78 THE CULTURE OF TOIiACCO. 



As sriou as the tobacco is cured it is stripped fvoni tlie stalk 

 and graded. It is then tied into "hands" and piled in Ijulks, which 

 aie cnveied with canvas. 



In tyinK into " hands," anything from six to twenty leaves are 

 taken in the left hand, the stem ends are placed in the .same 

 direction and evenly together ; a small leaf is then selected, smoothed 

 out at the tail and doubled over so as to make a band au inch 

 wide, and this leaf is wrapped tightly around the .stems of the other 

 leaves, and has its stem end tucked between and through them. 

 Upon the evenness and smoothness of this tying depends somewhat 

 the selling piice of the tobacco. Some operators pass each bundle 

 through the hand as tied, so as to press the leaves together and give a 

 better appeai'ance. 



No attempt is made to caii'y on f.ji'nientation in these bulks. 

 Siiuie changes do take place, however, and it is necessary to 

 occasionally observe the pile ami xu>t all iwtlie temperature to become 

 toi> high. When the tobacco is in the right condition, and contains 

 enough moi.stvire to permit of its being handled without bi'eaking, 

 it is carried to the market and sold in the loose condition, or is 

 packed in hogsheads and sold when markets ai'^- favouraUe. 



Where fuel is scarce the item of wood makes a large reduction 

 in the profits. The wood mu.st be dry and well seasoned, for a fuel 

 that gives (iff soot, creates a heavy smoke, or has a disagreeable 

 odour, will destroy the value of the tobacco. The fires are made 

 by keeping the enils of .several sticks together, as the Kaffirs do. 

 (Jare must be taken not to let the blaze lise high, for the dr^'ing 

 tdbaccn will easily .-ati-h fire and destroy itself as well as the barn. 



Flue Curing.- This also is a process wdiere aitificia.l heat is used 

 for curing the tobacco, but in this case open fires are nut peianitted 

 and the smoke does not come in contact with the tobacco. The fires 



which are nf w I (iu .Japan n.al has been used), are in small 



brick fui'uarcs on the outside of the building, and the heat is carried 

 through tho building and under the tobacco by means of large 

 sheet ii'nu pijios i<v tlues. 



This is the system used for the curing of the yellow tolj.aci'o, 

 which has become so popular foi' ju'pe smukiug, cigaiettes and 

 rhewing, particularly' iu the last case fnr p)lug wra|j]:jers. The 

 feature sought in the yellow tobaci-o is the coloui', ancl the aim is 

 to produce this, and yet ilannige the texture ami elasticity of the 

 wrapper leaves as little as ])ossible. 



No other type of tobaoco or othei' .system of curing reipiires as 

 niuoli skill in its handling. A little misjiulgmeut in maintaining a 

 certain temperature for too long or too short a time will lai-gelv lessen 

 the value of the pmduct. Slight shades iu colour may mean large 

 diffei'ences in the selling ]irice. A leaf that might become a 

 "wi'apjier, if injured for that pur|inse, will have its -\alue reduced 

 81) ]]er cent. No set rules can In; gi\'en for the handling of this 

 jjrocess. as much depends on the condition of the leaf when placed 

 in the barn and on the weather conditions during the time of cuiing. 



The bams ^^■ill be described later, but it nurv be said here 

 that till' bai'U must not be so large that it cannot be filled in 

 one day, for the tobacco iu any one ba,rn should not be in different 

 utages of gi-eenness. The barn must also be in a locality |irotected 

 from the winds, for a strong wind will cause the temperature to be 



