statically controlled coal, gas or oil burning curers, but in recent 

 years the majority of the growers in North Carolina have used manual 

 controlled oil and gas burning units which vary considerably with 

 make, or brand name. 



The process of curing flue-cured tobacco is divided into three 

 phases. First is the yellowing period in which the green color in 

 the leaves is changed to a golden yellow color. The next step is the 

 color setting and leaf drying phase. Then comes the stem drying 

 phase. It usually takes 65 to 75 hours to cure a barn of tobacco. 



After a barn of tobacco has been cured, the doors are opened to 

 allow the barn to cool. Then the tobacco, which is very porous, 

 absorbs moisture from the night air which brings it into case or 

 order, so that it can be removed from the barn without breaking and, 

 packed in a packhouse. 



A rack full of tobacco ready to be placed in the curing barns in 

 ttie background . 



Sorting for Market 



After curing, the tobacco is removed from the curing barn and 

 stored in a packhouse until all of the crop has been harvested and 

 cured. The next step is sorting the leaves into uniform grades for 

 marketing. The procedure is to remove the leaves from the stick on 

 which they were cured and to pick out the leaves that match in color, 

 thickness and length. Then twenty to twenty-five matching leaves are 

 tied into a ''hand'' or bundle at the "butt'* or stem end with 

 another leaf. This process is followed until the entire barn or 

 curing has been sorted into matching grades. Usually there are two 

 or three different grades in a curing, such as the- best grade, medium 



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