In 1585 the English navigator Sir Francis Drake took it to England, and the practice of pipe smoking was introduced among the Elizabethan courtiers by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh. Tobacco use quickly spread throughout Europe and Russia, and by the 17th century it reached Asia, and Africa. Seedlings of special strains such as those producing Maryland or burley for cigarettes, or filler, binder, and wrapper for cigars are transplanted from cold frames to fields, each calling for special fertilizer and moisture requirements. To produce the large, thin leaves for cigar wrappers, great canopies of cheesecloth are erected over fields. To concentrate growth into the leaves of large-leafed strains, the plant crowns are topped before flowering.
Leaves are frequently hand-harvested in stages as they mature on the plant stem.
The leaves are hung in barns and cured by air, fire, or heat so that each tobacco type wilts, colors, and dries to impart a desired flavor. Air curing, used for many American cigarette and cigar tobaccos, takes six to eight weeks. After curing, the leaves are graded, often according to position on the plant, color, size, and other qualities before being baled and taken to tobacco warehouses for auctioning. They are classified as Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica. At Tabacalera Nacional de Puerto Rico , you'll discover an easy to use, information packed web site.