In Southside Va. for the most part we flue cured tobacco, which is heat curing without exposing it to smoke, slowly raising the temperature over the course of the curing which usually takes about a week. This produces cigarette quality tobacco that is high in sugar and has medium to high levels of nicotene. 95 to 100 degrees would yellow it, this is gradually increased to 165 to 170 degrees over the remainder of the week to dry the leaves and stems out and produce the rich yellow and orange coloring. We usually got five to seven barns during a harvest season taking a week to cure. Curing tobacco was an art form, my Grandaddy Gholson, my Mamma's Daddy as well as Grandaddy Reese were both gifted at it. Grandaddy Gholson ran a little one room store at Barnes Junction during the Spring, Summer, and Winter. The Fall he spent in Canada curing tobacco, leaving his second wife Annie there to tend the store alone, for months. Grandaddy Reese practically lived at the tobacco barn once pulling and curing started. You went to the house for meals, but slept at the Tobacco Barn in homemade hammocks. We often took tater cakes, (fried potato pancakes) hoe cakes (fried cornbread pancakes) and whole tomatoes in an old Fruitcake tin back with us, to snack on, as well as an iced Mason Jar of water. We usually burnt a fire to keep the 'skeeters' at bay and I was especially glad to have it on really dark nights. The nightime "orchestra" of insects was something else. Tree frogs, Cicada's ( "bacca flies" as we called em) Crickets, Whip-or Will (which I loved to mouth call almost as much as Bob White). I think those sounds must ingrain in your subconscious, because often when I am in a big city hotel and can't sleep. I turn all the lights off, turn off the window unit (air or heat) and lay there in darkness and silence....and without fail....the barn comes to me... and I can again hear and identify em all... an I will drift right off...