5 CIRCULAR 435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



crop packed in both domestic and export order, and in the case of 

 cigar leaf, to the various methods of handling, packing, and sweating 

 each of the various types. Consideration was also given to the length 

 of time each of the various types remains in storage and the approxi- 

 mate percentage of the tobacco reported in stocks on "marked", or 

 packed, and on "actual" weight basis. 



In calculating conversion factors the percentage of loss in storage is 

 not applied to the original farm weight, but to the residual weight as 

 losses occur progressively. For example, where the initial loss from 

 dirt, sand, and redrying in handling flue-cured tobacco is 10 percent, 

 and the first year's loss in storage is 1 percent, the calculation is made 

 on the basis of taking 1 percent of the 90 pounds which remain after 

 deducting handling and redrying loss. The percentage of stemming 

 loss is applied to 100 pounds regardless of whether it is farm weight, 

 storage-order weight, or processing weight. The variation in actual 

 stemming losses, depending upon the time tobacco is stemmed, has 

 been taken into consideration in calculating conversion factors. 



Tables 1 and 2 show the progressive losses for each type, and table 

 3 shows the conversion factors. 



FLUE-CURED, TYPES 11-14 



In dealing with losses in weight, the four types of flue-cured tobacco 

 may be considered as a whole, as there is little difference between 

 them. Flue-cured tobacco, which is also known as Bright, Bright 

 Yellow, and Virginia Bright, is produced in the piedmont section of 

 Virginia and North Carolina, and the coastal plains of North Caro- 

 lina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. (See map of 

 tobacco-growing districts, fig. 3.) 



Flue-cured tobacco is the principal kind of tobacco grown in the 

 United States, usually comprising from 50 to 60 percent of the total 

 crop of all types. It ranges in color from a bright lemon yellow to a 

 dark reddish orange and in some cases to a reddish brown or a dark 

 brown known as mahogany. The light colors predominate and the 

 thinner, light-bodied tobacco is preferable for cigarette and smoking 

 tobacco. The darker, heavy-bodied grades are used in the manu- 

 facture of chewing tobacco. About 40 percent of all flue-cured tobacco 

 is used in domestic manufacture and about 60 percent is exported. 



Practically all flue-cured tobacco is harvested by the priming- 

 method. As the leaves ripen they are picked from the stalk in 

 successive operations, beginning at the bottom of the plant. They 

 are cured by applying regulated heat through furnaces and flues built 

 into the barns. After being cured the leaves are sorted into lots on 

 the basis of quality and color and tied in small bundles or hands of 

 10 to 20 leaves. In Georgia and Florida the leaves are not tied into 

 hands but are marketed loose. 



The auction sales system of marketing prevails throughout the 

 flue-cured tobacco area. 2 The marketing period usually begins the 

 latter part of July and extends through the greater part of February 

 of the following year. The markets for type 14 in Georgia open 

 first, usually in the latter part of July — sometimes early in August. 



2 For a further discussion of harvesting, curing, and marketing methods, see the following publication: 

 Gage, C. E. American tobacco types, uses, and markets. U. S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 249, 88 pp., illus. 

 1933. 



