Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/812

 782 TOBACCO apart that the loaves will not touch. A very common way of hanging is on laths ; these are 4 ft. long, l| in. wide, and f in. thick; an iron spear about 8 in. long, with a socket to fit upon the lath, is placed upon one end, and by its means the tobacco is strung upon the lath, the spear passing through the stalk near its larger end ; this work is done in the field, and the laths with their load are hung upon rails in the barn. Besides these methods of hanging there are sev- eral patented contrivances intended to facilitate the work and at the same time keep the plants far enough apart. During the drying close at- tention must be paid to ventilation ; as the leaves dry they must not be broken by the wind ; if hung too close, the tobacco will "pole burn;" if it does not dry quickly enough, the green leaves may freeze and be spoiled ; fire heat is often used, which improves the color, but is objected to by some as injuring the flavor ; it ordinarily takes about 12 weeks to cure. When quite cured, the tobacco is stripped ; the house is opened in a damp time, and when the leaves have absorbed so much moisture from the air that they will not break, the tobacco is taken from the poles and put in piles, where it will re- main pliant for a week. In stripping, the leaves are at the same time assorted, four qualities being usually made. The first stripper takes a stalk and picks off all the defective leaves near the base, and throws it to the next ; the second stripper removes all of the next qual- ity, and so on ; the leaves are kept even and smooth, and when the stripper gets enough for a " hand," which is 3 or 4 oz., he binds them together into a bunch by means of another leaf. Up to this stage the to- bacco is simply the dried leaves, without the aroma and other qualities for which it is esteemed ; these are developed only after it has undergone a fermentation or is " con- ditioned," to effect which the leaves are " bulked." The merchants who pur- chase the tobacco fre- quently prefer to "con- dition " it in their own warehouses ; when this is the case, the hands are simply baled for trans- portation. " Bulking " consists in stacking the tobacco in a compact heap, the buts of the hands laid outward, the leaves being care- fully smoothed as they are placed down; in a rude way the bulk is made on a platform of boards raised above the ground sufficiently to allow of a circulation of air beneath ; when the pile is 3 or 4 ft. high, planks and weights are placed upon it, and it is covered if need be with blankets. In this state it remains until Hand of Tobacco. the color, flavor, and other qualities are prop- erly developed, which requires from four to six weeks. Bulking being the finishing pro- cess, the quality of the crop depends upon its proper management, and it requires frequent attention. Tobacco is sent to market in boxes containing about 400 Ibs., or in casks holding 1,300 to 1,500 Ibs. ; in packing in casks the buts of the hands are laid toward the outside and trodden down by the bare feet of the packer ; when about 100 Ibs. are thus packed, pressure by means of a screw or a powerful lever is applied, after which more tobacco is placed in, pressed again, and so on till the cask is full. The yield of marketable tobacco to the acre depends upon numerous contingencies; but the average is not far from 600 Ibs., while some growers harvest 1,000 Ibs. annually, and this is exceeded in particular cases. Tobacco growers are very careful in the matter of seed ; the tendency of the plant to vary has already been noticed^ and it is the custom of some growers to save a large supply of seed from a desirable crop, as when well kept it remains good for six to ten years. The various kinds of foreign tobacco are known by the names of the countries producing them, or the ports whence they are shipped, such as Havana, Ori- noco, Turkey, Latakia, Shiraz, &c. ; that grown in this country bears the name of the state or some particular locality, while the product of the Connecticut valley and some other locali- ties bears the unmeaning name of " seed leaf." Virginia tobacco is one of the strongest kinds, not fitted for cigars, but is made into various shapes for pipes, and for chewing, and used for snuff ; Maryland is paler and weaker, and used for pipes ; Kentucky is intermediate be- tween the two, and in this as with the Missouri there is much variety ; the Florida is now be- coming known as a fine tobacco, and used for cigars ; the best of the northern kinds for making cigar wrappers is the Connecticut, and those from New York, Ohio, and other north- ern states are valued in proportion as they approach this in texture, as for this use strength or flavor is not required ; the body of the cigar being made of Havana, a leaf that has an at- tractive color and silky feel is sought for. (See CIGAR.) The Turkish and other kinds from the East are only used cut fine for pipes, or granu- lated for cigarettes. Manila tobacco is im- ported only in the form of peculiar conical cigars called cheroots. Very fine tobacco is produced in Paraguay, and small quantities have been imported. In whatever manner the tobacco may be manufactured (except for snuff), the first step is to "strip" it. The hands, being moistened to prevent breaking, are untied, and the strong midrib of the leaf is removed ; this work is done by women and children ; the upper surfaces of the leaf are folded together lengthwise, and the midrib dexterously separated by a pull ; the " stems," as the midribs are called, are used in the poorer kinds of cut tobacco and snuff, but are nearly