THE CURING OF TOBACCO. 227 
high as 130 F. is entirely beyond anything that could be expected 
of living microorganisms. 2. The fermentation will go on in the 
presence of corrosive sublimate that prevents bacteria growth. 
3. While bacteria may be found upon the leaves of the fermenting 
tobacco they are generally found only in small quantities, too few 
to account for the fermentation which is producing a rise in 
temperature of 10 per day. Moreover, the amount of moisture in 
.the tobacco leaves is low, not over 25 per cent., and in such a condi- 
tion bacteria do not readily grow. Lastly, nicotine is generally 
looked upon as a means of checking bacteria, and hence the ferment- 
ing tobacco cannot be regarded as a favorable place for bacteria 
growth. 
On the other hand, these enzymes are found in abundance on the 
leaves, and they are capable of producing an oxidation, such as 
occurs during the fermentation. The conclusion that the enzymes 
from the tobacco leaves are active agents in the curing seems 
indisputable. 
But while these facts suggest that enzymes may play the chief 
part in the fermentation, they by no means exclude the action of 
bacteria. Tobacco lovers know that the tobacco of Cuba develops 
in its fermentation a flavor which is not found in tobacco prepared 
elsewhere. The same species of tobacco raised in other countries, 
although it will undergo a fermentation of a normal character, 
acquiring the chemical and physical properties which it develops 
in Cuba, does not acquire the flavor that it has in its own home. 
Cuban tobacco is now raised in the United States, but its flavor 
is inferior to that raised in Cuba. 
We have already noticed that in the ripening of cheese, though 
the enzymes are extremely important agents in the chemical changes 
going on, the bacteria are of chief importance in the production of 
the flavors. The fermentation of the tobacco by the oxydases does 
not satisfactorily explain the flavors. When Havana tobacco 
is fermented in the United States, it ferments normally, but does 
not develop the typical Cuban flavor. It is quite possible that 
this flavor is, after all, a matter of bacterial action. When the 
Cuban planter ferments his tobacco, he commonly sprinkles it 
