Perry Hull would have packing-cases “made of cheap pine lumber, 3 feet 8 inches long by 2 feet 6 inches wide and high, outside measurement; they should be made tight and strong; there should be corner-pieces nailed in 1½ inch square, nailing to them well from both ways. The tobacco is packed in, with the butts towards each end; taking hold of the butt with one hand, the tip with the other, and giving the hank a slight twist, lay it in the case in that position. A lever or screw can be used to do the pressing, whichever is the most convenient. From 360 lb. to 380 is the proper weight for packing; though if the tobacco is very dry, 400 lb. will probably not sweat too hard; and if quite wet (which it never should be), 350 may. “After being packed, the tobacco should never be kept in a damp cellar; a good tight barn or other outbuilding, where the cases can stand on a floor, is the best place. The crop usually passes from the hands of growers, into those of speculators and dealers, before the sweating season. The first symptoms of sweating appear about as soon as settled warm weather comes, usually the fore part of May; it then commences to grow warm, and ‘wet’ to appearance, which increases for about 3 weeks, when it reaches its culminating point and commences to cool off. One unaccustomed to the crop, upon examining it at this period, would be sure to think it was rotting, but if not too damp when packed, there is no danger. Sometimes, if a case is known to be too wet, the lids can be started, to give a little vent to the steam and gases which are generated, and this is about all that can be done for it; and it is far safer to see that the proper condition is secured before packing, than to do even this. The weight will commence to decrease about as soon as the heat commences, and it has been ascertained by weighing at the various stages, that more than half of the shrinkage is accomplished by the time that the sweat has reached its culminating point. About 10 per cent. is allowed for the shrinkage of a crop, in just the right state when packed; if wetter, it will shrink as high as 12–13 per cent., and if very dry, it may shrink less than 10 per cent. The different grades usually bring about the following prices: Wrappers, 14 cents per lb.; Seconds, 7–8 cents; Fillers, 3–4 cents. The proportion of the different grades in a good crop should be, Wrappers, three-fifths, and Seconds and Fillers, each one-fifth.”