134 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Aug., 1922. 



MkTHODS of d'HING. 



As has been staled above, the conditions of soil and climate affect 

 the quality of leaf to such an extent that in most cases they decide 

 for which purpose the tohacco is to be used, and also determine the 

 niethod of curing. With our wide differences of soil and climatic 

 conditions thoughout the areas where tobacco is grown, and also the 

 different tastes and demands for the different types of tobacco produced 

 under these varying conditions, four different metliods of curing 

 tobacco are in vogue. These are : Air-curing, flue-curing, sun-curing, 

 and fire-curing. The following table shows the largest tobacco- 

 producing districts in the Union, the methods used for curing, the 

 types of tobacco, and the percentage of cigarette leaf produced. 



The above tabulation is not given for (•(ini])arative i)urposes 

 between the air and sun curing methods, as obviously all Turkish 

 tobacco is manufactured into cigarettes, but to give an tipproximate 

 idea of the percentage of cigarette leaf produced in the Union. 



Air-curing. 



This method of curing tobacco will be discussed first, as it is the 

 oldest, and by far the greatest portion of the tobacco crop of the 

 world is air-cured. Practically all the tobacco produced in the 

 Union is so cured. By air-curing is meant the curing of the tobacco 

 without the use of artificial heat, or, in other Avords, the tobacco is 

 allowed to go through a natural process of curing. There are really 

 two stages to be observed in this method. The first stage commences 

 after the matured leaf is harvested and hung in the shed, and ends at 

 the disappearance of the green colour, which is replaced by a lemon- 

 yellow colour. During this stage of curing it is essential that the rate 

 of drying be .so regulated that the leaf will not cure out too quickly 

 nor too slowly. If the leaf is dried out too quickly, it will remaiii 

 green, be lifeless and chaft'y, and practically useless to the trade. Ou 



Census returns, 1920. t Departmental estimate 



