THE CULTURE OF FLUE-CURED TOBACCO. 3 
unfavorable weather conditions, and prices for the brighter types 
of leaf again became very high, foreshadowing a greatly increased 
interest and expansion of acreage, more especially in the New Belt 
section, where the acreage and production fluctuate much more 
widely than in the Old Belt because of the opportunity for shifting 
between cotton and tobacco as conditions seem to warrant. 
At the present time, the normal annual production of flue-cured 
tobacco on a farm-weight basis is estimated to be about 215,000,000 
pounds. Of this total about 120,000,000 pounds is produced in the 
Old Belt section and 95,000,000 pounds in the New Belt.t. The aver- 
age annual production of tobacco in the United States is now close 
to 1,000,000,000 pounds, of which the flue-cured type is approximately 
one-fifth. White Burley is the only other type that has had such a 
rapid expansion in production and popularity in so limited a period 
of years. As in the case of Burley, the rapid development of flue- 
cured tobacco is undoubtedly founded largely on its adaptability for 
meeting the popular demand for lhght, mild tobacco in the different 
forms in which it is consumed. 
All things considered, this flue-cured type of tobacco is unsurpassed in uni- 
versal popularity and general adaptability to a variety of uses, including granu- 
lated and cut smoking tobacco, both paper and all-tobacco cigarettes, and plug 
filler and wrapper; in fact, it is adapted to all the regular forms in which 
tobacco is used except standard cigars and snuff. In color and general appear- 
ance it is very attractive, while its low nicotine content, mildness, aromatic 
sweetness, fragrance, and good keeping qualities render it very satisfying to 
the user. 
It may also be noted that this type is the only one that has had any 
decided tendency to expand our exports in recent years. Of the total 
quantity of flue-cured tobacco produced, about 40 per cent, or around 
90,000,000 pounds, is exported, and the remainder is used in domestic 
consumption. 
SOILS OF THE FLUE-CURED DISTRICT. 
Speaking broadly, the current trade differentiations of the flue- 
cured producing area into the Old Belt and the New Belt sections 
indicate also a fairly well-defined modification in the character of 
the tobacco produced in these two sections. The best tobacco soils of 
both the Old Belt and the New Belt are all light and sandy, but 
those of the New Belt, in the Coastal Plain, are lighter and more 
sandy as a class than are those of the Old Belt in the Piedmont sec- 
tion, and these soils, and especially the subsoils, become progressively 
1 Hor additional information concerning the general features of the flue-cured type, 
including a list of the counties producing flue-cured tobacco, with the estimated average 
quantity of tobacco preduced in each, see Bulletin 244, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
2U, S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin 244, p. 70, i912. 
