thus stripping or shredding the leaf tissue from the stem. This is blown or 
pulled out by air currents through a duct in the top of the separator, and the 
stems, being heavier, fall onto a conveyor belt at the bottom. These stems 
usually pass through 2 or 3 more smaller separators to remove any small bits 
of leaf that may still remain attached to the stem. These 'strips'' from the 
threshed part of the leaf are then combined with the tip ends which were re- 
moved at the beginning of the stemming operation. 
Most tobacco was formerly stemmed by a method known as "tipping and 
stripping," but this process is rapidly diminishing in importance. In this 
method, after the leaf is "tipped'' and the bundle broken, a device on the 
chain conveyor picks up the butt ends of the stem and pulls each leaf through 
a claw-like mechanism that strips off the leaf tissue. The stems are then 
usually put through thresher separators to remove any remaining small parti- 
cles of leaf. 
After the stemming process has been completed, the "strips'' are redried 
in the same manner as unstemmed leaf, except that they move through the redry- 
ing machine on a conveyor belt. 
Methods of preparation for storage other than redrying are practiced in 
the Kentucky and Tennessee fire-cured district, and in Maryland. Kentucky and 
Tennessee fire-cured tobacco purchased by snuff companies is packed directly 
into the hogsheads as it comes from the warehouse floors, without any further 
drying. Although the trend is toward redrying by other purchasers in this 
area, some is still handled by the old method of hanging and bulking for a 
short period before packing in the hogsheads. In the Virginia fire-cured dis- 
trict, some tobacco is still hung in racks for natural air drying for a period 
of several months before packing into hogsheads. In Maryland, tobacco is mar- 
keted in a very dry state by the growers, and it will keep, when packed in the 
hogsheads, without further drying. However, some companies do redry their 
purchases to insure the more uniform distribution of moisture that will result 
in better aging of the tobacco. 
Storage. The packed hogsheads of tobacco are moved from the redrying and 
packing plants to the storage warehouses of the various companies. Most of 
these warehouses are one story high, with a steel or wood framework and metal 
siding and roofing. The sides are flared outward within 4 or 5 feet of the 
ground, and in the offset thus formed, heavy screen wire is placed for venti- 
lation. The warehouse usually has a concrete driveway running lengthwise 
through the center for convenience in moving the hogsheads into place. They 
are stacked in tiers three or four high on their sides. 
Within the storage warehouses, during the fermentation process, tobacco 
passes through a series of "sweats," and undergoes chemical changes similar to 
those that take place in any closely packed, moist vegetable matter. "Sweat" 
is a term used for the natural fermentation process of tobacco, during which 
chemical changes that take place give it a sweeter, mellower flavor. The tem 
perature rises in the closely packed, moist tobacco, and certain volatile 
products are thrown off. The reduction of nicotine in fermentation has an im- 
portant relationship to the smoking quality of the tobacco, that is, its free- 
dom from pungent, biting, unpleasant taste and aroma. The tobacco appears to 
he 
