82 THE CULTURE OF TOBACCO. 



value, as well as render the leaf liable t(.i mould. Care should be 

 exercised not to handle the leaf when it is so dry that it will 

 l_ireak, for the most valuable leaves are those intended for plug 

 wrappers, which must not be injured in any way. Many growers 

 have a cellar under their packing shed or at the edge r,f the barn, 

 where the tobacco is hung to liecouie moist and pliable enough to 

 handle. 



This tobacco is sold loose to the re-handlers and manufacturers, 

 and may be marketed at any time after it has come out ^ of the 

 barn. However, its ciuality and value certainly increase with age, 

 and two-year-old tobacco commands a premium. 



A greenish tinge that may show in some of the leaves wdl 

 largely or totall}' disappear as the tobacco ages. 



Aip Curing'.— All the ditt'erent types of cigar leaf as well as 

 the White Burley tobacco are air cured. An.y tobacco may be air 

 cured, and this 'is the method that should be adopted in most iif 

 the tobacco-growing regions. Of course, where the yellow cohiur 

 is the characteristic sought after, heat must be applied, and for 

 markets desiring a smoky flavour there must lie some smoke; liut 

 the method of using the air for curing, and of using artificial heat 

 only in times of unfavourable weather, is the one that is likely to 

 be generally adopted. 



The White Burley is cured on the stalk. It is wilted and 

 hung in the barn in the same manner as other stalk-cured tobacco. 

 Sometimes the toVjacco is first hung on scaffolds in the field, and 

 left there to wilt fur several days before being taken to the barn, 

 but if this is (lone the tobacco may suffer from unfavouralile 

 \\'eather conditions. If the barn is properly constructed and can 

 be easily ventilated, the plants may be at once hung in the barn. 

 The pi'ocess of curing lasts for- about six weeks, and consists in I'egu- 

 lating the temperatui'e and humidity of the air by means of the 

 ventilators. If the leaf is dr^ying too rapidly the ventilators are 

 opened on moist days and nights and closed on dry ones, (.]■ if 

 the tobacco is slow in the process, and is likely t" be attacked by 

 fungus or bacterial di.sease, the leaf is dried out by having the 

 ventilators opened on dry days. If there is a ])erioil of continual 

 wet weather, the barn may" be dried somewhat by the use of 

 charcoal fires, or a stove may be set up in the Ijaru and a fire 

 started. 



When the tobacco has been thoroughly cured, which can lie 

 determined liy the condition of the stems and stalks, it may be 

 taken down and stripped. In stripping tobawo, the butt of the 

 stalk is held in the left hand and the leaves pulled off' one by one. 

 The lHa\'es, as soon as stripped from the stalk, ai'e graded and tied 

 into "hands." The tobacco is then bulked until it is ready to 

 ]i)ace in hogsheads. If the tobacco has a large moisture content 

 when bulked the pile will ferment, and must be broken u[i and 

 re-made. 



The White Binley has a large absorpti\'e capacity, and is in 

 demand Ijy maiuifacturers of chewing tobacco. The lighter giades 

 ai'e also used tor pipes and cigarettes. 



Cigar Leaf. -Most ty|jes of cigar leaf are cured on the stalk; 

 but in certain types, as the Sumatra, when the plant ripens unevenly. 



