WHAT IS TOBACCO?
OVERVIEWTobacco is a green leaved plant that is very popular around the world. After it is harvested it goes through a process called curing. Farmers can cure tobacco in multiple ways. Tobacco is traditionally cured in four different ways; air-curing, fire-curing, sun-curing, and flue-curing, all of which dry the plant out and ready it for consumption. Once the tobacco is ready for consumption the farmer can chose how he wants his product consumed. Tobacco can be smoked, chewed, or snuffed (this consists of inhaling tobacco through the nose).
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HISTORYTobacco
had been used as far back as 1400-1000 B.C.E as a trading item and "entheogen," a substance that creates a spiritual experience, among native tribes of eastern North America. Smoking it was considered a way to pass thoughts to each native tribe's god or "creator." When European colonists discovered tobacco it became a very popular product in Europe and all of its colonies. Tobacco was very expensive and was always in heavy demand. American colonists took advantage of this and created a thriving industry becoming wildly successful and making this crop the backbone of the early American economy.
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TOBACCO GROWING IN NORTH CAROLINA
Today, North Carolina is the largest producer of tobacco in the United States but it was not always this way. North Carolina's tobacco industry was once dwarfed by Virginia's and South Carolina's sprawling industries. Most of this was due to the sandy soil found throughout most of North Carolina. Early farmers were driven away from this soil and leaned toward the preferred soils of North Carolina's neighboring states Virginia and South Carolina. Soon after American colonists gained their independence, farmers realized that the sandy soil they had been avoiding was actually perfect for growing tobacco and soon thereafter North Carolina became a powerhouse in the thriving tobacco industry. Even through the more recent decline in American demand of tobacco products, North Carolina remains the number one producer of tobacco in the United States.
CREDITS FOR THIS PAGE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_of_tobacco
http://www.electricfreeze.com/art/tobacco/harvest.htm
http://www.ncglobaleconomy.com/tobacco/overview.shtml
http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit1/1what_is.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_of_tobacco
http://www.electricfreeze.com/art/tobacco/harvest.htm
http://www.ncglobaleconomy.com/tobacco/overview.shtml
http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit1/1what_is.htm