edious and unremitting. In the animal kingdom there are
three creatures, and three only, to whom tobacco is not
poisonous--man, a goat found among the Andes, and the
tobacco-worm. This last is a long, smooth-skinned worm, its
body formed of successive knobs or rings, furnished each
with a pair of legs, large prominent eyes, and is in color
as green as the leaf upon which it feeds. It is found only
on the under side of the leaves, every one of which must be
carefully lifted and examined for its presence. Women make
better wormers than men, probably because they are more
patient and painstaking. When caught the worm is pulled
apart between the thumb and finger, for crushing it in the
soft mold of the carefully cultivated fields is impossible.
Carelessness in worming was an unpardonable offence in the
days of slavery, and was frequently punished with great
severity. An occasional penalty on some plantations--very
few, in justice to Virginia planters be it said--was to
compel the delinquent wormer to bite in two the disgusting
worm discovered in his or her row by the lynx-eyed overseer.
Valuable coadjutors in this work are the housewife's flock
of turkeys, which are allowed the range of the tobacco lots
near the house, and which destroy the worms by scores. The
moth, whose egg produces these larvae, is a large white
miller of unusual size and prolificness. Liberal and kind
masters would frequently offer the negro children a reward
for every miller captured, and many were the pennies won in
this way. One of these insects, placed one evening under an
inverted tumbler, was found next morning to have deposited
over two hundred eggs on the glass.

[Illustration: Worming.]

"As the plant matures the leaves grow heavy, and, thick with
gum, droop gracefully over from the plant. Then as they
ripen, one by one the plants are cut, some inches below the
first leaves, with short stout knives,--scythe or reaper is
useless here,--and hung, heads down, on scaffolds, in the
open air, till ready to be taken to the barn. A Virginia
tobacco-barn is totally unlike any other building under the
sun. Square as to the ground plan, its height is usually
twice its width and length. In the center of the bare
earthen floor is the trench for firing; around the si