326 CURING AND SORTING. 
might suppose the buildings on fire, but not a blaze is within, 
the object here, as in bacon-curing, being smoke, not fire. 
“For this the old field-pine is eschewed, and the planter 
draws on his stock of oak and hickory-trees. Many use sas- 
safras and sweet gum in preference to all other woods for this 
purpose, under the impression that they improve the flavor 
of the tobacco-leaf. hen the leaves, fully cured, have taken 
the rich brown hue of the tobacco of commerce, so unlike the 
deep green of the growing plant that a person familiar with 
the one would never recognize the other as the same plant, 
the planter must fold his hands and wait until they are in 
condition for what is technically known as striking, i. e., 
taking down from the rafters on which they are suspended. 
Touch the tobacco when too dry and it crumbles, disturb it 
when too high or damp, and its value for shipping is materi- 
ally lessened, while if handled in too cold weather it becomes 
harsh. But there comes a mild damp spell, and the watchful 
planter seizing the right moment, since tobacco, like time and 
tide, waits for no man, musters all the force he can command 
for the work of stripping and stemming. This done, the 
leaves are sorted and tied in bundles, several being held in 
one hand, while around the stalk-end of the cluster is wrap- 
ped another leaf, the loose end of which is tucked through 
the center of the bundle. Great care is taken in this 
operation not to break the leaf, and oil or lard is freely used 
in the work. During this process the crop is divided into 
the various grades of commerce from ‘long bright’ leaf to 
lugs’ the lowest grade known to manufacturers. These last 
are not packed into hogsheads, but are sent loose, and sold 
without the trouble of prizing, in the nearest market-town. 
“Shades imperceptible to a novice, serve to determine the 
value of the leaf. As it varies in color, texture, and length, 
so fluctuates its market price, and at least half the battle lies. 
in the manner in which the crop has been handled in curing. 
From the mountainous counties of South-western Virginia, 
Franklin, Henry, and Patrick, comes all the rarest and the 
most valuable tobacco, ‘fancy wrappers’ but these crops are 
smaller in proportion to those raised along the lowlands 
of the rivers. This tobacco is much lighter in color, much 
softer in texture, than the ordinary staple, and is frequently 
as soft and fine as silk, Some years ago a bonnet made of 
this tobacco was exhibited at the Border Agricultural Fair, 
and had somewhat the appearance of brown silk. Only one 
such plant have I ever seen grown in Southside, and that, a 
