Great for keeping in touch or saying thank you, these beautiful note cards are just the ticket! Each packet includes 2 each of 3 different prints from the books "Tobacco Sheds of the Connecticut River Valley" and "Tobacco Sheds: Vanishing Treasures in the Connecticut River Valley". 6 envelopes are also included. Both American Indians and early North American settlers grew tobacco, but only on a small scale. It wasn't until the 1830's that Connecticut farmers discovered that a unique combination of soil, climate and natural fertilizers created just the right conditions to grow tobacco on a large scale and for commercial use. It was then that farmers invested their labor and money in creating a single use barn for this singular crop. Tobacco Shed's were designed specifically to dry or "cure" this lucrative leaf. Their unique venting systems allowed drying winds to blow through the barns as they turned from green to brown. When in the early 1900's Windsor CT farmers experimented with growing coveted Cuban tobacco by enclosing the tobacco in loosely woven cloth, they initiated an agricultural trend that swept the Connecticut River Valley - shade grown tobacco. Although now under threat from developers and increased housing demands, these distinctive barns live on, sandwiched between malls and sitting on busy roadsides. They are both a reminder of Connecticut's agricultural past as well as a vital part of a thriving cigar industry. Connecticut's shade-grown broad-leaf tobacco currently stands alone in the world as the preferred wrapping tobacco leaf.