TOBACCO. 67 



never be made of green wood, or the tobacco will in- 

 fallibly be injured. It is said that the acid of the 

 wood is more injurious than the dampness. The 

 loss is sometimes very considerable to the planter 

 from ignorantly using green or damp hogsheads. 



PACKING. 



The process of packing is very simple, and scarce- 

 ly needs a description. I shall, however, give it for 

 the benefit of those who are not skilled in the matter. 

 In Virginia, it is customary to place, in packing, the 

 leaves parallel to each other, and never to have more 

 than five or six leaves to the bundle. In this way 

 they lie regularly in the hogshead, and are easily ta- 

 ken out without tangling and tearing. In the Western 

 States, it is a bad custom to pack the tobacco in the 

 hogsheads in a careless and irregular manner, to the 

 great injury of good tobacco. One-half of the va- 

 lue and quality of tobacco depends upon the good 

 management of it, or in other words upon the cutting, 

 curing, packing, &c. 



Tobacco is valued for quantity or quality, and they 

 seldom go together. If the soil, like that of the 

 Western States, is strong and rich, the tobacco will 

 grow luxuriantly, the quantity will be great, and the 

 quality inferior. But if the soil be light and sandy, 

 the quantity will be small and the quality superior. 

 Tobacco is perhaps one of the most troublesome of 

 all crops. Unlike other crops, the new seed are put 



