﻿THE CULTURE OF FLUE-CURED TOBACCO. 



35 



fully. The stems generally will become soft enough during the sec- 

 ond night so that the tobacco can be removed and bulked or rehung 

 in the storage or packing house without breaking. 



In softening tobacco for stripping and assorting, an ordering cellar 

 is a great convenience. The cellar generally is dug under the pack- 

 ing-house floor to a depth of G or 7 feet, and should be large enough 

 to hold at least a curing of tobacco. The cellar is fitted with light 

 framework on which to hang the sticks of tobacco. Care must be 

 taken to locate the cellar where there is sufficient clay in the sub- 

 soil so the walls will stand firm, and it must be situated so that 



Fig. 12. — A good type of tobacco storage and stripping house, with an ordering cellar 



under the building. 



water will not rise or flow into it. It should be banked around the 

 outside to keep out surface water, and it would be safest to put a 

 drainpipe in the bottom to carry off seepage water. At least one 

 small glass window also should be provided. 



The stripping room is usually built as a shed on one side of the 

 packing house, into which the ordering cellar opens by a door and 

 steps. The best light, free from glare for stripping, will be ob- 

 tained if the windows are mostly on the north side of the stripping 

 room. A well-appointed storage house, ordering cellar, and stripping 

 room is shown in figure 12. The cellar is under the main building, 

 and the stripping room is in the shed to the right. 



