108 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



wet stem, with incipient decay iu the leaf adjoining, and is sometimes caused by early frost, when the curing has 

 not gone far enough to prevent freezing of moisture in the stem. When crops are planted so as to be cut and 

 cured before frost and sheds are well ventilated pole-swea.t, house-burn, or stein-rot is the result of negligence. 



AFTER CURING. 



When cured, the crop is taken down from November to May; perhaps more in November than in any other 

 month, and nearly all by the 1st of February. Tobacco is taken down when the. wind is southerly and the 

 weather moist, and rainy, so as to handle the leaf without breaking, as can be done when it is soft and the stem 

 hard. More than half the planters strip as soon as the crop is taken from the poles, placing the leaves in 

 bundles of five or six. These bundles are then bulked or "ranked" in some secure place to cure out thoroughly 

 before assorting. Others take down the crop, stalks and all, laying them iu heaps until they are ready to strip. 

 The plan of stripping and afterward assorting in the assorting-room is generally preferred, as assorting is then 

 done less hastily and more carefully, and the cured leaf is not exposed to danger of partial injury in bulk from 

 possibly damp stalks. 



ASSORTING OF TOBACCO. 



Formerly tobacco was assorted into two grades; now growers assort into three or four, and sometimes five 

 grades as many as the crop requires. When graded into three sorts, they are designated A, B, C, wrappers, binders, 

 and fillers; if into five sorts, A A, long wrappers; A, short wrappers; 15B, long binders; B, short binders; and C, 

 fillers. The leaves in each grade are made, as nearly as possible, of the same length. 



Uniformity adds greatly to the appearance and value of the product. From fifteen to seventeen leaves are 

 placed in the "hands", and each is neatly straightened and bulked down. After lying several weeks, each kind is 

 packed in a box by itself, in quantities varying from 350 to 400 pounds. The amount to go iu each box is carefully 

 weighed out, and the weight is marked on the box. Packing is now done lengthwise of the box by most growers, 

 although a few adhere to the old method of packing crosswise. The screw or lever press is used to prize lightly, 

 and the character of the leaf determines the amount to be packed in a box. Thick, heavy leaves of good body will 

 stand a heavy sweat, and uiny be packed closely and prized heavily, while light, flimsy ones must be packed lightly. 

 Mixed cases are allowable when there is not enough left of a kind to fill a box, but the weight of each kind should 

 be carefully marked on the mixed box. 



Tobacco packed lengthwise can be more neatly arranged, looks better when opened, is more easily examined, 

 and prevents fraud in packing, and the best growers keep memoranda of weights and boxes, contents and qualities, 

 which are often valuable to both grower and buyer. Packing is usually done from January 1 to April 1. 



BOXES. 



Cases for tobacco are made of pine, 50 feet to each, including cross-pieces, which are of seasoned hemlock, costing 

 about $12 or $14 per thousand. The box complete costs about $1, and, if planed iuside, $1 05 to $1 10. It is 3 feet 

 G inches long, and in each of the other two dimensions 2 feet 6 inches, measures being from outside to outside. In 

 packing many use one-inch head-boards, which are slipped iu loose, even with and on the inside of the ends. The 

 tobacco is packed against these, after which they are withdrawn, leaving a space of one inch between the tobacco 

 \ and the ends of the box for the circulation of air. This prevents rot, which sometimes occurs when the butts touch 

 the ends of the cases. These cases are sometimes made with a crack one-fourth of an inch wide between the two 

 boards of which the ends are formed. 



RANGE IN PRICES OF TOBACCO. 



The variation of prices is wide. One crop, well managed, sold in 1879 for 15 cents per pound ; another, fairly 

 managed, for 6 cents. There is sometimes a difference of 50 per cent, when it is hard to fix the cause, whether in the 

 soil, the culture, the handling, or the curing. 



VALUE OF THE LAST TOBACCO CROP. 



The value of the crop of 1879, per pound, is thus reported by one : Seed, G to 9 cents ; Domestic Havana or Hybrid , 

 9 to 18 cents. Value of different grades: Seed-Leaf 1, 13 cents; 2, G cents; 3, 3 cents. Wilson's Hybrid 1, 28 

 cents; 2, 12 cents; 3,6 cents. Another gives 9 cents average for Seed Leaf; shipping or export grades, G to 8 

 cents. These are all estimated, since tobacco is usually sold at a round price, which renders it difficult to distribute 

 the price to the different grades. 



SELLING OF TOBACCO. 



Tobacco is sold on the pole, in the field, or in the assorting room, and more frequently assorted and in lumps, or 

 in the oases. Fully one-half is sold in cases. If it is not packed, the grower sells, to be delivered to the buyer in 

 good merchantable condition, at so much per pound. In the main, however, growers do their own packing, and haul 

 to market, usually in March, April, or May, before it has gone through the sweat, iu order to avoid loss of weight, and 



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