24 CIRCULAR 435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



mer tobaccos usually go through one spring-and-summer natural 

 sweat and are then taken out of the cases, in the fall, dipped in water, 

 and force-sweated. This is known as resweating. Dutch tobacco is 

 seldom dipped and resweated. 



The initial loss in handling and packing these types ranges from a 

 little more than 3 percent to a little more than 4 percent. The loss in 

 sweating and resweating ranges from about 10^ to 12 percent. The 

 handling and storage loss on type 44 is somewhat lower than the loss 

 on types 42 and 43 because it is not resweated. These types lose 

 between 2 and 3 percent each year while in storage up to the third 

 year. The loss in stemming Gebhardt averages about 27 percent; in 

 stemming Zimmer about 28 percent; and in stemming Dutch about 

 30 percent. The higher stemming loss in Dutch may be attributed to 

 the narrow, stringy leaves and the consequent larger proportion of 

 stem to leaf surface. 



GEORGIA AND FLORIDA SUN-GROWN, TYPE 45 



Georgia and Florida sun-grown tobacco is produced in north-central 

 Florida and southern Georgia. The principal marketing point is 

 Quincy, Fla. Production during the last 5 years has ranged from 

 approximately 1,200,000 pounds to less than 100,000 pounds, aver- 

 aging around 600,000 pounds annually. This is a cigar-filler type of 

 tobacco, but the leaves are smaller and of finer texture than those 

 of other filler types produced in this country, usually ranging in 

 length from 8 to 14 inches. In general appearance it is similar to 

 Puerto Kican tobacco. 



Georgia and Florida sun-grown tobacco is primed and cured in 

 barns under natural atmospheric conditions except that during damp 

 seasons charcoal or coke braziers are sometimes used to prevent pole 

 sweat or house burn. The greater part is grown under contract 

 with buyers, but some is sold by private sale on the farm of the 

 grower. After the tobacco is cured it is tied into hands and deliv- 

 ered to the packing house either in paper-wrapped bundles or in boxes. 



Deliveries are usually made in June and July, with the bulk of 

 the crop moving in July. The packers untie the hands and pile the 

 leaves into large bulks ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 pounds each. 

 As with most filler types, a hard sweat is required; therefore the 

 leaves are often sprayed with water when the bulks are turned 6 in 

 order to force the fermentation. This causes the tobacco to become 

 dark but does not detract from its value. When handled in this 

 way the temperature of the bulk during fermentation often goes as 

 high as 150° F. 



After the fermentation has been completed the leaves are stemmed, 

 and as the stemming process requires that the leaves be very soft 

 and pliable, the moisture content is too high for immediate packag- 

 ing. The strips, or stemmed tobacco, are dried out until the moisture 

 content is reduced to about 15 percent. The tobacco is then packed 

 in bales averaging about 160 pounds in weight. 



The greater part of the loss in weight in handling Georgia and 

 Florida sun-grown tobacco occurs before packing and averages about 

 17.5 percent. Subsequent losses average about 2 percent for each 

 year that the tobacco is held in storage. The loss in stemming aver- 

 ages about 21.5 percent. 



6 See discussion of turning and rebulking under section on cigar-wrapper tobacco, types 61 and 62, p. 29. 



