CURING. 125 



beautiful crop, is to ' condition ' it for c packing.' The 

 * bright,' ' yellow,' and * second ' tobacco will condition, 

 but most generally in such bulks as I have just described, 

 but it is best to hang up the ' dull ' as soon almost as 

 stripped. If the bright or second do not dry thoroughly 

 in the bulks, that should also be hung up in the house to 

 become well dried. To properly hang up tobacco to con- 

 dition, small-sized sticks should be procured, and each 

 one nicely smoothed with the drawing-knife, and kept 

 for that purpose. After it has once been perfectly dry, 

 either hanging up or in bulks so dry that the heads are 

 easily knocked off, and the shoulders of the bundles crack 

 upon pressure like pipe-stems it should be taken down, 

 or if in bulks, removed, the first soft, moist spell of 

 weather, as soon as it is soft and yielding enough, as it 

 will become too dry to handle without crumbling or 

 breaking, and it must be put in 4 or 6 row bulks of any 

 convenient length and height, the higher the better, laid 

 down close, so that as little of the leaves or shoulders as 

 possible be exposed on the outside of the bulk. When 

 completed put sticks and logs of wood, &c., on the top 

 so as to weigh it down. Here it will keep sweet and in 

 nice order for packing at any time, no matter what the 

 weather be, if it was conditioned properly, it will not 

 change a particle while in the condition-bulk." 



Packing. Tobacco in America is commonly packed in 

 barrels, the layers being at right angles to each other 

 alternately, and the butt-ends being always towards the 

 outside. The usual size is about 4 feet 6 inches deep, 

 3 feet 6 inches in diameter at one end, and 3 feet 4 inches 

 at the other, to enable the contents to be uncovered for 



