132 The Fermentation of Cacao 



to the oxidation process for shorter periods 

 were declared to be unripe, and sharp in 

 flavour. 



The freshly-gathered and dried tobacco-- 

 leaves used in my experiments were kindly 

 supplied to me by Herr J. Hammerschlag, 

 manager of the Kaiserliche Tabak-Manu- 

 faktur, Strassburg, who also submitted the 

 tobacco leaves fermented by me to expert 

 tests, the results of which I have given 

 above. 



I have therefore proved that with tobacco 

 also, fermentation plays only a subsidiary 

 part, the object of which can be attained by 

 artificial heat, but that the main results in the 

 curing are'attributable to the oxygen in the air. 

 The essential principle of tobacco fermentation 

 is then to allow the oxygen of the air to act 

 on the leaves under conditions favourable to 

 oxidation that is to say, at moderately high 

 temperatures. 



I have mentioned my researches on coffee 

 and tobacco fermentation, in order to show 

 that in their case the oxygen from the air 

 also plays the same role that it does with 

 indigo, tea, and cacao fermentation, or, rather, 

 oxidation. In actual practice it is true that in 

 the case of indigo the oxidation takes place 

 in a watery solution, but if the leaves of the 

 indigo plant are strongly compressed in other 

 words, if they are treated as one does when 

 rolling tea-leaves oxidation will also occur 



