1. Budding

In spring we drop spindly tobacco plants into the setter’s fingers. Parallel rows of green unfurl behind the tractor. When a tobacco plant is set, it is put into the ground with fertilizer and water, covered with soil, and its stems shrivel until all but the tiny center, called the “bud,” dies. Then, the bud sprouts.


This essay is published in the fall 2007 edition of storySouth click here to read Stipping the Splintered Stocks in its entirety.