138 TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



rapidly. The seed-leaf is never permitted to ripen fully, but when yellowish spots begin to appear on the leaves, 

 shading away into a ground of green, it. is thought to be ripe enough to cut. When it ripens more fully, the color, 

 after being cured, is too bright for wrappers, and the leaves are too thick. 



The cutting in the seed-leaf district is done with a hatchet or a corn-knife, and sometimes with a saw, the stalk 

 being severed near the ground and the plant laid back on the row. Hero it lies until it wilts sufficiently to be 

 handled without breaking, being carefully watched to prevent sun-burn. It is then speared on the laths in the same 

 manner as in Connecticut, from six to ten plants being put on each lath, and after this it is carried to the sheds and 

 hung upon the tier poles, the laths being placed 6 or 8 inches apart on the tiers, and the plants being evenly distributed 

 on every lath as it is put in position. 



A few planters still adhere to the old method of tying the plants with twine alternately on each side of the tier 

 poles, a full description and drawing of which method is given in the article on Connecticut valley. 



Whether scaffolding in the field is, on the whole, an advantage or a disadvantage depdnds entirely upon the 

 weather and upon the quantity of available shed room. Where the latter is ample, it is thought best to carry the 

 tobacco directly to the shed and place it in position ; but if, on the other hand, a planter has a large crop and but 

 little shed room he is compelled to resort to scaffolding or run great risk of damage from pole-sweat. 



When the shed has been filled, the doors are kept open day and night, until the plants, by evapoiation, have 

 become thoroughly wilted and yellow; after which they are closed during the day and opened at night, so as to check 

 the process of curing. Curing too rapidly injures the quality of the tobacco, and for this reason frequent rains are 

 desired, so that the plants may come in condition and a transfusion of the juices through every portion of the leaf 

 may take place. It is said to be a favorable sign in the process of curing when a delicate purplish color appears 

 on each side of the midrib, and indicates that the laud upon which the tobacco grew was well manured, and dealers 

 who go through the country to inspect the crops during the curing process look to this as the most favorable sign 

 by which to judge of its future quality. 



In 1876 nearly one-fourth of the crop was lost by pole-sweat or house-burn after it was harvested. This was 

 caused by overcrowding in the sheds and by continuous damp weather. Thorough ventilation, or drying of the 

 atmosphere by artificial means, is the only effective preventive. 



The best tobacco-houses in the district are built four tiers high, the tiers being placed 4J feet apart, and the 

 largest are probably 200 feet long and 32 feet wide, with a capacity of 20,000 pounds. The bents are from 14 to 18- 

 feet apart. The roof is covered with shingles, and vertical doors are constructed to open on the sides and ends. By 

 far the largest proportion of the crop of tobacco is cured in open sheds ; but it does not cure so well, and is liable 

 to be weather-beaten and mildewed. Beside, the tobacco is not within the control of the grower. In dry seasons 

 the evaporation is too rapid, and the circulation of the juices from the stem and stalk to the leaves is checked, and 

 in very wet seasons it pole sweats. Many of the essential oils are also wasted by being first extracted from the 

 leaves by the excessive moisture and then lost by drippiug or by evaporation. 



It is believed that the more frequently the tobacco goes iu and out of condition during the process of curing, 

 other things being equal, the better will be the quality, and this has given rise to the custom of closing the doors- 

 of the sheds during the day and opening them at night ; but it should never become so damp as to drip. The warm 

 eun shining upon the roof and sides of the shed during the day will dry the tobacco out slowly, whilo the process 

 is reversed when the doors are opened at night. 



The changing conditions of the weather and of the plant itself m.ike curing one of the most troublesome 

 operations connected with the tobacco industry, and a little mismanagement may result in the almost total loss of 

 the crop. 



When the tobacco has hung in the sheds until well cured, which requires about eight or ten weeks, it is taken 

 down iu damp weather, when it is pliaiit, and assorted into grades, stripped and tied into bundles or hands, from 

 twelve to twenty leaves being put in each hand, and carefully assorted into four grades, viz : long wrappers, short 

 wrappers, binders, and fillers. After being tied in bundles, each grade kept to itself, it is packed iu bulk, as 

 illustrated in the chapter on New England. 



The tobacco, while in the bulks, grows sweet, the heads dry out, fat stems disappear, and after remaining for a 

 mouth or two it is sold to dealers or packed in cases; and it often happens that dealers take the tobacco as fast as 

 it is stripped, and the trouble of bulking is obviated. About one-tourth of the whole crop is packed by the farmers. 

 This is usually done in February and March, in boxes 42 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 30 inches deep. The 

 amount packed iu each box is 400 pounds, and a lever press, such as is described in the chapter on the Connecticut 

 valley, is required to get this quantity into the box. 



. When the crop has been tied in bundles or packed it is usually sold to dealers at a fixed price through. These 

 prices are variable, depending both on the character of the leaf as to color and substance and on the relative amount 

 of wrappers. The range for the crop of 1879 was from 4 to 10 cents through. Of the inferior crops, when the grades 

 were sold separately, wrappers brought from 7 to 8 cents, binders 3 to 4 cents, and fillers 2 to 3 cents, and 

 wrappers of the better crops brought from 12 to 15 cents. The range in prices for fillers and binders is very small; 

 the average is put at from 6 to 7 cents through. 

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