TJIJi CrLTT-RE OF TOBACCO. 113 



III tilling H cask the butts of the " hands " are kept to the 

 outside. T«'o courses are run across the liottom of the i_-ask, with 

 the tails of the hands interlapping, the butts lieing in nearly a 

 straight line. The spaces left at the sides and ends of the courses 

 are filled, and two more courses run at right angles with the first, 

 and this process is continued until the cask is filled. The man in 

 the cask has a small board to kneel upon as he works, and this he 

 changes from side to side as necessary. At intervals during the 

 filling the contents of the packages are compressed. The piressure 

 apiplied depends upon the weight of tobacco that it is intended to 

 place in the cask. Hychaulic pre.s.sure is at times used, but 

 generally a screw worked by steam or man power is the method 

 empliiyed. In past times a lever made out of a strong piece of 

 timber was the only thing that the packers had for the pjurpiose. 

 This lever could be used in emergencies to-day, although it is not 

 as satisfactory as the screw. 



The weight of tobacco placed in a hogshead varies greatly, and 

 depends upon the class of tobacco, the amount of piressure that it 

 will endure without injury, and upon the market catered for. A 

 greater weight of the lo^^' grades and trash is placed in a cask 

 than of the fine grades. From six hundred to a thousand pounds 

 of the lighter tobaccos like the Yellow leaf ; upj to sixteen hundred 

 or two thousand pounds of the very heavy dark leaf are packed in 

 one cask. Intense pressure causes tobacco to darken. The dark 

 tobaccos intended for the West C'oa.st of Africa are pjacked so 

 solidly, that when the cask is removed the contents apjpear almost 

 solid, rather than as an aggregation of leaves. In some places, 

 because of convenience in handling, half hogsheads are preferred. 

 This appears to lie the style of package desired Ijy the South 

 African market. 



There is no very good reason why tobacco should not be 

 packed in scjuare Cir oblong cases, only that the cask may Ije rolled, 

 and is easier to handle than the case. The cask has also been 

 established upon the markets, and tobacco packed in ca.ses would 

 at first lie under the disad"\'antage fif not conforming with Ir^ng- 

 e.stablished customs. 



MARKETINQ TOBACCO IN AMERICA. 



The variiius seiJ:ioiis ijf America have difierent methc>ds of 

 disposing of the ci'op. Throughout the tobacco belt of Virginia, 

 the Cai'olinas, and a portion of Tennessee, the tobacco is sold 

 loose, or without being packed. 



Each tfiwn in the tobacco belt has large wareh'juses ior the 

 purpose of handling and selling this loose tobacco. These ware- 

 houses are lighted by means of windows in the roof, so that there 

 is no difficulty in determining the colour, shade and condition of 

 the tobacco on the floor. They are also so constructed that wagons 

 may be drawn in on to the floor, and the tobacco loaded and 

 unloaded with as little lalir^ur as possilile. Foi- bringing the 

 tobacco to town, the farmers often have co"\'ered \^'agons, and 

 always have some way of covering the tr.bacco with canvas or 

 blankets, so that it will Vie protected in wet weather, and kept 

 from becoming ton dry in hit weather. To be in proper condition 



