THE DARK-FIRED TYPE OF TOBACCO. 33 
THE DARK-FIRED TYPE OF TOBACCO. 
The dark-fired type of tobacco was produced extensively for export 
purposes in Virginia in the early days. It has continued to the 
present time to be the type chiefly grown for this purpose and, 
indeed, by far the larger portion of this type now produced is exported 
and, conversely speaking, it forms the major portion of our tobacco _ 
exports. /The soils upon which these dark-fired types of tobacco 
(are produced vary considerably in character, but they are all of a 
class generally spoken of as strong, durable soils rather than light 
and leachy, running more to clay than to sand. In every case they 
are underlain by the strong, rich, clay subsoils, generally red in color, 
which are so common over the uplands of middle Virginia and west- / 
ern Kentucky, In harvesting, the entire plant 1s cut after splitting 
the stalk downward to within a few inches of the point of cutting off. 
The stalk is then inverted and straddled over the stick to hang for 
curing, rather than being speared on as is the practice with some 
other types, notably the cigar types and the Maryland type 
DOMESTIC DEMANDS. 
No extensive domestic taste has been developed for this strong, 
smoky-flavored type of tobacco. As a whole, the production or 
demand for this type has not developed much in recent years, and 
the maximum production was reached approximately in the fifties 
and seventies of the last century. In several of the European coun- 
tries and in Great Britain, however, the taste for this class of tobacco 
is well established and the yearly demand in this country for export 
purposes is substantial and fairly steady. 
A considerable quantity of the aggregate annually finds its way 
into domestic consumption, principally in the form of snuff. Some 
wrappers for domestic plug are also obtained from this type and a 
small amount of low-grade so-called Greenville plug, manufactured 
for domestic use, is made partly or entirely from this type. Origi- 
nally this type of plug was manufactured almost exclusively in 
Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., Ky., from which town it took its name. 
The tobacco of that section was less heavily fired than in some 
others, and three or four factories (large for the old days) were 
devoted to this industry. These factories are now mostly dismantled, 
and what little Greenville is still put up is mostly manufactured 
elsewhere. 
Definite figures are not available, but for all purposes it is probable 
that some 30,000,000 to 35,000,000 pounds of this dark-fired type 
of tobacco finds its way into domestic consumption yearly. 
Snuff is by far the most important item in this domestic consump- 
tion, and extensive leaf-handling plants are centralized for the 
45801°—Bul. 244—12——3 
