The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-07-10
Timely Talks on Tobacco.
Large Meeting Of Growers of
the Weed IN Florence.
Special to The State.

Special to The State.
FLORENCE, July s.-lf any one
doubts the solidity Of the tobacco in.
dustry in the Pee Dee section o
South aroina his fears will soon
subside if he will but attend one OF
the monthly meetings held by the
Florence Tobacco Growers Associa
ton. The regular monthly meeting
of this association was called to
order at IL. 25 this morning by the
president, Mr. NJ S. Haynsworth,
himself a well-known and successful
grower of the weed
After the minutes of the previous
meeting had been read and adopted,
the regular business was taken up
This consisted Of free and open dis
cussion of the modes of handling
tobacco. from the practical and econ
omical point of view. The first sub.
iect was "The Handling of Crop from
/ Field to Barn. and the Handling of it
After it is Cured +" In the absence
of Mr. j. C G.. Brunson, who had
been appointed to speak on this SUBJ
iect, Mr.. Smile A. Gregg gave his
experience and described his meth
DDS of housing the crop. He said
that in cropping the leaves from the
stalk it was very important to mash
and erumple them as little as pos
sible. He does not use baskets at
all. His men were instructed to run
their hands under each pile of leaves,
resting it on their arms and loading
it on the wagons He thought his
way not the most elaborate but the
cheapest. He tries to keep freshly
cut tobacco in the shade as much as
possible. Tobacco commences yell
lowing as soon as pulled off the
stalk, so he would avoid filing a
barn partly one day and the balance
the next day.
Mr. R. G. Commander recommend
ed the use of wooden frames, seven
feet long with cloth bottoms as car
riers. The leaves are piled up on
them in the field, the frames then put
directly on the wagons and carried
without further handling to the barn.
Mr. NJ S Haynsworth said he
used baskets in much the same way.
The tobacco was not taken out of the
baskets when put there by the crop
/ pers until it is hung up in the barn.
Two wagons can fill two twenty,f1ot
barns in day.
Mr.. A. E. Curran said he also used
baskets, but that the most important
thing was to start at the tops of the
plants when picking the leaves and
to crop downward
The next topic was Curing To-
bacco - Mr. Gus McSween, who is
said to be the best curer of tobacco
in this county, white stem-going
fast at higher temperature 5 de-
grees higher than the outside atmos
phere. He first tries to make the
leaf wilt at 100 degrees, then lets it
yellow at l05 degrees That the
amount CT yellowing to be- permitted
is matter of judgment. When the
tips of the leaf curls he raises the
temperature by 3 degrees per hour
to l30 to kill the leaf, then to l35 for
several hours to make certain of this;
after that to 100 by 2 degrees per
hour to kill the stem 1t takes near
ly week to cure barn He cures
very slowly. so as to make white
stem, going fast at higher tempera
ture than 100 degrees produces a
black stem, which does not bring
nearly so high price A heat Of
lis degrees without any air being
introduced will make the yellow
color "set - If man can get to
lis degrees successfully he will
probably cure his barn all right. He
uses log barns, weatherboarded IN
side and out, without patent vet-
lators in the roof
Next came Grading and Prepara-
ton for Market +" On this point,
Mr.. Smile A. GREGG said that
twelve-cent tobacco if put up in All
ungainly package, would bring less
than four cent tobacco in neat pack
ages. The piles as laid on the ware
house floor should be uniform, the
tying neatly done, stems together
and the ends even 1t is better to
sell wrappers late in the season, but
cutters aud smokers at any time
MIR. r. E. Curran said he made
about eight grades of tobacco to the
barn. Thinks graders of tobacco
should be familiar with the different
prices of tobacco and not simply the
coors
Mr.. S. C. Dusenbury. of Williams
burg, who is planting his first crop