G8 TOBACCO PRODUCTION' IN THE UNITED STATES. 



as lias been found by experience best suited to complete the process of curing the desired type, is kept under control 

 by constant watchfulness. The purpose is to carry the curing to such a state of completion that it may be safely left 

 to atmospheric influences, and this is reached when the tissue or body of the leaf is thoroughly dried, the stem 

 being sti 1 in a green state. After this no firing is done, except as needed to ward oft' the danger of house-burn 

 or to prevent mold or mildew, which is sometimes threatened during long-continued damp weather. Under 

 favorable circumstances the leaf will become humid and limp at night, partly by absorption from the atmosphere 

 and partly by diffusion of the juices remaining in the green stems, and dry out during the day. This is deemed 

 highly favorable for completing the curing by natural means. 



In a few instances the firing is continued for the purpose of fixing specific colors in the leaf, but this is done at 

 .some loss, probably, of general qualities. When the stem is left to cure by gradual drying, the colors produced 

 by artificial heat are always, during the remainder of the process of curing, changed into much darker shades unless 

 the atmosphere should be in a continuously drying condition, for which reason, when it is desired to retain a certain 

 color, the (ires are kept up until ihe stem is also cured. 



For convenience in handling and to make the curing in larger bodies, and in order to obtain uniformity of 

 color, larger and closer barns are used in curing with open wood fires than are found best in other methods. The 

 lower parts of these barns are rather close, to prevent winds or currents of air from interfering with the ascent of the 

 heat through the body of tobacco hanging above. In barns too closely built, and not provided with ample ventilation, 

 the elasticity and the strength of the leaf are often much impaired, especially with a large bulk of heavy-bodied 

 plants. ' 



Charcoal as fuel is not much used, and only for the purpose of curing bright wrappers for domestic manufacture. 

 In the Upper Green Kiver district 75 per cent, of the product is air-cured; of the remainder, one-half is cured 

 with charcoal and one-half with wood. When charcoal is used, small piles, of such size and so arranged as to 

 produce the desired volume of heat, are distributed over the floor of the barn, kindled carefully, and thereafter 

 managed so that the temperature shall not be increased too rapidly nor allowed to become too high. Unless the 

 purpose is to obtain fixed colors, the firing is not continued after the curing is sufficiently advanced to admit of safely 

 leaving the remainder of the process to natural means. The advantages of charcoal are the better preservation of 

 the natural flavors of the plant, which are always impaired by the volatile matters emitted from wood in combustion, 

 entire freedom from blaze, with greater safety, and the economy in fuel and labor. The different characteristics of tin- 

 plants, and the peculiar structure of the houses in which they are cured, make great variation in the fuel required. 

 A large, heavy, fully-developed leaf requires a much larger amount of fuel to bring about thorough desiccation 

 than a small, light-bodied leaf, and a much less amount of fuel is necessary to cure tobacco in a tight, close barn, 

 built of logs, than in a frame house boarded up with thin planks. One authority estimates one hundred and fifty 

 bushels of charcoal for curing one thousand pounds of tobacco. 



Flues are also used by some planters for curing bright wrappers. The barns are usually small and closely 

 built, and the flues are of brick or stone, capped with sheet-iron, constructed and operated in the same manner as in 

 the flue-curing districts of Virginia and North Carolina. Peculiarities of soil in which the plant is grown, and, even 

 in a greater degree, the character of the season during cultivation, affect in a very marked manner the results of 

 this method of curing. If the plant, when cut, is full of sap, it is much more diflicult to cure into bright colors 

 than when this primary condition is more favorable, and the product of rich soils, of heavy body and strong 

 growth, whatever the variety, has a strong tendency to cure into dark colors. 



A barn of ordinary size can be fitted with brick-walled and iron-capped flues, including cost of arches for the 

 furnaces and chimneys for carrying off the smoke, at a cost of from $40 to $75, varying with cost of materials 

 and ot labor. The investment, once made, is thereafter chargeable with a very moderate tax for repairs. 



Throughout the state, except in the Clarksville district, the method most generally practiced is that of air-curing. 

 The proportion of air-cured tobacco is estimated in different localities at from 50 to 90 per cent., and in response to 

 the demand of domestic manufacturers there has been a very large increase in the proportion of the crop cured in 

 this way. The natural flavors so much valued by consumers can only be preserved in purity by what are called 

 the " natural methods" of curing: by sun and air. 



Scaffolding (lie plants for some days before they are put into the barn greatly assists this method, and is an 

 excellent preparation for the work to be done in the house. Crowding the barns cannot be permitted, and abundance 

 of open space is necessary to give free access to currents of air among the hanging plants. The sticks arc placed 

 well apart upon the tiers, and the plants separated upon the sticks. Doors and windows are thrown open, except 

 when driving rains make it necessary to close them temporarily. Open sheds are very commonly used iu air-curing, 

 and are by many farmers considered best. If the weather is dry and cool, the curing can be done in close-built 

 barns; but if it be damp and sultn, damage by house burn is almost certain, unless prevented by artificial heat. 

 The heat, whether of open wood fires, charcoal, or flues, injures the product to a greater or less extent ; but house- 

 burn is tar worse, and must be prevented by judicious and timely firing. 



The effects of these different methods, as exhibited in the cured product, are very marked and of widely varying 

 cliaiMct.-r. l>y artificial heat firmness and solidity of structure are increased, the strength of texture is preserved, 

 6f>2 



