lost, particularly if the flood should occur at a time when it is too late to lay out new plantations.  High-lying land also must, therefore, be cultivated, in the hope that by very careful attention it may yield a similar return.  In October these fields must be ploughed three or four times, and harrowed twice or thrice.  On account of the floods, the lowlands cannot be ploughed until the end of December, or the middle of January; when the work is light and simple.  The strongest plants in the seed-beds are chosen, and set in the prepared grounds at a distance of three feet from each other, care being taken that the earth clinging to the roots is not shaken off.

Of the care necessary to be bestowed upon the plants.—­In the east a little screen, formed by two clods, is to be erected, with a view to protecting the plant from the morning sun, and retaining the dew for a longer time.  The weeds to be carefully exterminated, and the wild shoots removed.  A grub which occasionally appears in great numbers is particularly dangerous.  Rain is very injurious immediately before the ripening, when the plants are no longer in a condition to secrete the gummy substance so essential to the tobacco, which, being soluble in water, would be drawn off by the action of the rain.  Tobacco which has been exposed to bad weather is always deficient in juice and flavor, and is full of white spots, a certain sign of its bad quality.  The injury is all the greater the nearer the tobacco is to its ripening period; the leaves hanging down to the ground then decay, and must be removed.  If the subsoil is not deep enough, a carefully tended plant will turn yellow, and nearly wither away.  In wet seasons this does not occur so generally, as the roots in insufficient depth are enabled to find enough moisture.

Cutting and manipulation of the leaves in the drying shed.—­The topmost leaves ripen first; they are then of a dark yellow color, and inflexible.  They must be cut off as they ripen, collected into bundles, and brought to the shed in covered carts.  In wet or cloudy weather, when the nightly dews have not been thoroughly evaporated by the sun, they must not be cut.  In the shed the leaves are to hang upon cords or split Spanish cane, with sufficient room between them for ventilation and drying.  The dried leaves are then laid in piles, which must not be too big, and frequently turned over.  Extreme care must be taken that they do not become overheated and ferment too strongly.  This operation, which is of the utmost importance to the quality of the tobacco, demands great attention and skill, and must be continued until nothing but an aromatic smell of tobacco can be noticed coming from the leaves; but the necessary skill for this manipulation is only to be acquired by long practice, and not from any written instructions.

CHAPTER XXVI