CIRCULAR No. 435 JULY 1937 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



TOBACCO SHRINKAGES AND LOSSES IN WEIGHT IN 

 HANDLING AND STORAGE 



By J. V. Morrow, marketing specialist, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and 

 " Dudley Smith, formerly senior agricultural economist, Agricultural Adjust- 

 ment Administration l 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction. 1 



Factors of loss in weight 1 



Relation of packing and storage methods 



tolossin weight 2 



Reports on stocks of leaf tobacco 4 



Application of conversion factors to stocks 



of leaf tobacco 5 



Progressive losses and conversion factors . - 5 



Flue-cured, types 11-14 6 



Virginia fire-cured, type 21 13 



Kentucky and Tennessee fire-cured, types 22 



and 23 14 



Henderson Stemming, type 24 16 



Burley, type 31 ___. 17 



Southern Maryland, type 32 18 



One Sucker, type 35 19 



Page 



GreenRiver, type 36.- 20 



Virginia sun-cured, type 37 21 



Pennsylvania Seedleaf, type 41 21 



Ohio, types42-44 23 



Georgia and Florida sun-grown, type 45 24 



Puerto Rican, type 46 25 



Connecticut Broadleaf, type 51 25 



Connecticut Havana Seed, type 52 26 



New York and Pennsylvania Havana Seed, 



type 53 27 



Southern and northern Wisconsin, types 54 



and 55 28 



Connecticut shade-grown, type 61, and Geor- 

 gia and Florida shade-grown, type 62 29 



Appendix 32 



INTRODUCTION 



FACTORS OF LOSS IN WEIGHT 



Tobacco loses weight, as a rule, from the time it leaves the hands 

 of the growers until it is placed in process of manufacture. Since the 

 statistics of tobacco are widely used and are interpreted from varying 

 points of view, the consideration of these losses in weight is important. 

 The purpose of this circular is to analyze the factors causing shrinkage 

 and losses in w r eight and to make a practical application of the uses 

 of these factors in the statistics of tobacco held in storage. 



The factors of loss in weight are (1) losses of particles of dirt and 

 tobacco in cleaning and packing, (2) reduction in moisture content 

 and chemical changes during fermentation, and (3) loss due to removal 

 of stems or midribs of the leaves. 



Losses of these lands occur to some degree in the handling and 

 storage of practically all tobacco. The percentage of loss varies 

 not only for different types of tobacco, but in each type the rate of 

 loss under any one of the factors enumerated varies for different 

 grades and for tobacco of different crop years. The percentage of 

 loss also depends upon climatic conditions, marketing procedure, 

 handling and packing methods, location, nature, and duration of 

 storage, and natural and artificial fermentation processes. 



Under the first factor of loss "in weight— cleaning and packing- — 

 there is the loss of foreign matter, particularly dirt and sand, particles 



i The authors are grateful to Alice Wolfe, Mrs. Sue Ugast, and Catherine Coleman for their assistance in 

 preparing the manuscript and statistical tables. They also wish to express their appreciation for the whole- 

 hearted cooperation of the tobacco trade in furnishing the information which made this circular possible- 



137895°— 37 1 



