THE USE OF BACTERIA IN THE ARTS. 6 1 



stages of its preparation is quite large, and from 

 what we have already learned it is inevitable that 

 the different kinds of bacteria will produce dif- 

 ferent results in the fermenting process. It 

 would seem natural, therefore, to assume that the 

 different flavours of different grades may not un- 

 likely be due to the fact that the tobacco in the 

 different cases has been fermented under the in- 

 fluence of different kinds of bacteria. 



Nor is this simply a matter of inference. To a 

 certain extent experimental evidence has borne out 

 the conclusion, and has given at least a slight in- 

 dication of practical results in the future. Acting 

 upon the suggestion that the difference between 

 the high grades of tobacco and the poorer grades 

 is due to the character of the bacteria that pro- 

 duce the fermentation, certain bacteriologists 

 have attempted to obtain from a high quality of 

 tobacco the species of bacteria which are infesting 

 it. These bacteria have then been cultivated by 

 bacteriological methods and used in experiments 

 for the fermentation of tobacco. If it is true that 

 the flavour of high grade tobacco is in large meas- 

 ure, or even in part, due to the action of the pe- 

 culiar microbes from the soil where it grows, it 

 ought to be possible to produce similar flavours 

 in the leaves of tobacco grown in other localities, 

 if the fermentation of the leaves is carried on by 

 means of the pure cultures of bacteria obtained 

 from the high grade tobacco. Not very much has 

 been done or is known in this connection as yet. 

 Two bacteriologists have experimented independ- 

 ently in fermenting tobacco leaves by the action 

 of pure cultures of bacteria obtained from such 

 sources. Each of them reports successful experi- 

 ments. Each claims that they have been able to 



