The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-09-04
ABOUT CURING TOBACCO.
SOME PERTINENT FACTS PRE-
SENTED BY AN EXPERT.

| SUME PERTINENT FACTS PRE-
| SENTED BY AN EXPERT.
The Cost of Curing the Leaves Both Oh
| and off the Stalk COntrasted.
| 1Capt. W. II. Snow, in DanvilIe Tobacco
! Journal.
EDITOR SOUTHERN TOBACCO Jour-
NAL: Few men will be prepared to
believe when told all the evils that can
be traced directly to the pernicious
and wasteful way of curing tobacco on
the stalk. We have said before and
here repeat that to the foolish system
of curing on the stalk can be traced
nearly all the unsound or funked to-
bacco found on our markets; vast
and useless consumption of fuel; the
building of countless numbers of cur
ing barns, and the waste of at least
one-third of the entire crop that is
grown in our fields. 1t causes the
construction of the huge prize houses,
with all the redrying paraphernalia that
cost vast sums of money and adds to
ones insurance and expenses in count
less ways.
Mr.. Editor, let US look into the
matter and make an itemized account
against the tobacco stalk, and foot up
the figures and see how much longer
we can afford to keep the stalk at the
double duty of both growing and cur
ing tobacco.
Ist. The waste or bottom leaves that
of necessity 60 to waste in the stalk
cure system equal one-third of the
crop. This subject has been fully dis
cussed in the Journal Little more
need be said to convince any reason
able man that at the lowest estimate
one-third can be added to the value of
an acre of tobacco if the leaves are
cured as they ripen when we prime
and top at ten leaves. But if we top
higher than ten leaves, more than one
third is added to the crop. That the
bottom leaves when properly cured
are quite as saleable and in as good
demand as any part OF the crop no one
will deny. In our first item, then,
we charge up to the tobacco stalk a
clear loss of one-third of each crop of
tobacco grown. The crop of 1889 es-
innate is a2o,ooo,ooo pounds; one
third of this amount is in round num-
bers $1,000, 700 pounds; at ten cents
per pound the loss on the crop to the
farmers was $1,000, 800 in one year to
the debit side of the stalk cure.
1t is the universal testimony that a
common log barn will cure 500 pounds
with two cords of wood on the stalk.
1t is also admitted that the same barn
will cure twice the amount of tobacco
with one-half the fuel without the
stalk. The excess of fuel used in cur
ing one-half of the crop of 1889 above
what would be required to cure the
leaf foots up 81, 100000, which must
be charged up to the debit side of the
stalk cure.
We have now wasted one-third of
our crop and burned 81, 100000 worth
of wood, TO say nothing Of the barn
burnt and charged up-SS, 800, 900 to
the stalk cure on the debit side in two
items.
We will now charge the loss Of 10
per cent. in weight on every pound of
tobacco cured on the stalk. By this
we mean to say that every leaf of to-
bacco is robbed by the stalk equal to
10 per cent. of its legitimate weight
by being cured on the stalk. There
are some who will dispute this, but to
such we will only say let the scales de-
eide the question. Science and phi
losophy is all on one side of the leaf
cure, and we are happy to say that the
scales are backing our science in every
test. We have to charge up to the
stalk in this one item S2,2oo,ooo; at
ten cents per pound making in three
items sIo,5oo,ooo.
| We now come to one more item,
Mr.. Editor. We deliberately charge
to the mistaken policy of curing to-
bacco on the stalk all the funky and
unsound tobacco that is found on our
markets. Well, how much is unsound
No man can tell. The editor of the
Southern 206aee0nist in an editorial
last April stated that 10 per cent. OF
all the offerings in the dark tobacco
sections were unsound by reason OF
warm, damp weather. Well, why not
lay it to damp weather instead oi
charging it up to the stalk? Plainly,
if the tobacco had been stripped before
curing it would have been bulked So
Compactly that it would be out of the
power of damp weather to do it harm.
The excess of wood we consumed was
used to kill out the stalk. We killed
our tobacco at the same time; we
melted the wax; we baked the vege-
table albumen; we rendered the leai
powerless to resist moisture, and when
it was rshung to order for stripping i,
took in too much water, and when
bulked it got mouldy. How much
damage no man can tell. The dam
age will foot up millions OF dollars.
| The city of Danville has at least ten
acres covered with redrying houses,
together with not less than one hun
dred acres of tobacco rehung to dry
out the water from tobacco that was
over-cHred and too much ordered
while hanging to the stalk on a damp
day. Had the tobacco been cured in
the leaf il would have gone to market
sound and seasoned in bulk before
marketing, thus from necessity, one
eighth of the store-room would have
kept the tobacco better; would save
the rehanging the waste in color and
shrinkage in weight and cost of hang
ing, which l am told equals 10 per
cent. of the gross weight. Another