Burley tobacco, which is the tobacco grown in Western North Carolina, is harvested after 90 days of growth. In the photograph, Alvin is showing Carl how to "cut" and "gav" tobacco. This is the process where a tool like a hatchet is used to cut the tobacco at the bottom of the stalk. The stick is pounded into the ground and a "gav", a sharp metal cone shaped object, is placed over the top of a stick. Once around 5 plants are cut, they are gaved onto a stick, which is the process of pushing the tobacco stalk through the gav onto the stick. The sticks are left in the field a few days to begin the drying process, after which the sticks of tobacco are hung in the barn a few months to continue drying. Some of our tobacco was yellow after drying which we are told is from cutting and gaving in hot weather. Unfortunately the summer of 1999 in Western North Carolina was hot and dry so much of the tobacco turned yellow.
NOTE: Please stop by in the future as I hope to add photographs of the hatchet and gav tools so that it is easier to understand the concept of cutting and gaving tobacco.