ghts. In this state it undergoes the
sweating process, which, in this colony, is little understood or not
properly attended to, and yet, upon the skill displayed thereon, the
quality of the tobacco greatly depends. I will therefore give some
general directions upon this portion of the planter's office. If the
tobacco happen to be too damp when put into the bin, it will attain
either an injurious or a destructive degree of heat; it must
therefore he watched for some days after it is packed. To an
experienced operator I would say, if the heat exceed 80 degrees of
temperature, immediately unpack and re-hang the whole, waiting its
condition as before explained, before it is again put into the
sweating bin. Should the degree of heat be below that stated, it may
remain for weeks or until the heat has subsided. I have generally
removed it from the sweating process in about fourteen or twenty
days, sometimes considerably longer, regulating that act by the odor
and color of the leaf. If, however, it appears to be attaining a
very dark brown color and its heat not subsided, it should be taken
out and closely pressed into large cases or casks, when it will
again attain a gentle heat called the "second sweating," as is
invariably the case with the hogsheads of the American leaf tobacco:
this again improves its quality. Here the grower's operations
terminate.

It may be necessary to remark, that how skilful and experienced
soever the grower may be, it is hardly possible for him to produce a
good article upon a small scale; for with a less quantity than one
ton to place in the sweating bin at a time, the requisite heat to
insure success will not be generated. I would further observe, that
the practice of the colonists in growing what they term a "second
crop" is most injurious to their interests, their lands, and the
quality and character of the colonial tobacco. The American planter
never attempts it. I would therefore strongly recommend its
discontinuance, and also never to crop one piece of land with
tobacco more than two or three years in succession. The Americans
rarely take more than two crops unless the land be new; after which
they sow it down with grasses, in which state it remains for two or
three years until it is again planted with tobacco. I would
recommend this plan to the growe