Figure 1 6. --Maryland curing barn. 



The air-curing of primed shade-grown cigar wrapper and Puerto Rican fill- 

 er usually takes from 4 to 6 weeks. Supplementary heat is almost always used 

 in curing shade tobacco, essentially to protect the product, and to maintain 

 the temperature at a favorable level rather than to elevate it. A small amount 

 of cigar wrapper is put through a rapid cure under high heat to produce a leaf 

 of greenish color. This is known as fire-cured or candela-cured leaf. 



When fully cured, the leaf is too dry and brittle to be handled without 

 serious damage. However, tobacco leaves easily absorb moisture from the air 

 and will readily absorb 20 percent or more under warm, humid conditions. 

 Therefore, the tobacco is not taken down from the tiers until after damp wea- 

 ther has made the leaves soft or pliable enough to be handled without breaking 

 Such weather is often spoken of as a "tobacco season," and the leaf in this 

 condition is said to be "in case" or "in order." 



In the case of stalk-cut tobacco, as the plants are taken from the sticks 

 they are usually arranged in piles or "bulks" in such a way that the tobacco 

 will not dry out for several days. The leaves are stripped from the stalks as 

 soon as possible. 



In the auction market areas, as the leaves are removed from the stalks 

 they are sorted into several grades, according to stalk position, quality, 

 color, and size and tied into "hands." The tobacco is then bulked down until 

 time for delivery to the auction market. 



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