Tobacco Curing
After tobacco is harvested, it is dried in barns with various levels of heat and humidity for several weeks. In North Carolina, air-cured and flue-cured are the most common methods of curing. In the past, this tobacco was tied into “hands” and tied to wooden sticks by hand before it was hung in a tobacco barn for several weeks. North Carolina State University began studies of bulk curing in 1959, which was a form of mechanization. Analyze the following sources and determine the change over time from hand processing to mechanization.
This black and white photograph from 1940 shows African-American women preparing and processing tobacco by hand, a method that is rarely used today.
This black and white photograph is an example of a very small tobacco farm. This is a rural setting in which the whole family is involved in the production of tobacco.
1. In the two photographs, who is curing the tobacco?
2. What are the demographics of tobacco curers from the photographs?
3. Are farm families involved in the curing process?
4. Compared to the article on hand processing tobacco, which method do you think those involved would prefer and why?
5. What are the potential consequences for laborers when bulk curing becomes popular?
This report from the 1959 Annual Meeting for the American Society of Agricultural Engineers claims bulk curing simplifies tobacco mechanization.
A report from the 1959 Annual Meeting for the American Society of Agricultural Engineers claimed bulk curing simplified tobacco mechanization. You will determine from this source and the images above if this claim is true.
1. Who wrote the document? Why did they write it?
2. What did the authors identify as a problem in tobacco production?
3. What were the effects of mechanization on the laborers?
4. Did mechanization create or solve issues in terms of a productive harvest?
5. What did the authors hope North Carolina State College would achieve with bulk curing?