Ki 



ng Burley 



The planters ol W'ilkinsoirs da\- could liaidh' have 

 lorc'sccn how cnorniousK' the culture of tobacco would 

 de\elop. For a while, though many years after the Wil- 

 kinson period, Kentucky became the largest producer 

 of tobacco in the United States, and when writers 

 referred to the "Tobacco State" they meant Kentucky. 



For almost a century now, Kentucky has maintained 

 its place as the foremost producer of one type — Burlev 

 — officially classified as light air-cured tobacco. The 

 Kentucky' har\est in 1971 totaled 339,625,000 pounds, 

 by far the most abundant crop of this type. Though once 

 confined to the Bluegrass area, Burley is now grown in 

 all but a few of the state's 120 counties. Blended ciga- 

 rettes would taste different— and not nearly as good as 

 they do — if they lacked Burle\- leaf. On an average, 35 

 percent of the tobacco in cigarettes of American manu- 

 facture is Burley. The leaf is also used in domestic 

 smoking and chewing tobaccos; a little goes into some 

 snuffs. 



leaf quartette 



The production of tobacco in Kentucky is diversified. 

 In addition to Burley, type 31, there are four other 

 types grown in the state. The collective area in which 

 they are grown (including sections of north-central 

 to northwestern Tennessee) was long known as the 

 Black Patch. 



The types are: 

 • Eastern district ftre-curc>cl, t\ pe 22, grown in a limited 

 section of southern Kentuck\, east of the Tennessee 

 Ri\er, of which 9,<S55,0()() pounds was harvested in the 

 state in 1971. 



