26 CIRCULAR 435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The leaves are relatively large, ranging in length from about 18 to 

 24 inches. They are smooth and of good texture, and are brown in 

 color. 



Connecticut Broadleaf is harvested by the stalk-cutting method 

 and is air-cured in barns under natural atmospheric conditions. After 

 the tobacco is fully cured and is in good order for handling, it is taken 

 down and the leaves are stripped from the stalks. It is marketed 

 under a country -sales system, the buyers visiting the farms of the 

 growers and bargaining as to price. From 50 to 60 percent of the 

 growers sort their own tobacco after it is stripped from the stalks. 

 Otherwise the sorting is done in the packing houses of the dealers. 

 It is sorted into 10 to 12 grades, the major groups of grades being 

 known as wrappers, seconds, top leaves, fillers, and stemming. 

 Usually there are several grades of wrappers and seconds. For 

 delivery by growers, the tobacco, whether sorted or not, usually is 

 packed in paper-wrapped bundles weighing from 30 to 60 pounds. 

 Some growers who sort their own tobacco also pack it in cases before 

 delivery. It is delivered by the growers to the dealers from January 

 to May; the peak of the deliveries comes in February. Usually most 

 of the crop is marketed during the first quarter of the year. 



Connecticut Broadleaf is not bulk-sweated but is sometimes re- 

 packed into bundles for sweating. Usually it is packed directly into 

 cases and put into a sweating room with a temperature of from 85° 

 to 95° F. for a period of 6 to 8 weeks. About 30 percent is packed in 

 cases for natural sweat; that is, it is stored in a warehouse with no 

 temperature control. 



The moisture content ranges from 25 to 30 percent at the time of 

 delivery. The loss in handling and packing ranges from 2 to 5 

 percent. The loss in weight during the period of the first sweat, or 

 from the time it is packed until the following fall when it is sampled, 

 averages about 10 percent. From sampling time to the following 

 fall the loss ranges from 2 to 3 percent, averaging about 2.5 percent. 

 If held longer than 2 years there is an additional loss of about 2.5 

 percent the third year. The stemming loss averages about 22.5 

 percent. 



CONNECTICUT HAVANA SEED, TYPE 52 



Connecticut Havana Seed tobacco is produced in the same territory 

 as Connecticut Broadleaf, and from Greenfield, Mass., to Middle- 

 town, Conn. Some is grown in the Housatonic Valley. Hartford 

 is the principal market. The average annual production for 1926 

 to 1932 was about 17,000,000 pounds. Production declined to about 

 10,000,000 pounds in 1933, 5,500,000 pounds in 1934, and 6,000,000 

 pounds in 1935. It is used principally for cigar binders. Although 

 about the same percentage of Havana Seed as Broadleaf is classified 

 as wrappers by the packers, the percentage actually used for wrapper 

 purposes is not as large. The tobacco of the lower grades is used in 

 scrap chewing. This type as a whole is somewhat thinner bodied 

 than Broadleaf, is very smooth and of fine texture, and runs lighter 

 in color. 



In former years part of the Havana Seed crop was primed, but 

 recently practically all of it has been stalk-cut. It is air-cured in 

 barns under natural atmospheric conditions. The marketing system 

 and method of delivery are the same as for Broadleaf except that a 

 very large percentage is sold by the growers in unassorted bundles and 



