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TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Dealers examine the crop very thoroughly before buying, and even when it is growing agents ride from farm 

 to farm to examine the crops in the fields, the culture, size, amount of worm-eaten, rust, regularity or irregularity of 

 the crops being all noted. When the crops are housed, these agents visit the sheds to see that there is no pole- 

 sweated, wind-shaken, or weather-beaten tobacco, and also to examine the uniformity or diversity of the color; and 



after the leaves are picked from the stalks there is frequently another examination, to note its condition, so that by 

 the time the crops are ready for market the dealers are as familiar with their quality as the farmers themselves. 

 This vigilance on the part of dealers has had a good effect in stimulating planters to handle their crops with greater 

 care. 



It is exceedingly important to have the tobacco in a proper degree of pliability when it is packed ; for if too dry, 

 great damage is done to the leaves by breakage. The best wrappers may be reduced to the grade of fillers by 

 handling when dry. On the other hand, too much humidity in the leaf will produce a fermentation so excessive as to 

 destroy the vitality of the tobacco and induce a mold, which imparts to it a disagreeable odor. Good judgment is 

 required in this stage. If bulked in very cold weather, the amount of humidity in the leaf is often greatly under- 

 estimated, and if warm weather supervenes will endanger the tobacco. The plan adopted by the best managers is 

 to see first that the stems or midribs are fully cured; that they do not hold a disproportionate amount of moisture as 

 compared with the leaf. Should the leafy part be very dry and the stem very moist, there is more danger of injury 

 from excessive fermentation than if the conditions of the leaf and midrib were reversed. The proper condition is to 

 have the leaf soft and pliant, and the midrib just sufficiently moist to handle without breaking. 



The usual date of delivering tobacco to dealers is from December 1 to April. A very small proportion of the 

 crop is now packed by the planters, and damp days, or at least days in which drying winds do not prevail, are 

 selected for delivering the crop. 



For wrappers, the boxes are 3 feet 8 inches long and 28 inches square at the head ; for seconds, 3 feet 3 inches 

 long and the same size at the head as for wrappers; for fillers, 3 feet long and 28 inches at the head. These boxes 

 are made of white pine. Boxes for wrappers cost $1 25; for seconds, $1 20; for fillers, $1 10 each. In these boxes 

 the tobacco is packed with heads resting against the ends. The quantity of each grade packed in a box is: 



wrappers, 400 pounds ; seconds, 350 pounds ; fillers, 300 pounds; and it requires some pressure on the tobacco to get 

 the quantity mentioned in the boxes. This pressure is generally applied by a double-lever press with a platform 

 resting upon wheels, so that it can be readily nroved to different parts of the building. A yoke crosses the case 

 and works in racks, two on a side, which are attached to the levers. The accompanying cut will give a good idea 

 of this simple press. 



About 200 pounds are first packed in a box and pressed down ; then the box is again filled and pressed, and this 

 is continued until the requisite number of pounds have been put in each box. 



SWEATING TOBACCO. 



After being properly packed, the tobacco is ready to go into the "sweat", or fermentation, which begins as 

 the weather grows warm and continues for many weeks, and during this period the tobacco becomes warm, reaching 

 a temperature of 100 F., and sometimes more. All cases are marked with the weight, quality, the name of 

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