, 1888-06-02
THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY.
Taking the Leaf to Mnrket-Ths Process
of Curing the Weed.


Taking the Leaf to Mnrket-The Process
of Curing the Weed
There is no happier being on earth than
the negro farmer riding into a southern
town behind a half starved steer, with a
load Of tobacco in his prairie schooner.
1t represents the product of a small patch
In a favored part Of his farm, but it may
bring him 81, 900 or more.
At one Of the sales at Durham, the
busy little town in the center of the
bright yellow North Carolina tobacco
belt, or the Golden belt, as they call it,
a gray haired old colored man stood
watching the crowd of buyers as they
bid against each other on the piles that
represented his crop. AS the amount
rose higher and higher his eyes grew
larger and larger, his limbs shook, and
he changed his quid of tobacco from side
to side so quickly that he didn't have a
chance to chew it. When the price
reached 81, 300 he could no longer con-
tain himself, but shouted: stop right
there, gemmans; OATS eloughl Dis
nigga can't stand no more. Never had
80 much money in all my born days."
And he might well be surprised, for his
old steer had drawn it all to the sales
warehouse at one load.
These tobacco auctions are lively spec
tacles. In one of the largest warehouses
in Durham as many as 1000 piles of to-
bacco are laid out at one sale. The auc-
tioneer steps from pile to pile as he sells,
the buyers following him. He never
says n word about the quality of the leaf,
but simply rattles of the figures, never
stopping till the pile is knocked down.
The buyers know the quality as soon as
their eyes rest o. it. Occasionally they
will run their hands into a pile, select a
bunch and feel of it, but usually pile
after pile is gold without n person touch
ing it. The rapidity of the selling Is re-
markable, The bids run right along,
n bidder knowing just what he is
doing. These bidders are the most ex-
pert men in the business and represent
houses in the surrounding section and
distant manufacturers and dealers. The
New York ard all the foreign markets
are represented at all the tobacco sales in
Durham. N. c., and Lynchburg and
Danville, Va.
The North Carolina bright yellow to-
bacco industry has proved a mine of
wealth to the planters. When Sherman's
army stopped neal Durham the boys got
some of the tobacco to smoke in their
pipes. They were so delighted with it
that when they reached their homes they
sent for more. The tobacco thus got the
best kind of advertising.
The crop is a troublesome one to ban
die, There are three kinds of worms that
like to feed upon it; of these the horn
worm likes the plant so well that it has
to be picked off by hand, and the field
hands go searching for it by lantern light
Mt night. Then the matter of curing the
leaf is a very delicate one. A whole crop
may be spoiled altogether or precipitated
several grades lower in the scale by a
little carelessness or unskillfulness in reg
ulating the heat. The barns are usually
seventeen and a half feet square, Just
holding 400 sticks. The heat is raised
from the following heat at the rate of .
dogs. every W. hours. When the heat
reaches 1856 dogs. it is kept there twelve
hours. 1t Is then raised 5 dogs. every
hour and a half until it gets to $50 degs.,
which cures both stem and stalk in a
short time.
Kentucky, with her III, 600, 900 pounds
of tobacco, equals the next four highest
states. Leaving out Virginia's 10, 00O,-
900 pounds, Kentucky's product equals
those of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee,
North Carolina, Maryland, Connecticut
and Missouri, which are the principal to-
bacco states, although New York looms
up with the respectable product of 0,4S1,-
431, Massachusetts &, 369,43 Indiana
s,672, $40 and Illinois $685., S25 pounds
New York Press.