CHAPTER X. 



ON CUEING TOBACCO. 



This is one of the most delicate and important op- 

 erations, but the method of doing it varies with the 

 kind of leaf grown, and the object for which it is to be 

 used. The object is to cure the leaf to the desired state 

 without sacrifice of its good qualities, and yet to avoid 

 or get rid of bad qualities. But this involves far more 

 than merely drying the leaf, for (says Frear) a marked 

 loss of dry matter occurs during the process, as well as a 

 loss of water. "If the leaf be killed by chloroform or 

 frost, the changes ordinarily observed to result from 

 curing do not occur. Curing, then, is probably a life 

 process, due chiefly (if not wholly) to the activity of the 

 cells of the leaf." 



The process of curing is, therefore, much influenced 

 by the structure of leaf, and by conditions of tempera- 

 ture and moisture. Nor does it appear that the same 

 method of curing can by any means be applied, with 

 safety, to different types of tobacco. Cigar leaf is prac- 

 tically ruined by the quick-curing process used for yel- 

 low tobacco. Pole burn and white veins also appear 

 under apparently or somewhat different conditions in 

 different classes of leaf, and even with the same variety 

 in different years. All these matters are now being sci- 

 entifically investigated, but we must confine our atten- 

 tion to such practical details as have thus far been proven 

 to give the best results. We are confident, however, 

 that science and practice together will greatly improve 

 upon these methods. 



