AMERICAN TOBACCO TYPES, USES, AND MARKETS a) 
that is the leaves are broad, and droop instead of standing erect. 
Like Burley, Maryland tobacco is almost entirely free of gum. 
Maryland tobacco is harvested by the stalk-cutting method. The 
stalks are pierced by a removable steel point used on the end of the 
sticks on which they are to be hung in the curing barn. <A harvesting 
scene is shown in figure 12. 
Until 1938 practically all Maryland tobacco was packed in hogs- 
heads on the farm where grown. for this purpose a “‘prizing screw” 
press was required. 
BPI 113 
Fiagurr 13.—Maryland fine colory export tobacco, showing how hands are 
fanned out in packing. 
The form in common use is the horizontal screw press, especially 
designed for farm use. Although screw presses are mentioned in 
early literature* they do not appear to have come into general use 
until 1850 or later. In earlier years prizing was accomplished by a 
system of levers. 
Figure 13, a hand of export grade, shows the characteristic method 
of spreading the leaves in packing. 
The outstanding characteristic of Maryland tobacco is its burn. 
By “burn” in tobacco is meant its capacity for holding fire, and in this 
respect Maryland tobacco excels most other American types. It is 
4 In the AMERICAN FARMER, No. 49, Vol. 3, the editor refers to a translation by himself of a French 
book entitled ‘‘A COMPLETE TREATISE OF THE CULTURE, MANUFACTURE AND SALE OF TOBACCO,” published 
in Paris in 1791, in which screw presses are mentioned. 
