Cuba, who certainly
understand the mode of curing this kind of tobacco better than other
people. It is to them a source of great wealth, and may be made
equally so to others. We have here three cuttings from the original
plants; the last cutting will be of rather a weak quality, but
which, nevertheless, will be agreeable to those who confine their
smoking to weak tobacco.

In ratooning the plant, only one sprout ought to be allowed to grow,
and this from those most deeply rooted; all other sprouts ought to
be destroyed.

The houses necessary for the curing of tobacco ought to be roomy,
with a passage way running through the centre, from one extremity of
the building to the other, and pierced on both sides with a
sufficient number of doors and windows to make them perfectly airy.

In addition to what I have said respecting the mode of cultivating
and treating the tobacco plant, I have further to state, that when
once the plant is allowed to be checked in its growth, it never
again recovers it. That in promoting the drying of the leaf, fire
should not be resorted to, because the smoke would impart to it a
flavor that would injure that of the tobacco itself.

In order to obtain vigorous plants, the seed ought to be procured
from the original stalk, and not from the ratoons, by allowing some
of them to go to seed for that express purpose. In Cuba, the seed is
most generally saved from the ratoon p