"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 sides runs a raised platform for placing the leaves in bulk; and, commencing at a safe distance from the fire, up to the top of the tall building, reach beams stretching across for the reception of the tobacco-sticks, thick pine laths, from which are suspended the heavy plants. Safely housed and beyond all danger of the frost, whose slightest touch is sufficient to blacken and destroy it, the crop is now ready for firing, and through the late autumn days blue clouds of smoke hover over and around the steep roofs of the tall tobacco-barns. A stranger might suppose the buildings on fire, but not a blaze is within, the object here, as in bacon-curing, being _smoke_, not _fire_. "For this the old field-pine is eschewed, and the planter draws on his stock of oak and hickory-trees. Many use sassafras and sweet gum in preference to all other woods for this purpose, under the impression that they improve the flavor of the tobacco-leaf. When the leaves, fully cured, have taken the rich brown hue of the tobacco of commerce, so unlike the deep green of the growing plant that a person familiar with the one would never recognize the other as the same plant, the planter must fold his hands and wait until they are in condition for what is technically known as striking, i. e., taking down from the rafters on which they are suspended. Touch the tobacco when too dry and it crumbles, disturb it when too high or damp, and its value for shipping is materially lessened, while if handled in too cold weather it becomes harsh. But there comes a mild damp spell, and the watchful planter seizing the right moment, since tobacco, like time and tide, waits for no man, musters all the force he can command for the work of stripping and stemming. This done, the leaves are sorted and tied in bundles, several being held in one hand, while around the stalk-end of the cluster is wrapped another leaf, the loose end of which is tucked through the center of the bundle. Great care is taken in this operation not to break the leaf, and oil or lard is freely used in the work. During this process the crop is divided into the various grades of