Flue-cured leaves are either attached to wooden sticks for conventional 

 curing barns or placed in metal racks for the newer type of bulk curing barns. 

 String is used to secure the leaves onto 4-1/2 foot wooden sticks. This is 

 still largely done by hand but mechanical stitching machines are rapidly 

 assuming this task. (fig. 11). 



Cigar wrapper leaves must be handled with care. They are strung onto 

 4-1/2 foot sticks by attaching a string at one end and running a threaded 

 needle through the base of the leaves (arranged in pairs, back to back and 

 front to front) for the length of the stick (about 15 to 22 pairs) » and fas- 

 tening it at the other end. In the Puerto Rican type, no sticks are used. 

 The string is sewn through the butt of each leaf (about 40 to 50 leaves to a 

 string) and tied to the tier poles. 



(2) Stalk-cutting . Burley, Maryland, and fire- and dark air-cured, and 

 most cigar leaf tobaccos are harvested by the stalk-cutting method. (fig. ). 

 (In some areas, particularly burley, farmers may prime the matured lower 

 leaves, so that cutting of the stalks may be delayed until the plant is fully 

 mature.) The entire stalk is cut close to the ground with a special type of 

 hatchet resembling a tomahawk. Usually all plants in the field are harvested 

 at the same time, but some less mature areas may be left and cut later. After 

 being cut, the stalks are speared onto sticks--4-l/2 feet long (5 or 6 plants 

 to the stick), and left in the field a day or so and allowed to wilt, so they 

 will lose water and not break in handling (fig. 13 ). 



The density of the tobacco on the sticks (or the string, in the case of 

 Puerto Rican) is an important factor in the curing process, as satisfactory 

 curing is made difficult by crowding. Care is taken that space is left be- 

 tween the plants (or leaves) for proper circulation of air. The tobacco is 

 now ready for hanging in the curing barns. 



Along with chemical changes that take place during the curing process, 

 there is also a loss in weight from evaporation of a large quantity of the 

 water contained in the leaf when it is harvested. Fresh leaf, as it goes in- 

 to the curing barn, usually contains about 85 percent water, which is reduced 

 to about 15 percent in curing. Therefore, about 5,666 pounds of green leaf 

 will be required to yield 1,000 pounds of cured leaf, and two tons of water 

 will be lost in the curing process. 



CURING 



There are three basic methods of curing tobacco: 



(1) air-curing , in which the tobacco is primarily cured under 

 natural weather conditions, but heat may be used to some extent; 



(2) flue-curing , in which the tobacco is cured by heated air 

 at gradually increasing temperatures, but must not be subjected to 

 smoke or odors; 



(3) fire-curing , in which the tobacco is mostly cured with 

 wood fires and the smoke comes in contact with the leaf. 



18 



