how xi t, 5 
eet aed NI or tin: 
No. 16 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. exgine Chief. 
October 22, 1913. : 
THE CULTURE OF FLUE-CURED TOBACCO. 
By HE. H. MATHEWSON, 
Crop Technologist, Tobacco and Plant-Nutrition Investigations. 
INTRODUCTION. 
In its origin the flue-cured type of tobacco is associated closely with 
the old Virginia dark type and is really an offshoot from the latter, 
dependent primarily upon soil modification. Later the type was 
further modified and differentiated by cultural adaptations prompted 
by trade preferences. As the cultivation of tobacco in Virginia was 
pushed back to the lighter sandy lands of what is now the southern 
tier of counties of that State and the adjoining counties of North 
Carolina, the character of the tobacco produced was naturally some- 
what changed. It was milder and generally lighter in color and be- 
came popular for home consumption, particularly as a chewing to- 
bacco. It was preferred also by a certain class of the export trade, 
particularly in France, where the milder, lighter tobaccos were more 
popular. The dark Virginia tobacco was cured by means of open fires 
and smoke, which gave it a smoky, creosotic odor and flavor, This 
smoky flavor was objectionable to the trade desiring the milder to- 
bacco, and the use of open fires in curing was limited as much as pos- 
sible, and much of the product was merely air cured, fires being used 
only when necessary to protect it from damage in damp, muggy 
weather. Charcoal was often substituted for wood in order to keep 
down the odor of smoke. ‘The use of charcoal grew to be the regular 
practice until, in turn, it was superseded by the use of flues, which 
came into use soon after the close of the Civil War. At first these 
flues were constructed of rock, but later they were made of sheet iron, 
as is the almost universal practice to-day. The use of flues still 
further did away with any tendency to smokiness and gave more 
uniformly satisfactory results in obtaining lighter and more uniform 
colors, as well as greater convenience in tending the fires. 
6907 °—Bull. 16—183——1 
