T 



obacco specialty 



The shade-grown type puts the greatest strain on a 

 farmer's strength and patience. No product of the fields 

 makes greater demands on growers. The intensive rou- 

 tines of culture, harvesting and curing explain why the 

 cost of producing an acre of wrapper leaf averages about 

 $4,500. Growers of this type always hope to produce 

 flawless leaf, for manufacturers' buyers want wrappers 

 free of imperfections. As a practical step in reducing 

 costs, farms of shade-grown tobacco are combined and 

 cover anywhere from sixty to a hundred acres. 



T 



he sheltered leaf 



The skill of the hand controls most of the operations 

 associated with wrapper tol^acco. Early in April, seeds 

 are sown under glass-covered cold frames in soil that 

 has been sterilized by steam or chemicals. Nature is 

 abundantly generous in the productivity of the tiny 

 tobacco seeds; one ounce contains 300,000 seeds, capa- 

 ble of producing 250,000 pounds of tobacco on 200 

 acres if all the seeds are planted. When the seedlings 

 are ready for transplanting, they are hand set by two 

 to six workers seated behind a planting machine. The 

 largest of these mechanisms makes it possible to set out 

 five to seven acres a day. 



The tobacco fields are covered by flat-top "tents" of 

 loosely woven cotton cloth, about 5,000 square yards 

 being required for each acre. Supplied in 400-inch strips, 

 the cloth is hand sewn to wires stretched from the tops 



