20 



resting- ou the hot or wet tobacco. This is coutinued the entire length 

 of the bulk. Then reverse the order, allowing the heads of the hands 

 to point up, dropping each layer back so that about 5 inches of the 

 head will show. This is coutinued until the fall length of the bulk has 

 been covered, leaving nothing exposed on the top but the heads of the 

 hands, all tips and bodies of the leaves being in the center. Put on 

 another thick layer of wet tobacco and the strix) of paper, and bulk 

 again as before. Continue this until the bulk reaches the height of 

 5 or 6 feet; then cover well with low-grade stuff and allow the bulk 

 to remain five or six days, by which time the dry tobacco will have 

 taken up sufficient moisture and heat from the wet tobacco to be ready 

 for the assorters. In this way the possibility of water stains is avoided 

 and the tobacco comes out soft and clean. 



Proceed to assort in the following grades, making four sizes each : 

 Light plain wrappers, light spotted wrappers, medium -colored plain 

 wrappers, medium-colored spotted wrappers, dark plain wrappers, and 

 dark spotted wrapi)ers. Make the same number of grades in seconds. 

 The seconds are leaves slightly broken and uneven in color. Thus we 

 have twelve assortments of wrappers of four sizes each; in all, forty- 

 eight grades. As in the handling of Cuban tobacco, there should be an 

 inspector for each of these assortments, who will take great care that a 

 proper assortment is made. The tobacco is then given to the foreman 

 of the tiers, who has it tied in hands, putting thirty-five to forty leaves 

 in each hand. It is again put in bulk, packing fan shaped — that is, the 

 leaves when tied are folded once and the hand is carefully flattened. 

 The bulks are narrow and so arranged that the tobacco will slowly age 

 and dry out. When sufficiently dry, it is j^acked in matting just as is 

 done in Sumatra. After finishing the wrapper grade take up the filler 

 portion, giving it the same treatment as is given the Cuban tobacco, 

 putting the sound leaves in carrots and stemming the lower grade for 

 "book d fillers." With this the work of the packer ends and the work 

 of the salesman is in order (PI. YIII, fig. 2). 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY IN FLORIDA. 



The cultivation of tobacco in Florida is not a new industry, but an 

 old one revived. Far back in the forties and fifties Gadsden County 

 became famous for the fine wrapper leaf i^roduced there. The industry 

 thrived until the civil war, but from that time until 1888 the production 

 of tobacco in Florida was so small that it attracted but little attention. 

 In 1880 only about 90 acres were grown in the State; in 1890 the acre- 

 age had increased to more than 1,000 acres; and in 1898 there were at 

 least 8,000 acres, giving a yield of 4,000,000 pounds. After the close of 

 the war a few farmers continued to grow tobacco in a very small way, 

 and they would often accumulate three or four crops before finding a 

 buyer, and even then the price would be low. The farmers became 



