n bundles or hands
with a leaf around the base of the hand. Each "hand" or bunch should
contain at least eight leaves and from that number to twelve. If the
plants are large the leaves of one stalk will form a hand; a poor leaf
is used for binding as it can not be used for the same purpose as the
leaves around which it is bound.

[Illustration: Hands.]

The old planters of tobacco in Virginia called this operation of
taking off the leaves and tying them up "stripping and bundling" which
is here described.

"When the plants of tobacco which are thus hanging upon the
sticks in the house have gone through the several stages of
process before the time of stripping, and are deemed to be
in case for the next operation, a rainy day (which is the
most suitable) is an opportunity which is generally taken
advantage of when the hands cannot be so well employed out
of doors. The sticks containing the tobacco which may be
sufficiently cured, are then taken down and drawn out of the
plants. They are then taken one by one respectively, and the
leaves being stripped from the stalk of the plant are rolled
round the butts or thick ends of the leaves with one of the
smallest leaves as a bandage, and thus made up into little
bundles fit for laying into the cask for final packing."

Hazard gives the following method of assorting and stripping tobacco
in Cuba:--

"Among the Cubans, the leaves are divided into four classes:
first, _desecho_, _desecho limpio_, which are those
immediately at the top of the plant, and which constitute
the best quality, from the fact that they get more equally
the benefit of the sun's rays by day and the dew by night;
second, _desechito_, which are the next to the above; third,
the _libra_, the inferior or small leaves about the top of
the plant; and fourth, the _injuriado_, or those nearest the
root. Of the _injuriado_ there are three qualities; the best
is called _injuriado de reposo_, or 'the picked over,' and
the other two, firsts and seconds (_primeros_, _sequndos_).

"Tobacco of the classes _desechito_ and _libra_, of which
the leaves are not perfect, is called _injuriado bueno_,
while all the rest, of whatever quality, that is broken in
such a manner as to be unfit for wrappers are called
_injuriado malo_. Amongst the trade in place of the above
nam