Stalk-cut cigar tobaccos are packed in farm bales or bundles as_ the 
leaves are stripped. Most cigar tobacco is now sold unsorted, except that 
very inferior qualities are thrown out as the leaves are stripped from the 
stalk. Specially constructed box presses are used for packing. After placing 
four heavy strings in the box, it is lined with heavy manila paper which is 
used to wrap the bundle. The leaves are laid with the tips overlapping, and 
the butts of the leaves to the outside of the bundles on each end. The leaves 
are not tied in "hands" by the growers, as in the auction market areas (except 
some of the Pennsylvania type). When the box is full, the tobacco leaves are 
pressed down, the paper folded over, and the strings tied. The tobacco is 
ready for delivery to a buyer. The weight of a farm bale usually ranges from 
30 to 50 pounds. 
After the primed shade-grown tobacco is completely cured, the sticks of 
leaves are taken down and placed in temporary bulks with the sticks to the 
outside. The tobacco is then removed from the sticks by detaching the string 
at each end and tying the ends together to form a hand. The hands are packed 
in wooden boxes for delivery to the packing house. After curing, the primed 
Puerto Rican tobacco is prepared for delivery by detaching the strings from 
the tier poles and tying them together around the rolled up leaves to form 
hands. 
Flue-curing (flue-cured types) 
Type of barn. Barns used in curing flue-cured tobacco are small and sim 
ply built (figs. 21 and 22). They are usually square, with inside measure- 
ments 16, 20, or 24 feet, and contain 4 to 6 sets of tier poles about 4 feet 
apart. The inside dimensions of the barn are usually some multiple of 4 feet, 
as this is the normal distance between the tier poles on which the sticks are 
hung. Flue-curing barns are insulated and means of ventilation is provided at 
the top and around the bottom. 
Generally, flue-curing barns are heated by sheet iron flues, extending 
around the floor of the barn (fig. 23). The flue finally passes out through 
the wall and is fitted with a smokestack to discharge the fuel gasses and in- 
crease the draught. Formerly, these flues led from wood-fired furnaces of 
stone or brick built partly outside the barn at the ground level. Wood was 
practically always used as fuel in the furnaces, because it was usually avail- 
able on the farm. More recently, however, fuel oil and gas have become widely 
used as fuel, because of the scarcity of wood and the saving in labor. Also, 
more uniform curing conditions are possible with these types of fuel. 
Open oil and gas burners within the barns have also come into rather 
widespread use. With this type of burner no flues are required. When they 
are used, special care in their operation and maintenance is necessary, in 
order to insure proper burning of the fuel. Smoking or improperly operating 
burners may result in contamination of the tobacco and make it unsuitable for 
the usual manufacturing purposes. 
234-028 O - 66-4 ot 23 SE 
