14 CIRCULAR 435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



ranges from 10 to 20 percent, varying according to the grade or quality 

 of the tobacco, weather conditions, and crop years. 



Virginia, fire-cured tobacco is stored and aged in the same way as 

 flue-cured tobacco, and goes through similar fermentations in the 

 spring of each year. The loss in weight during the first year of storage 

 is about 1 percent, during the second year about 1 percent, and during 

 the third year about 0.5 percent. The total loss in weight while in 

 storage runs slightly higher than for flue-cured partly because fire- 

 cured is stored mostly at inland points and partly because it goes 

 through a harder sweat the second year than does flue-cured, and 

 sweats some even in the third year. 



The loss in stemming Virginia fire-cured tobacco usually ranges 

 from 20 to 26 percent, with an average loss of about 23 percent, but 

 as its most important domestic use is in the manufacture of snuff, 

 very little is stemmed. 



At present a small percentage of that part going to foreign countries 

 is stemmed, although formerly the greater part of it was stemmed 

 prior to export. 



KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE FIRE-CURED, TYPES 22 AND 23 



Type 22 fire-cured tobacco is produced in a section east of the 

 Tennessee River in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee. 

 The principal markets for this type are Springfield and Clarksville, 

 Tenn., and Hopkinsville, Ky. Type 23 fire-cured tobacco is produced 

 in a section between the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers in 

 western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee. The principal mar- 

 kets for this type are Mayfield, Paducah, and Murray, Ky. 



These types are also known as dark-fired or Kentucky and Ten- 

 nessee darks. The general characteristics and the marketing and 

 handling methods of the two types are so similar that for the purpose 

 of dealing with losses in weight they may be considered together. 

 The annual production has ranged from around 100,000,000 pounds to 

 about 150,000,000 pounds in the last 10 years and is usually about 8 

 percent of the total crop. The usage is very similar to that of Vir- 

 ginia fire-cured, type 21. From 70 to 75 percent is exported and the 

 rest is used by manufacturers in the United States. The principal 

 domestic usages are for snuff and Italian-type cigars. The color range 

 is about the same as for Virginia fire-cured — from a light brown to a 

 very dark brown. Some grades are comparable with grades of Vir- 

 ginia fire-cured, but more heavy-bodied, somewhat coarser tobacco is 

 produced in Kentucky and Tennessee than in Virginia. 



The stalk-cutting method of harvesting is employed in the Ken- 

 tucky and Tennessee fire-cured territory, and the open-fire method of 

 curing is used. The fires in the curing barns as a rule are kept burn- 

 ing for a period of 3 to 6 weeks. The cured product is usually assorted 

 by the growers into three groups designated either as trash, lugs, and 

 leaf, or as lugs, seconds, and leaf. Some growers make further 

 separations on the basis of color or length. 



Most of the tobacco of these types is now marketed under the 

 auction-sales system but considerable country buying still is done. 

 The term country buying covers direct sales by growers on the premises 

 of the grower. Some buyers ride through the country and inspect the 

 crops in the barn, and, if a price agreement can be reached with the 

 grower, contracts are made and the tobacco is delivered direct to the 



