542 SOUTIIEKN FIELD CROPS 



Burlej'. The curing of Cuban cigar tolmcco in Florida 



is thus clescriljecl : — 



"When the tobacco is primed from the stalk, it should not 

 take longer than two weeks to cure ; when hung on the stalks, 

 three or four weeks are necessary. ... In a general way it 

 maj' be said that if a barn is filled with green tobacco, and the 

 weather is hot and dry, the ventilators should be tightly closed 

 for about three days, by which time the tobacco ^Yill be quite 

 yellow. The barn should then be opened at night and kept 

 closed during the day. This is done to pre^-ent rapid curing, 

 as rapid curing destroj's the life of the leaf and gives uneven 

 colors. If there are frequent showers, and but little sunshine, 

 the barn should be closed and the fires started in small charcoal 

 heaters distributed throughout the barn. These flres should 

 be continued as long as is necessary to keep the barn in proper 

 condition. Where the charcoal heaters are not available, wood, 

 which has little odor and as little smoke as possible, should be 

 used. . . . To obtain the best residts, the tobacco shotdd be- 

 come fairly moist and be fairly dried out once in every 24 hours. 

 " TMien the stems of the leaves are thoroughlj- cured, they are 

 ready to be taken to the packing house. To get the tobacco in 

 a condition to be handled, all of the places for ventilation are 

 left open for one night. The next morning the tobacco will 

 be in what is called ' good case ' ; that is, it will have taken up 

 moisture and become soft and pliable. The barn is then tightly 

 closed in order to retain the moisture. The tobacco is taken 

 from the poles and stripped from the stalk or taken from the 

 string, as the case maj- be, and is packed in bundles that weigh 

 from 3.5 to 40 pounds and delivered to the packing house as 

 quickly as possible." — IM. L. Floyd iu Report No. 62, U. S. 

 Dept. Agr. 



532. General remarks on curing tobacco. — The meth- 

 ods of curing are so ihfferent in each section that no -ftTit- 

 ten cUrections will alone suffice. Toluicco ctu'ing is a matter 

 of local experience. Whatever the method employed, it is 



