DiFFEREXT Methods of Curi?s*g Tobacco. 



141 



heavy soil, containing a higli percentage of clay, it usually cures out 

 a dark colour, altliougii most growers attempt to get a good, rich 

 cherry-red colour. The cured leaf has good body and is heavy. Most 

 of this type is exported to Germany, England, Spain, Italy, and 

 Austria. 



The tobacco plant must be topped low so as to force the growth 

 of the remaining leaves, causing all the leaves to grow larger and 

 thicker, and the tobacco will take on a dark colour on the land. 



The chief varieties grown for fire-curing are the Pryors, Yellow 

 Mammoth, and the Orinocos. 



The barn or shed used for fire-curing is usually about twenty feet 

 square. They were first built of logs, but recently they have been 

 replaced by more up-to-date frame buildings of fairly large size. For 

 the first fcM- days after the sheds are filled no artificial heat is used. 

 If the atmosphere is dry, the tobacco should be crowded closely 

 together during the first period of curing. On the other hand, if the 



Grass Shed. 



[ I'luifd hij J. (In P. (K 



weather is cool and damp, crowding the tobacco is not to be recom- 

 mended. Building a few small fires in the barn to maintain the 

 temperatures at from 85° to 90° F. would help materially to bring 

 about the colour changes. 



As soon as the tobacco has taken on the proper yellow colour, a 

 number of small open fires are built at various places on the floor of 

 the barn, and the temperature gradually increased and maintained 

 at about 95° F. until the tips of the leaf begin to turn a brown colour 

 or dry. Too much heat at this stage of curing will scald the tobacco^ 

 thus reducing the valvie. The fires are increased and the temperature- 

 gradually raised to 125° F. It is very seldom necessary to keep the 

 fires going for longer than from four to five days. 



This method of curing tobacco has also changed somewhat. 

 Formerly it was the custom to stop the fires after the surplus moisture 

 was driven off, and as soon as the leaf began to drj-. When the barn- 



