472 FIELD CROPS 



bundles, the form and size of the package depending some- 

 what on the kind of tobacco. Tobacco which is packed in 

 the winter will sweat in May, and must be hung out to dry 

 or it will rot. It may then be bulked and will keep indefi- 

 nitely, as will that which is put down in "summer order"; 

 that is, allowed to hang in the curing shed over winter and 

 then stripped and packed the following summer. 



643. Marketing. The method of marketing depends on 

 the distance which the tobacco must be shipped. If factories 

 or warehouses are close by, it is marketed loose. If it must 

 be shipped a considerable distance, it is packed tightly into 

 hogsheads or large casks. The manner of packing depends 

 largely on the market. Only one grade should be put in a 

 package, and care should be exercised in packing in order to 

 obtain the best price. There are usually warehouses or 

 factories close to the tobacco fields, so that the farmer need 

 not pack his crop. 



644. Returns. The price of tobacco varies widely from 

 year to year, according to the supply and other causes. There 

 are also wide differences in price among the different grades. 

 The average price per pound for the ten years from 1908 to 

 1917 was 10.6 cents in Kentucky, where smoking and heavy 

 export tobaccos are largely grown; in North Carolina, where 

 chewing and the better grades of smoking tobacco are grown, 

 it was 15.1 cents; in Connecticut, where the crop is entirely 

 used for the manufacture of cigars, the average price per 

 pound was 21.6 cents; and in Florida, where the best grade 

 of cigar wrappers is produced, the average return to the 

 grower was 32. 1 cents. 



As the acre yield varies from 600 to 1,500 pounds or even 

 more, it can readily be seen that the value of an acre of tobac- 

 co is high, and justly so, as the expense of growing the crop 

 is heavy. The average value per acre in Kentucky for the 

 five years from 1912 to 1916 was $79.56; Virginia, $81.46; 

 North CaroHna, $95.47; Connecticut, $346.45; and Florida, 



