2 HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



In nearly every kind of manufacture of tobacco, whether for cigars, or smoking 

 or chewing forms, the first step is STRIPPING. The leaves are moistened, stacked, covered, 

 and allowed to remain until they become thoroughly pliable. When they are properly 

 softened, the "stem," as the large and prominent mid-rib of the leaf is called, is removed. 

 This is done by a single pull, and the leaf is left in halves. Several machines have been in- 

 vented for stripping, but they have not yet superseded women and children for this work. 

 For some kinds of smoking tobacco, and for all kinds intended for chewing, the leaves are 

 treated with what is technically known as " sauce." 



THE COMPOSITION OF THE SAUCE, upon which the peculiar flavor of different brands of 

 tobacco depends, varies with the manufacturers, each of whom has his peculiar secret. It 

 is essentially molasses and water, or a solution of liquorice paste (Ball Liquorice), in water. 

 Of late years glycerine has been added, which imparts sweetness, and prevents the tobacco 

 from becoming dry. Salt is often added to the sauce, as are Oil of Anise, and other aro- 

 matics. The leaves are merely sprinkled with the sauce, and kept co.vered until they are 

 thoroughly impregnated, or they are dipped into the heated liquid. Tobacco intended for 

 cutting is placed in boxes, and submitted to pressure, which forces out the excess of liquid. 

 The cake is then cut into shreds by a machine, several different inventions being in use. In 

 making " plugs, or "heads," a sufficient quantity of fragments are wrapped in a leaf, the 

 whole placed in a sheet-iron box of the proper size, and pressed into a very solid cake. One 

 device being fed above with wads of leaves, delivers the pressed plugs continuously below. 

 Plug tobacco is pressed very firmly into boxes or kegs, the successive layers being oiled to 

 prevent adhesion. 



Twist tobacco is made by moistening the leaves to make them pliable ; a revolving hook, 

 similar to that used in twisting straw rope, is turned by one man, while another feeds the 

 leaves, which are laid upon a long table. The twists, thus made of leaves, are often braided 

 together, after which they are steeped in " sauce," and pressed into kegs. The twists are 

 also made into coils, which is called "negro head " tobacco. 



SMOKING TOBACCO, in great variety, is made by cutting up different kinds and qualities 

 of leaf. For some of the cheaper qualities, the whole leaf, including the mid-rib or stem, 

 is cut up. Smoking tobacco is often scented, by mixing a small quantity of Cascarilla bark 

 with it. Of late years, the more frequently employed scenting material has been "Wild Va- 

 nilla." This is the leaves of a plant abundant in Florida and lower Georgia, Liatris odora- 

 tissima, and is also known as " Hound's-tongue," and " Deer's-tongue." Most of the species 

 of Liatris, have their pinkish-purple flowers in dense spikes, but this has them in an open 

 panicle. The leaves are the part used ; these, when fresh, have a very disagreeable odor, 

 which in the dried leaf is changed into a fragrance similar to that of Tonka-bean, and Sweet- 

 scented Vernal-grass. When the leaf is burned, this odor is very powerful, and but a very 

 small quantity is used in scenting tobacco. So great is the use of this " Wild Vanilla 1 ' at 

 home and abroad, that the gathering of it gives employment to a great many persons in the 

 localities where it grows. Among the machines used in the manufacture of tobacco, id the 

 Granulating Machine. This sifts out the dust, and takes out all the fragments above a cer- 

 tain size, leaving a coarse, uniform powder, used in making cigarettes. The stems accumu- 

 lated in stripping the leaves, are consumed in preparing a sheep-dip, and to destroy plant- 

 lice and other insects. For insects on plants, they are burned to fumigate the houses, and are 

 also used to make an infusion to be applied to infested plants. They are sold at a low prioe, 

 hardly more than sufficient to pay for baling them. 



