18 



HARVESTING AND CUBING. 



Between the time of planting and harvesting a tobacco barn must be 

 provided large enough to care for the entire crop. This structure 

 should be of lumber rather than galvanized iron, with shingle roof, 

 hinged frieze, or gable ventilators, and the sides provided with vertical 

 ventilators extending from sill to plate, the idea being to secure com- 

 plete control of temperature and air drafts within the building during 

 the curing process. 



A tobacco barn, properl}^ constructed, should last for twenty years. 

 In Hamakua, at the elevation where our tobacco experiment is being 

 conducted, a stove must be provided to heat the air and control mois- 

 ture because of the frequent periods of fog and cloudy weather. This 

 stove is placed outside of the shed, with the pipe or flue passing either 

 across through the house from side to side or, inside a large barn, 

 around two or more walls. 



In Hamakua the curing process requires from two to four weeks. 

 The determination of the proper time to harvest tobacco leaves is a 

 matter of judgment and experience. Leaves that are underripe cure 

 greenish, thin, papery, and brittle. Those overripe become harsh, 

 thick, and of uneven color. A ripe leaf cures gummy, pliable, elastic, 

 and of an even color. 



Each kind of tobacco has its special characteristics and must be 

 treated accordingly. Cigar tobaccos require slower barn curing and 

 more careful manipulation during the whole period of growth, curing, 

 and fermentation than do the cheaper grades of manufacturing and 

 export tobaccos. 



The fermentation of the tobacco follows the curing. This is a very 

 important step in the process and is fully described in Press Bulletin 

 No. 12 of this station. In Hawaii the period of fermentation lasts 

 sixty to ninety days. Five pounds of green leaf produce about 1 pound 

 of finished tobacco. 



RESULTS OBTAINED AT HAMAKUA, 1904. 



The crop planted during March and April, 1904, was the tirst S3^s- 

 tematic and scientitic attempt to grow tobacco in Hawaii. An acre 

 was covered with an open-weave cotton cloth, Ariel tenting cloth, 

 put upon plates and posts, forming a flat roof about 9 feet above the 

 ground; the sides were also covered with the same kind of cloth, 

 making a tight inclosure. This covered plat, with some land adjoin- 

 ing, about li acres in all, was planted as follows: Sumatra, Florida 

 and Long Stem; Cuban, Florida and \ uelta Abajo; Connecticut Broad 

 Leaf and Seed Leaf; Zimmer Spanish; Virginia Dark Leaf; White 

 Hurley; and Japanese. 



