72 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



planter, and shipping or hauling it to interior distributing markets, either to Hopkinsville, Clarksville, or the Ohio 

 Eiver towns. 



Probably 75 per cent, of the crop of this district is sold in bulk, and is marketed and delivered from November 

 to May, the time for marketing the entire crop extending from November until the 1st of October following. 



Of the product of the Green River district fully three-fourths is sold to local dealers, who receive it in bulk, and 

 most of it is delivered between the 1st of December and the 1st of April. The dealer buys the tobacco under contract 

 for delivery in a specified state of preparation and order. Much of the crop being delivered iu such poor condition 

 as greatly to reduce its value, many of the local tobacco-buyers have houses constructed for the purpose of rehaudling 

 it, and some of them attempt to utilize ordinary barns, constructed for curing, but not suited for rehandling 

 the stock. Some of these local dealers make a business of purchasing and redrying such kinds of tobacco as are 

 required for certain classes of domestic manufacture, in which enterprise they have been quite successful. The 

 crop of this district goes mostly to the Louisville market, a small part of it direct to New York, and a few shipments 

 for sale are made at Evansville, Indiana. 



The crop of the Upper Green River district is marketed almost entirely at Louisville, occasional shipments 

 being made direct to New York. The system of railway transportation, which reaches nearly every portion of this 

 district, having Louisville as a common terminus, gives that city permanent advantages in the control of the product 

 of this territory. Freight charges are moderate, shipments can be made at any time, and tobacco delivered at 

 Louisville can be sampled and sold during any business day of the year. The charges at Louisville are 50 cents 

 drayage on each cask from the railway depots to the warehouse; $2 per cask and 1 per cent, on its gross proceeds 

 for receiving, inspecting, and selling, with a-privilege of four months' storage free of charge to the shipper. 



In the Clarksville district the crop is marketed from December to September following, the larger part being 

 delivered and sold from April to July. From the middle of April to the middle of July is the period of fermentation, 

 during which time tobacco handles and shows to the very best ad vantage it 1 in proper condition. A small part of the 

 crop is sold to stetnmers iu hulk, and is made into strips for the English markets, and a considerable quantity is sold 

 to local dealers, who reassert the leaf and prize it for sale in some of the interior markets, as Clarksville, Ilopkinsville, 

 or Louisville. The larger part of the crop is prized by the planters themselves, and is shipped and sold for their 

 own account. Casks 58 by 40 or GO by 42 inches cost about $2 50 each, and are prized to contain 1,500 to 1,700 

 pounds of the better, and 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of the inferior, grades of tobacco. The product of this district is sold 

 mostly at Clarksville and Ilopkinsville under similar regulations to those prevailing elsewhere in the state. At 

 Clarksville the charges to the shipper for selling are $2 10 on each cask and 1 per cent, commission on gross 

 proceeds ; iu Hopkinsville, $2 50 on each cask and 1 per cent, commission. A small part of the crop is shipped to 

 Louisville for sale, and a lew shipments are made to New York direct. 



As the product of this district is mostly taken for export, and is sold in foreign markets in the original packages, 

 the handling and ordering are much more careful and thorough than with the product of lighter body iu other 

 districts, much of which is, of necessity, rehaudled to put it in marketable condition. The leaves are carefully 

 assorted into two, three, or four uniform grades, tied into small and neat hands, properly conditioned by hanging 

 up in tiers or by placing in windrows, where it is allowed to remain until brought into the desired order, and then 

 packed smooth and straight into close bulks, from which, at the proper time, it is packed into casks and prized. 

 The right condition for bulking or packing is obtained when the body of the leaf is soft and pliable and the stem 

 supple, but solid and firm for one-half of its length. If the stem be soft from moisture contained iu it, the soundness 

 of the tobacco, either iu bulk or iu the cask, is much endangered by excessive fermentation. 



In cold, wet seasons the order or condition is very uncertain, and cannot be relied on, as the leaf does not 

 show the full amount of coutained moisture, and if packed at such time will become soft and overdamp when the 

 temperature becomes warmer. It is almost equally objectionable to have the leaf too dry, as this prevents smooth 

 and neat handling and close packing, and it is apt to become harsh, stiff, and rough alter fermentation. Bulking 

 and packing can be safely done only when the atmosphere is warm and soft enough to produce pliancy of leaf 

 without excess of humidity. It is desirable that the tobacco shall not contain moisture enough to affect its keeping 

 qualities, and shall yet retain enough to sweat it into a soft and supple condition. The work of assorting and 

 stripping is done in winter; that of ordering and bulking during the winter, but mostly in spring; and that of 

 packing and prizing into casks during spring and early summer. 



The Cumberland River district lies chiefly on either side of the river from which it takes its name. This river 

 is the principal means of transportation, and is navigable only for short seasons during the year. It is an object, 

 therefore, with producers to hasten the preparation of their crops for market, in order to avail themselves of the 

 earliest opportunities for shipment. The produce of the western portion of this district is hauled in wagons to a 

 branch of the Louisville and Nashville railway which terminates at Glasgow, and a small amount is delivered at 

 one or more points on the main line of the railway. The lack of reliable and cheap transportation impo-es a heavy 

 tax upon the producer in getting his tobacco to market. A large part of the crop of the district is sold to local dealers, 

 the amount thus disposed of being estimated at from one-half to two-thirds of the whole. No stemming is done, 

 and the entire product is marketed at Louisville arid Nashville 

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