to give to each the fermentation adapted to the grade of tobacco, the 

 final assortment and close grading being made after the fermentation 

 when the colors are properly developed and well set. For this method 

 of fermentation the hands as originally made up should be tied with 

 string or bast instead of with leaves, for the following reasons: (1) It 

 saves a leaf for each hand bulked, as the tie leaf is practically destroyed; 

 and (2) if the butt has to be dipped into water to " order" the hand 

 before bulking, the tie leaf is liable to become soggy in the pile. 

 After the fermentation and final assortment the hands are tied with a 

 leaf in the usual manner. 



The light, thin tobacco of the bottom leaves, which needs but little 

 curing, should be put in small bulks of from 3,000 to 6,000 pounds. 

 The medium to dark leaves from the middle of the stalk should be put 

 in bulks of from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds, as more fermenting is 

 required for the dark tobacco. The top leaves, which in Florida 

 would be classed as fillers, should be put in bulks of from 10,000 to 

 15,000 pounds, as they need thorough fermenting, and the larger the 

 bulk the more intense the heat of the pile. In fermenting a large 

 crop the first grade to be handled is that from which the light wrap- 

 pers are to be obtained, then the dark, heavy grade, and lastly the 

 fillers. 



A platform should be provided, raised 3 or 4 inches from the floor, 

 with bulkheads at either end, the whole being covered with burlap. 

 When completed the bulk should be 6 feet high and about 6 feet wide 

 and 12 feet long the width and length, however, depending upon the 

 quantity of tobacco to be handled. The fermentation should be carried 

 on in a room in which the temperature can be maintained uniformly 

 between 75 and 85 F., and the atmosphere be kept quite moist. This 

 can best be done by steam pipes, if a steam plant is available. 



The bulk is built up and manipulated in the following way: Some 

 trash tobacco is made quite wet by sprinkling and put in a pile in the 

 fermenting room and covered with woolen and rubber blankets. After 

 twent}^-four hours the pile should be turned. The water should all 

 have been taken up by the leaf and the leaf be quite pliable and warm. 

 The pile then remains covered for two or three days, when it should 

 warm up rapidly from the active fermentation. 



The heavy dark wrappers and fillers will need to be put in order or 

 cased down if not already sufficiently moist and pliable. To do this 

 dip the butts in warm water for about 2 inches above the tie leaf or 

 string and shake well. The tobacco is then put into cases or into a 

 pile and covered and allowed to remain twenty-four hours to draw- 

 that is, to absorb the water. No water stains should be apparent if 

 the work has been properly done. The light wrappers should not be 

 dipped in this way, as they should be fermented with the least possible 

 amount of moisture. They can be brought into order by exposure to 



