Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1879-08-29
How Tobacco is Manufactured in Staunton

How Tobacco is Manufactured in Stauntor
At the northern terminus of Levi
street stands large factory which it ]
likely is but the germ from which grea
manufacturing interest in Staunton viii
spring. Scattered through the yard ar
hogsheads, hanging along the porch ar
leaves Of tobacco straddling a stick, ant
from within come the song of the coloret
workmen, all indicating that very
unusual industry for this locality, a tobac
co factory. It was started by Mr.. John B
Evans thirteen years ago, and the work
has steadily grown until now it gives EN-
ment to sixty or seventy persons. In going
through it the visitor, can have the
mode of working tobacco, which to him
will be quite novel, explained by the Su-
perintendent, Mr.. David Fl. Evans, a
brother IF the proprietor.
The tobacco, of which more than one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds is used
in the working season, which extends from
April to November, is pure hased chiefly at
South Boston, in Halifax county, Lynch
burg and Danville, and the boxes which
are made of sycamore are manufactured
in Richmond. Speaking of the tobacco
grown in Augusta and vicinity, Mr.. Evans
said it was not suited for their use being
too coarse and heavy. and better suited for
shipping abroad where it finds ready sale.
In section of Rockbridge, in the noun
tain land to the left of Midway some to-
bacco is grown which is fine enough for
manufacture, but such a quality is never
met with after you leave the mountain
land. at this factory some ten or twelve
brands of chewing tobacco are manufac-
tured for buyers in six States, West Vir-
ginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia. Mary
land and Pennsylvania, and in che season,
when work is not going on Mr.. David
Evans travels and takes orders for future
filing.
doubtless new to the people of this nom
tobacco growing section. After being
taken from the hogshead the leaves are
hung out and thoroughly dried. After
this they Iare spread out and liquorice
poured on them. Then there is ma
chine consisting Of two rollers through
which they are run which presses out
the superfuous icorice water. From
there they go to long room, where stands
long lines of stools, like vegetable stands,
and on one side are row of boys, while on
the other are arranged the experienced
twlsters. The boy strips the stem from
the leaf, and the twister deftly rolls it into
various shapes. In less time than we are
writing it several leaves of dark. damp,
shapeless tobacco were conve4 Jed into a
neat, bright-wrappere twist. From there
the twists are conveyed in boxes to by
draulic press, costing $500, where the
pressure is put on, and the twists are
pressed into one-sixth Of the size they
were. Their next trip is to the
tobacco box, and then to the purchaser.
A large steam boiler, reaching from the
floor to the ceiling, heats the drying
room, the thermometer there when we
looked IN being 1880, boils the licorice,
and heats several hundred feet of steam
pipe.
Mr.. Evans says they have no trouble in
getting workmen. A twister can make
from s12 to SIS per week, out of which he
pays his steamers, who make from Is
cents to dollar week. The hands look
ed to be of very respectable class of col
ored men. The force employed at this sea-
son is larger than that engaged last season,
and should continue to grow, for there
can be no reason why tobacco cannot be
to better advantage here
than in larger cities where the expenses
of making itaare much greater. ]