This procedure continues at a rate of 300 to 400 piles per hour until 

 the warehouse has sold its allotted number of piles for the day. 



As the auction sale moves along, it is followed by the book and 

 clip men. These two are rapid calculators, who figure the number of 

 pounds by the price paid by the buyer and have the complete transac- 

 tion figured for the buyer and seller within a matter of seconds. 



Every buyer has a crew following the sale to pick up his pur- 

 chases and place them together according to the grade. The purchases 

 of each buyer are then placed together for movement to a redrying 

 plant. 



Tobacco auction safe in progress with buyers exami n i ng each lot 

 before signa I ing their bid. 



Redrying for Storage 



Although tobacco has been cured before it is sold, it still has 

 to be redried before it is stored for aging. As tobacco is sold on 

 the warehouse floors it is in the ''raw'' stage, that is, it contains 

 too much moisture to pack into ' 'hogsheads' ' for the aging process. 

 This excess moisture must be removed and a predetermined amount of 

 moisture left in to insure proper aging for the manufactured product. 



To remove the excess moisture the tobacco is run through a 

 redrying machine. This machine is similar to a large oven through 

 which the tobacco passes, removing all moisture. Then it passes into 

 a liv6 steam chamber where the exact amount of moisture is replaced. 

 The tobacco is then packed into "hogsheads'' or large casts, weigh- 

 ing about 900 to 1,000 pounds, and pressed tightly by hydraulic 

 press. These hogsheads are then ready for storage and aging. Tobacco 

 usually is left in storage from one to three years. During the aging 

 period the tobacco sweats or goes through a slight fermentation which 

 mellows the flavor for use in the finished product. 



13 



