AMERICAN TOBACCO TYPES, USES, AND MARKEITS 19 
In air curing, the tobacco is stalk cut, and is either split down the 
stalk, as in fire-cured or the butts of the stalks are pierced with tobacco 
sticks by means of a sharp removable spearhead and suspended in 
curing barns so constructed as to permit free circulation of air. 
Artificial heat is applied only in periods when dampness is likely to 
cause injury from houseburn or pole sweat. 
The air-cured group is subdivided into light and dark types. The 
light air-cured tobaccos are Burley, type 31, and southern Maryland, 
type 32, statistics for which are contained in tables 7, 8, and 9. These 
two types contain varying percentages of tobacco suitable for cigarette 
manufacture in addition to much that is used for other purposes. 
The dark air-cured tobaccos (One Sucker, type 35; Green River, type 
36; Virginia sun-cured, type 37) contain no cigarette grades. Tables 
12, 13, and 14 present statistics of dark air-cured tobacco. 
LIGHT AIR-CURED TYPES 
BURLEY, TYPE 31 
Burley tobacco represents a process of evolution not connected with 
changes in curing methods, but arising in part from the chance dis- 
covery of plants of such unusual characteristics that their propagation 
and the new strains that have been developed from them have revolu- 
tionized the production and manufacture of Burley tobacco. Burley 
as originally grown by the pioneers of Kentucky and southern Ohio 
was a dark air-cured type known as Red Burley. Practically without 
exception the strains now grown, of which there are many, come within 
the generic term ‘‘White Burley.” The following account of the origin 
of White Burley originally appeared in the Western Tobacco Journal 
and is reprinted here as quoted by Mathewson (19, pp. 71-72). 
White Burley tobacco first made its appearance in the year 1864, near the 
village of Higginsport, Brown County, Ohio. In the spring of that year one George 
Webb procured from G. W. Barkley, of Bracken County, Ky., a small portion of 
tobacco seed of the kind then known as Little Burley. He sowed a part of this 
seed and grew a bed of fine-looking plants, but when ready to transplant found 
among them a few of a peculiar white or yellow color and, supposing them to be 
diseased or dwarfed plants, pulled them up and threw them away. 
The next year, being scarce of seed, he sowed the remainder of this old seed and 
again found a portion of the same kind of plants that he had thrown away the year 
previous. This excited the curiosity of Mr. Webb and others, whose attention 
had been called to these strange-looking plants, and they were induced to trans- 
plant them, raising in all about 1,000 plants, which proved to be healthy and thrif- 
ty, and when fully ripe were almost of a cream color, making a great contrast with 
other tobacco. 
The result of this experience created quite a sensation throughout the neigh- 
borhood and many growers came from every direction to see what they called a 
freak of nature. The tobacco cured a bright yellow or cream color, but was 
adjudged bitter to the taste. Some concluded that although the tobacco colored 
well and produced the pounds, on account of its bitter taste it would not be safe 
to plant any large portion of the next crop of this kind of tobacco, although 
considerable seed had been saved. 
The plant beds that were sown of this seed in the year 1866 were found to con- 
tain a much larger portion of white plants than green ones, and a sufficient quan- 
tity was transplanted to produce 20,000 pounds of cured tobacco. Two hogs- 
heads of this production were shipped to the Cincinnati market and sold at a high 
price. The purchaser shipped the same to the St. Louis Fair of 1867 and, after 
pelne guarded the first and second premiums for cutting leaf, sold it for $58 per 
undred. 
The remainder of this kind of tobacco was purchased by the firm of which I 
was a member, and entered at the Cincinnati Annual Tobacco Fair of the same 
