Cigar wrapper leaves are strung onto 4 1/2-foot sticks by attaching the 
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 fastening it at the other end. In the Puerto 
Rican type, the string is sewed through the butt of each leaf (about 40 to 50 
leaves to a string) and tied to the tier poles. No sticks are used. 
(2) Stalk-cutting. Burley, Maryland, and fire- and dark air-cured, and 
most cigar leaf tobaccos are harvested by the stalk-cutting method (fig. 14). 
(In some areas, particularly burley, farmers may prime the matured lower 
leaves, so that the 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, knife, or long-handled shears. Usually all plants in the field 
are harvested at the same time, but occasionally some less mature areas may be 
left and cut later. After the stalks are cut, they are generally speared onto 
sticks--4% feet long (5 or 6 plants to the stick), and then left in the field 
a day or so and allowed to wilt, so they will not break in handling (fig. 15). 
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 between 
the plants (or leaves) for proper circulation of air. The tobacco is now ready 
for hanging between the tier poles 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 into 
the curing barn, usually contains about 80 percent of water, which is reduced 
to 20 or 25 percent in curing. Therefore, about 5,000 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 
Methods of curing tobacco differ greatly among the various kinds. There 
are three essentially different ways of curing: 
(1) air-curing, in which the tobacco is primarily cured under 
natural weather conditions, but fuel may be used to some extent; 
(2) £flue-curing, in which the tobacco is cured at elevated 
temperatures, but must not be subjecicd 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. 
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