y the stem in twos and threes to
a rope slung in a smoke room, and after being so left for fourteen or
fifteen days, they are dried for two or three days in the sun, after
which they are exposed for a couple of nights in order that they may
be moistened with dew. They are then smoothed out and arranged in
layers, the stems being fastened together, pressed down with boards,
and packed away in a dark room. D'Almirda says that in Java, the
leaves are gathered and tied up in bundles of fifteen, twenty or
thirty, and suspended from bamboo poles running across the interior of
the shed, where they are left to dry for twenty days or more,
according to the state of the atmosphere.

As soon as the plants have been hung in the shed the process of

CURING

begins. If fully ripe at the time of harvesting, the plants will "cure
down" very fast and take on a better hue than when they cure less
rapidly. During cool weather the doors and ventilators should be left
open that the plants may have a free circulation of air and cure the
faster. When, however, the weather is damp, they should be closed, to
avoid sweating and pole rot. When a light leaf is desired, the tobacco
shed should be provided with windows to let in plenty of sunlight,
which has much to do with the color of the leaf. When a dark leaf is
desired, all light should be excluded.

The time necessary for the curing of the plants will depend upon the
ripeness of the plants as well as the weather during curing. There are
three kinds or methods of curing, viz: air curing, sun curing and
firing, or curing by flues. Air curing is the curing of the plants in
sheds or barns. Sun curing is the process of curing in the open air,
while "firing" is the process of curing by "smoke," the common method
employed at the South and to some extent at the West. This is the
common way of curing cutting leaf, while air curing is the manner of
curing cigar leaf. Tatham, already quoted, gives the following account
of the process as performed in Virginia of

"SMOKING THE CROP."

"From what has been said under the head of hanging the
plant, it will be perceived that the air is the principal
agent in curing it, but it must be also considered that a
want of uniform temperature in the atmosphere calls for the
constant care of the crop-master, who generally indeed
becomes habitually weather-wise, from the sowing of his
plants, until the delivery of his crop t