TOBACCO SHRINKAGE AND LOSSES IN WEIGHT \Q 



Tobacco Growers' Association which, in conducting sales, operates in 

 a manner similar to a commission merchant. The growers are given 

 free storage for as long a period as they wish and the buyers are given 

 6 months of free storage. 



After the hogsheads have been in the warehouse for 2 weeks they 

 are opened and the hogshead is removed from the packed and prized 

 tobacco. An official sampler draws several hands of tobacco from 

 six different points in the hogshead. From these draws, a six-hand 

 representative sample is made and sealed with the official State or 

 the railroad company's seal. This official sample is turned over to 

 the commission merchant to whom it is consigned, or to the associa- 

 tion. The tag on the sample bears the name of the grower, the 

 hogshead number, and the weight. 



Each day the commission* merchants and the association place on 

 display a lot of samples and a list is made up of the numbers on each 

 sample. Every buyer is given a copy of this list. They draw lots as 

 to their order in examining the samples. After a buyer has reviewed 

 the samples he places his bid opposite the number of all samples on 

 which he wishes to make an offer and drops this list in a locked box as 

 he leaves the sample room. Every day at 1 p. m. this box is opened. 

 In each instance the highest bidder gets the hogshead if, in the opinion 

 of the commission merchant, the price is high enough. If the high 

 bid is rejected twice the sample is withdrawn and sales are made by 

 private bargain. The farmers pay a fee of $2 per hogshead to the 

 commission merchants and the buyers pay a fee of $3 per hogshead to 

 the warehouse for handling charges. 



No records are available of the loss in weight of Maryland tobacco 

 between the time it is cured and the time it is inspected and sampled 

 at storage in Baltimore. The loss in storage is higher than for Burley 

 tobacco as no redrying is done and Maryland tobacco is packed in 

 somewhat higher order. The average loss during the first year is 4 

 percent, during the second year 2 percent, and during the third year 1 

 percent. The average loss in stemming Maryland tobacco is the 

 same as for Burley, namely 26 percent. 



ONE SUCKER, TYPE 35 



One Sucker tobacco, a dark air-cured type, is produced in north- 

 central Tennessee and south-central Kentucky. The markets are 

 Franklin, Scottsville, and Russell ville, Ky., and Westmoreland, Tenn. 

 Production of this type is usually around 2 percent of the total United 

 States tobacco crop. 



One Sucker derives its name from a tendency of the plant to produce 

 only one crop of suckers after topping. The harvesting method is the 

 same as for fire-cured tobacco, that is, it is stalk-cut. The color range 

 is also similar to fire-cured with perhaps slightly more light-brown 

 tobacco in the crop. It is cured under natural atmospheric condi- 

 tions. It is characterized by a long narrow leaf, a rather large coarse 

 stem, and cross fibers at an acute angle to the stem. 



About 30 percent is exported and 70 percent used domestically. 

 The principal domestic use is for plug and twist chewing tobacco, 

 mostly twist. Considerable quantities go into export trade in the 

 form of Black Fat. In some instances One Sucker is packed straight 

 for Black Fat trade and in others it is mixed with fire-cured tobacco 

 of similar appearance. Black Fat is a trade term applied to tobacco 



