TOBACCO 243 



315. Classes and types. The three general classes of tobacco 

 are (i) cigar tobaccos, (2) export tobaccos, and (3) manufactur- 

 ing tobaccos. Each class is divided into numerous types, or sub- 

 classes, depending upon the special use to which the product is 

 put, where it is grown, the methods used in its production and 

 curing, or the variety. The principal types of tobacco and 

 the relative importance of each type in the United States as 

 measured by the average amount grown are shown in the 

 following table : 



TYPE OF TOBACCO POUNDS 



Cigar leaf 200,000,000 



Dark export (fire-cured) 215,000,000 



Maryland Eastern Ohio export (air-cured) . . . 22,000,000 



Dark manufacturing (air-cured) 75,000,000 



Burley 210,000,000 



Bright flue-cured 230,000,000 



Perique 200,000 



316. General cultural methods. The seeds, being quite small, 

 are sown in hotbeds or cold frames, and the seedlings are trans- 

 planted to the field by hand or by machine. Transplanting is 

 done during April, May, and June. The plants are set in rows 

 which are from 3 to 4 feet apart and are spaced from 1 5 inches 

 to 3 1 feet apart in the row. Unless the -soil is quite moist, 

 watering is required at the time of transplanting. Cultivation 

 should be continued as long as the size of the plants will permit. 

 In order to force the full development of the leaves, the plants 

 are topped by breaking out the crown, or the terminal bud, 

 usually before the blossoms appear. Lateral branches and 

 suckers also are removed. 



When the plants have reached maturity they are harvested 

 by cutting the stalk near the ground (Fig. 116) or by picking 

 the leaves from the stalk as they ripen. The cut plants or the 

 picked leaves are attached to sticks and hung in a specially con- 

 structed barn for curing, a highly important process. The 

 tobacco may be cured without the use of artificial heat (air-curing) 

 (Fig. 117), by the use of open fires on the earthen floor of the 



