TOBACCO SHRINKAGE AND LOSSES IN WEIGHT ^3 



The average net yield from 100 pounds of farm-sales weight flue-cured 

 tobacco is approximately 69 pounds of stemmed leaf ready for manu- 

 facturing purposes. 



VIRGINIA FIRE-CURED, TYPE 21 



Virginia fire-cured tobacco is also known as Virginia dark-fired or 

 Virginia dark. It is produced in the piedmont and mountain sections 

 of Virginia in the area adjacent to Lynchburg, Bedford, Farmville, 

 and Blackstone. About 75 percent of it is exported and about 25 

 percent is used by domestic manufacturers. The principal domestic 

 usage is for the manufacture of snuff. Certain quantities go into 

 smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, Italian-type cigars, and Black 

 Fat. 3 



Virginia fire-cured tobacco usually comprises from 1 to 2 percent 

 of the United States crop. This type is dark in color and is heavy- 

 bodied compared with flue-cured tobacco. The color ranges from a 

 light brown to a very dark brown. The darker, heavier bodied grades 

 are desirable for use in manufacturing snuff. 



Virginia fire-cured is harvested by the stalk-cutting method. The 

 stalk is split from the top to within 8 or 10 inches of the ground and 

 the plant is then chopped off near its base. After the plant has wilted 

 the split stalk is straddled over a lath or tobacco stick and is carried 

 to the curing barn. From 8 to 10 plants are placed on each stick, 

 depending on the size of the plants. In fire-curing tobacco, the smoke 

 and fumes from wood fires built on the earth floor of the curing barn 

 come in direct contact with the tobacco and impart a desirable 

 flavor. After the tobacco has cured and during a damp season when 

 the dried leaves have absorbed sufficient moisture to permit their 

 being handled without breakage, it is taken down from the tiers in 

 the barn and the leaves are stripped from the stalk, assorted according 

 to quality, color, and length, and tied into hands. 



Virginia fire-cured tobacco is marketed principally under the auc- 

 tion-sales system in a manner similar to flue-cured tobacco. The 

 marketing season usually begins about the middle of November and 

 extends through the greater part of March of the following year. 

 Most of the sales are in December and January. Because of the 

 heavy body and the more or less preservative nature of the method of 

 curing, this type is usually marketed in much higher order, or with a 

 greater moisture content, than some other types. 



The moisture content of Virginia fire-cured ranges from 25 to 35 

 percent at the time it is delivered to market. After being sold it is 

 put through a redrying machine in the same w^ay as flue-cured tobacco 

 and packed in hogsheads averaging approximately 1,050 pounds net 

 when packed for English trade, and approximately 1,350 pounds net 

 when packed for domestic trade, or for foreign trade other than to the 

 United Kingdom. This type is usually packed for domestic trade 

 and foreign trade other than to the United Kingdom with approxi- 

 mately 14 percent moisture. Because of the requirements of customs 

 laws and a high rate of import duty, it is packed for the English trade 

 with approximately 1 1 percent moisture content. 



The average dirt and sand loss in handling is about 1 percent. The 

 average loss in redrying for domestic use is about 14 percent and for 

 export about 16 percent. This loss in handling, redrying, and packing 



3 Note discussion of Black Fat in the section on One Sucker, type 35, p. 19, 



