TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 181 



about three feet ten inches apart horizontally, and three 

 feet apart vertically. The log barns were usually built 

 high enough to contain five of these tiers, besides those 

 in the roof. Many of these log barns were chinked and 

 daubed with mud all the way to the top, the only opening 

 left being a window in each of the gable ends. Other 

 farmers preferred to have the cracks between the logs 

 closed only as high as the first set of tier poles. When 

 the firing is kept up to a good degree of heat for three 

 or four days, the tight barns are unquestionably the best, 

 but where the firing is gentle, the barns should be open, 

 otherwise there will be injury to the tobacco from " house 

 burn," which is a breaking down of the vesicular system 

 through the effects of heat and moisture a partial decom- 

 position of the leaf, which destroys the oily and gummy 

 matter and renders the tobacco nearly worthless. 



The body of a barn that is twenty-four feet square 

 will contain thirty tiers for firing, six across and five 

 high. The sticks are usually placed eight inches apart, 

 so each tier will hold thirty sticks. The body of such a 

 barn, not including the roof tiers, is capable of holding 

 1080 sticks of tobacco. The roof tiers, or collar beams 

 as they are called, hold from 200 to 250 sticks more, 

 according to the pitch of the roof. This makes the 

 entire capacity of such a building about 1300 sticks, 

 each containing eight plants, thus giving room enough 

 to house about three acres of tobacco. The lowest tier 

 upon which the green tobacco is put is about eight or 

 nine feet from the floor. Sometimes a set of tier poles 

 is arranged below those containing tobacco, but this is 

 done for convenience of standing upon when lifting the 

 tobacco to the higher tiers. A barn five tiers high in 

 the body and 20 feet square will hold about 900 sticks, 

 or it has the capacity to house two acres of tobacco. 

 One built 16 feet square and four tiers high and wide 

 will house about one acre of tobacco. 



