MARKETING TOBACCO. 285 



persons, mostly those of a dependent class, such as 

 women and children. They are paid from 25 cents to 

 40 cents per hundred pounds of strips made. A good 

 stemmer can make from 200 to 250 pounds of strips a 

 day. Children assist the older persons by untying the 

 bundles and placing the leaves in a convenient position 

 for stemming. Each grade of strips is kept to itself. 

 The making of strips is a distinct branch of business 

 rarely engaged in by tobacco growers. It is regarded 

 as a necessary preparation of the tobacco designed for 

 shipment to the English market, where the duties on 

 tobacco amount to from 12 to 15 times the prices paid 

 to the planter. The British duty is 3s 2d, or about 76 

 cents per pound. The stem is removed, because it is 

 worthless, or nearly so, though an arrangement has been 

 made with the English government by which the manu- 

 facturer may return the stems into the hands of the 

 proper officer for destruction, and so be relieved of the 

 tax. 



The strips are made very dry, because every pound 

 of water which they may carry will be chargeable with 

 the same duty paid on the tobacco. Within recent 

 years the English government has taken cognizance of 

 this source of revenue and now requires a duty of 

 3s lOd, or 92 cents, a pound on tobacco containing less 

 than 10 per cent of water. 



Tobacco selected for the making of strips should be 

 capable of absorbing a great deal of water, for all the 

 water it will take after passing through the hands of the 

 excise officers will be so much added to the profit. The 

 dealers in strips, therefore, other things being equal, 

 prefer tobacco that will make the least loss in stemming, 

 that will ue a great absorber of moisture, and that will 

 bear the ocean transportation without damage. 



Strips are made with all classes and grades of 

 tobacco, the largest percentage from heavy shipping 



