6 CIRCULAR 249, U. S. DEPARTMENT, OF AGRICULTURE 
curing methods, varieties of seed, and cultural methods are in general 
the same. : 
Twenty-six types of tobacco are grown in the United States, grouped 
into classes as follows: | 
Number 
Cigarette, smoking, and chewing types: oj types 
lass: 1- Wlte=G tres 8 oe Se a oe De 4 
Class 2. Wire-cured 228252) 222 See, Ge pe Se ee ee 4 
Class 33 Alrscured 2a 2 es A oo alee ey ee ees Hee he ga EX. 5 
Cigar types: : 
Class°47 "Cigar: filler coset 2 oo ee re 5 
Class~5. “Cigar bind ers2.3 se Se a a ee 6 
Class 6. Cigar wrapper-___------ nf OU OE NE la cay gan ne ee 2 
1 This includes type 46, produced in Puerto Rico (6). 
In addition, two small types are classified as miscellaneous— 
Perique, grown in Louisiana, and Eastern Ohio Export. 
The classes and types are here treated in the order shown. 
FLuE-CuRED 
Flue-cured tobacco is produced in Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and, to a small extent, in Alabama. The 
territory is divided into two general districts commonly referred to 
as Old Belt and New Belt, corresponding roughly to the physio- 
graphic provinces known as the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal 
Plain. Old Belt tobacco, type 11, is produced on the loam and sandy 
loam soils of the Piedmont, derived from the underlying granite, 
gneiss, slate, etc., and underlain usually with heavy clay subsoils. 
Types 12, 13, and 14, comprising the New Belt group, are grown on 
the more sandy and gravelly soils of marine origin in the Coastal 
Plain. The tobacco trade recognizes a third division known as the 
Middle Belt, consisting of a rather narrow strip of country in North 
Carolina and Virginia along the fall line which divides the Piedmont 
and Coastal Plain provinces. In this strip, where overlapping has 
brought about commingling of the classes of soils which distinguish 
these two provinces, the tobacco takes on some of the characteristics 
of both the Old Belt and the New Belt. 
Type 12, Eastern Carolina tobacco, is produced in a portion of North 
Carolina lying east of the fall lime and belonging to the Coastal Plain. 
Type 13, South Carolina tobacco, is produced in the State of that 
name and in.a small adjoining district of southeastern North Caro- 
lina. Type 14 is produced mostly in the southern part of Georgia, 
a few million pounds being produced in northern Florida and a small 
quantity in Alabama. | 
The New Belt group, types 12 to 14, differs markedly from the Old 
Belt tobacco, type 11, the latter being generally heavier in body and 
darker in color. Differences between types within the New Belt group 
may be traced primarily to variations in soil. Figure 1 shows the 
characteristic appearance of flue-cured tobacco when fully developed. 
Nearly all flue-cured tobacco is primed, as opposed to stalk-cut, 
although in portions of the Old Belt stalk cutting is still practiced. 
In priming, the leaves are removed as they reach the desired stage of 
maturity beginning with those at the bottom. A low, four-wheeled 
cart or a narrow sled bearing a bin of burlap, supported by a light 
wooden framework (fig. 2) is drawn between the rows of tobacco and 
