labor-intensive process          plowed the land  sowed             seed bed, transplanted     shoots                     endless weeding                           topped the blooms                                removed worms           watched the weather                                                                   the whole family        cut the crop bring it to a barn for curing,     then strip     stalks. If weather held     if prices were high bills paid     income saved.     too often the reverse occurred      suffering resulted.                                  a plant that held the state hostage 

A New History of Kentucky
Lowell H. Harrison 1997