Page Two
THE STATE
June 1, 1935
A Mew Way of Curing Tobacco
TOBACCO *r.>u.i*
rurr their product
new ju« at George
W ashingtou ami Thomas
Jeffer-on — both of whom
"pro farmer* — used lo do.
There ha? been very little
deviation in the method of
curing. Throughout the
year*, farmer* have built
their barn*, hare in-tailed
their Hue*, have piled up several cord*
of wood, and have *ut up night* to make
-urc that the ham? didn’t catch fire.
And — despite all of their care — scores
of harm hare been destroyed by fire
every year.
Present indication, however, that a
device invented by Forrest Smith, of
Kinston, will revolutionise the process
of curing tobacco. It will be used in
15 countie* thi* summer. Next year, if
Mr. Smith's plane materialize, it will be
u*cd in many other states, a* well a*
in foreign countries.
Handicapped By III Health
Smith is middle-aged. A* a youth he
was ambitious. But *ince hi* boyhood
day* he ha* been handicapped by ill
health. He carried on in spite of this
handicap. He kept a variety «ore.
Business wasn't good, so he shifted to
another line. For several year* he
a dining car caterer, ami after that he
wa* a hotel man on a small scale. Al¬
ways he was sick, and lie had to spend
a goodly portion of his time in bed.
Years ago he had a dream of a for¬
tune in an invention that would revolu¬
tionize tobacco curing. He knew about
curing. He knew that it was a tedious,
laborious business. He knew that the
• tiring fire* in tobacco barn* enslaved
farmers and their hired hands for days
at a time. The fire* had to be watched
incessantly, day and night, always in
extremely hot weather, for midsummer
is the curing season. They had to be
“a tolled lo keep the temperature oven,
which wa. very important in curing,
and to prevent over heating, which
caused many barn* to be destroyed by
liaiue* in a season.
“I’ll take tin- drudgery out of that,”
thought Smith.
A System of Oil Burners
A »y«em of oil burners and pipes,
with a tank and a thermostat and a few
other appurtenances, should do the
work, he thought.
Forrest Smith, of Kinston. believes
lie has found it. Anyway, ho Is em¬
barking on the projects in a largo
way. and hopes to completely revo¬
lutionize the present system of
curing.
By C. W. MeDKVETT
He set to work, and perfected such
an outfit, lie calculated that it would
function perfectly. It did. He tried it
out in a barn with several hundred
pounds of green tobacco. The curing
was accomplished in two-thirds of the
time farmers using wood or coal were
accustomed to take. The tobacco was
more even; that is, it came out of the
barn more uniformly cured; conse¬
quently worth more on the market. The
cost of the oil consumed, crude oil, was
less than the cost of coal or wood would
have been. A thermostat kept the heat
even, with the result that the men
watching the barn bad little to do ex¬
cept sit in the shade. The fuel ran out
of a tank, automatically. If the heat
became too great or too low, which was
rarely the case, a bell rang to warn the
watcher!
Smith tried several more curing*,
with excellent result*. Last summer he
wa* kept busy demonstrating. He was
in no hurry to begin manufacture of
llie device. He wanted to see that it
would work satisfactorily under all con¬
ditions and that it wa* as fool-proof
as such a thing could be.
There wasn’t the least difficulty en¬
countered in it* operation.
This year finds Smith the head of a
company manufacturing the curing out¬
fits. The company is rushed to fill
order*. The plant will hare to be en¬
larged, immediately. Smith fears such
a tn-iueiidous increase in orders next
year that the plant will not be able to
keep up with them. He is determined
that the expansion shall be drastic.
Careful Check-up
A field force will be kept busy cheek¬
ing up on installed systems when the
curing season gets under way in a few
weeks. Smith's assistants will travel
day and night. He is determined there
shall lie no accidents due to canlettnea*.
A bad curing or a fire would give his
invention a black eye. He wants to
demonstrate that it is safer than the
wood or coal furnace, pro¬
vided it gets a modicum of
attention.
Smith i* a changed man.
His health has improved
markedly in recent months.
It is because lie is happy
that he is healthier. The
cloud* that have confronted
him for more than twouty
year* have lifted. Smith,
his
вы
man. He
he desires is money enough to pursue
his hobbies.
iates say, is going to be a rich
‘ doesn't want to bo rich. All
Thousands Like Him
lie is honest. His friends say he has
never done a wrong thing in his life.
Hi* virtues, including perseverance and
a remarkable energy, have made men
like him. Thousands are "pulling for
him” now.
An oil company, one of the largest,
is cooperating with Smith. It ha* de¬
veloped a special oil to be used in the
burners. Hailroad companies, at least
two. have offered him such assistance
as they could. One wanted to furnish
him land for a factory site. Two or
three companies in the North from
which he buys supplies have sent engi¬
neers and sales experts to assist him.
From other Mates and countries have
come inquiries about tbo burner*. One
inquiry a few days ago was from one of
the remote parts of India.
Big Thing for State
Smith prides hiuieelf that he it about
to do a big thing for North Carolina.
Tobacco is thi* state’s principal crop.
He is going to save Tar llcel wood grow¬
er* hundreds of thousand* of dollar* a
year, ho boa«s. There will be far more
curings with oil thi* year than he antici¬
pated. Next y«ar, be predicts, thou¬
sand* of barns will be equipped for cur¬
ing with oil.
The other day a farmer south of Kin¬
ston converted a tobacco barn equipped
with oil burner* into a chick brooder.
Out of GOO chick, he lost 25. The cost
wa* let* than it would have been with a
conventional broader. Next fall the
farmer will u« the outfit to cure sweet
potatoes.
Smith smile* at such thing*. “There
are great possibilities in thi. inven¬
tion,” ho says.
