296 AGRICULTURAL BACTERIOLOGY. 



tempts to produce the desired flavors by bacteria cultures. 

 Loevv acknowledges that such petuned leaves have plenty of 

 bacteria upon them. There is no evidence at hand to indicate 

 whether these bacteria have anything to do with the produc- 

 tion of flavor, beyond the statements made by the European 

 investigators, to the effect that by using the cultures of these 

 bacteria they have been able to obtain the desired flavors. It 

 is certainly not impossible, and not improbable, that the flavor 

 production, which does not seem to appear typically outside 

 of Cuba, may be due in part to bacterial action, possibly to the 

 action of the very bacteria that the planter unconsciously 

 sprinkles over his leaves in the petuning which occurs before 

 the fermentation begins. 



The question whether bacteria have any part to play in the 

 normal tobacco-ripening must, then, for the present, be left with- 

 out any decision. That the normal fermentation occurs under 

 the influence of the chemical ferments present in the leaves, 

 appears to be most probable, and there can be little doubt that 

 the chief phenomena in the ripening of tobacco must be at- 

 tributed to such a chemical process, rather than to bacterial 

 fermentations. It does not yet appear to have been proved 

 that bacteria play no part in the process as it normally occurs. 

 That bacteria may develop in the leaves under certain condi- 

 tions is quite certain, and that these bacteria may effect the 

 flavors is equally sure. It is certainly known that sometimes 

 the bacteria do affect the flavor injuriously, developing an aroma 

 which detracts from the quality. The development of bacteria 

 thus certainly affects the flavors, and these organisms are con- 

 cerned in the proper fermentation, whether or not they are nec- 

 essary for the normal process of tobacco-curing. In this un- 

 settled condition of results we must wait for more accurate 

 experiments in the future, to determine whether bacteria arc to 

 be wholly excluded from the normal process of tobacco-curing, 

 or whether they must still be regarded as having a prominent 



