THE CURING OF TOBACCO. 225 



boxes weighing several hundreds of pounds each. These boxes are 

 then left to take care of themselves. They are generally packed in 

 the cool weather of fall and remain undisturbed several months. 

 When the warmer weather comes, in the spring, a fermentation is set 

 up in the cases, which progresses without any attention from the 

 owner; but after a number of months the boxes are opened to de- 

 termine the success of the fermentation, and the crop is sold at a 

 price depending upon the character of the product. 



The second method of fermentation, adopted chiefly in warmer 

 climates, keeps the whole process under close observation and is, in 

 this respect, undoubtedly superior. The leaves, after drying, are 

 piled upon each other, not too tightly, and a great heap is made, 

 sometimes three feet high, sometimes more. For the proper fer- 

 mentation of this heap there should be a warm, moist atmosphere, 

 such as is found in tropical and semi-tropical climates. Within a 

 short time the temperature of these masses begins to rise, sometimes 

 as high as ten degrees in a day. When the temperature reaches a 

 point between 125 and 130 F., the piles are opened and the leaves 

 are heaped up again in other similar piles, care being taken to put 

 on the inside those leaves which were before on the outside. 

 Another rise in temperature follows and again, after reaching i25F., 

 the heaps are thrown down and remade. This is repeated from 

 five to eight times, several days elapsing between the successive 

 heapings. At the end the tobacco is in the proper condition for 

 market. This second method is quicker and, in some respects, 

 better than the first method. The fermentations do not always end 

 here, however. The manufacturer commonly allows the tobacco 

 to undergo a second fermentation, called "sweating," which brings 

 the leaf into a better condition for use. 



The primary fermentation is clearly the essential process of 

 tobacco-curing. During the fermentation some very essential 

 changes in the tobacco take place. The chief of these changes are 

 the following: A decrease in nicotin, an increase in alkaline reaction, 

 an increase in ammonia, the disappearance of sugar, an increase in 

 the amount of nitrate, a loss of water, a change in the texture of 

 the leaf, a change in color (the final color brown) and a change in 



