Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1888-10-20
How to Cure Tobacco.


When my tobacco is hung in my
barn, it is no better than hundreds of
other tobacco-growers' in this county
at that stage, but l sell my crop from
four to six dollars per hundred higher
than they do. Why is this SOP Be-
cause one is cured and handled as it
should be, while the others have not
been. / have a barn eighteen feet
high; don't crowd my tobacco on the
sticks, nor do / crowd the sticks. I
want room for the hot air to pass up
through the tobacco. Barns should be
built tight except at the top, where
there should be plenty of ventilation,
so that the damp air can pass out as
the hot, dry air pushes it up, and there
should be some ventilation on the
ground, to be partially closed in high
winds.
When my tobacco ripens fast and
pushes me, Iuse scaffolds to gain time,
but l prefer to house it as I cut, if I
can, as don't like sun-burnt tobacco.
If my tobacco has been on the scaffold
for two or three days, when hung in
the barn it will be ready for slow fires,
but when hung in the house from the
field, it should have few days to yell
low Then slow fires commence in
either case. Before this year l had al
ways fired with open fires; this year I
used no open fires, curing my crop
from the start with curers. My aim
was to furnish the same heat at the
different stages as l had done here
tofore with open fires. The curers
worked admirably in furnishing
a slow and steady heat with
out any attention except to fill
with wood and cut the draft down.
Then l went out to work. l increase
my heat as soon as tobacco is yellow
enough to stand hot fire without in.
Turing. At this stage / want heat
enough to prevent house-burn and nc
more, if | can tell what that is, and
think | can if the tobacco is hung SC
the heat can pass up without hindrance
One hundred and forty degrees will be
ample for the first twenty hours, the
next twelve hours twenty degrees less
and as the danger of house-burn be
comes less decrease the heat. In TIVE
and a half or three days the leaf will b.
I 30 1raT
stop firing; If wet, dry half the
stem before the fires are drawn
When the leaf comes in cast
let it remain in that condition
about two days; then | fire up tbs
furnaces with a slow fire and run then
two TO three weeks, until the stem an(
stalk are cured up. During this tim,
/ only saw the curers morning, nooI
and night, when | wooded up, and
don't think that | ever had as finely
cured tobacco as have this year, ant
know / cured it with less than hal
the labor and no uneasiness about fire
You see that my aim is to give tn,
stalk all the chances possible to feet
the leaf. The stalk is feeding the lea
under the slow fire at the start, AMI
keeps it up until the leaf gets dry unde
the hot fire. When the fire is draw
the stalk brings the leaf in case AM
continues to feed it, both in qualit,
and weight, while the slow fires arr
preventing the evaporation from tn
leaf, as would be the case when at
cured. and slowly brings the curing Il
close. Why Is a leaf Of tobacco
broken from the stalk when cured
chaffyP Because it had no stalk TO fee
it.
Crowd a barn full Of tobacco, jam th
sticks close together, and then it vii
require a big heat to save it. All small