Class 2 - Fire-cured is medium to heavy in body, light to dark brown in 

 color, and strong in flavor. It is so-called because of the smoky flavor and 

 aroma it receives from "firing" it over open fires in the curing barns. It is 

 used for making snuff, roll and plug chewing tobacco, strong cigars, and heavy 

 smoking tobacco. Production currently amounts to around 40 million pounds an- 

 nually, over half of which is exported. 



Figure 2. --Kentucky-Tennessee Fire-cured plant. Fire-cured is also 

 grown in Virginia. 



Class 3 - Air-cured is so-called because it is cured under natural atmos- 

 pheric conditions, usually without the use of supplementary heat, except to 

 prevent pole-rot, house-burn or barn-burn in damp weather. 



(a) Light air-cured is normally very thin to medium in body, light 

 tan shaded toward red to reddish brown in color, mild in flavor, and is used 

 chiefly in making cigarettes. It is usually combined with flue-cured and 

 small quantities of imported or "Turkish" tobacco to form the blends for ciga- 

 rette manufacture. Each of the two types, burley and Maryland, has special 

 characteristics. 



(See following page for descriptions of burley and Maryland.) 



(b) Dark air cured is medium to heavy-bodied and ranges from light 

 to medium brown in color. It is used in the manufacture of the same products 

 as the fire-cured types--mainly for chewing tobacco and snuff, but also to 

 some extent for smoking tobacco and cigars. Annual production is decreasing, 

 and now amounts to 16 to 18 million pounds. Exports are about 5 million 

 pounds a year. 



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