236 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



gives mellowness to the flavor, and brightness and uniformity 

 to the tint. The curing, previous to stacking, can be done 

 in six, and sometimes in three weeks. The fermentation is in- 

 dispensable, and to secure this, the house must be tight, and 

 must be provided with heating apparatus, and the tempera- 

 ture inside must never fall below seventy degrees. 



Chewing tobacco is hung in the field, on portable racks, soon 

 after cutting, and allowed to remain a week or more, till the 

 leaves are yellow in general color ; then piled on the ground 

 two feet deep (for perhaps twelve hours) till the fermentation 

 causes a heat of 110 degrees ; then hung on the racks again, 

 until the leaves and stalks are dry ; and finally stacked, ready 

 for the manufacturer. 



There are two main new ideas in Mr. Gulp's processes one 

 is hanging horizontally, and the other is fermentation in piles- 

 The advantages claimed are that the tobacco is better in 

 quality than any other cured elsewhere ; that it is more uniform 

 in quality, and that there is none of the great damage that 

 frequently results from very dry or very wet weather in the 

 curing season in Cuba and Kentucky. On account of the 

 dryness of the atmosphere, the old style of curing would never 

 have been profitable here. Besides, under the system of hang- 

 ing vertically, the butt up, the sap in the stalk could not run 

 into the leaves, and the leaves resting upon each other could 

 not dry evenly, thus causing great losses. 



The climate of California is very favorable to the growth of 

 the plant, and a large area will probably be cultivated in tobacco 

 in a few years. The growing season being much longer than on 

 the Atlantic side, the plant after having been cut down grows 

 up again, and thus produces two crops of chewing and four 

 of cigar tobacco from the same stalk. The total average yield 

 per acre is 3,000 pounds of cured chewing, and 2,200 pounds 

 of cigar tobacco. The old style of curing costs three times 

 as much as the Gulp method ; the quality is inferior and the 

 yield less. 



