THE CURING OF TOBACCO. 227 



high as 130 F. is entirely beyond anything that could be expected 

 of living microorganisms. 2. The fermentation will go on in the 

 presence of corrosive sublimate that prevents bacteria growth. 

 3. While bacteria may be found upon the leaves of the fermenting 

 tobacco they are generally found only in small quantities, too few 

 to account for the fermentation which is producing a rise in 

 temperature of 10 per day. Moreover, the amount of moisture in 

 the tobacco leaves is low, not over 25 per cent., and in such a condi- 

 tion bacteria do not readily grow. Lastly, nicotine is generally 

 looked upon as a means of checking bacteria, and hence the ferment- 

 ing tobacco cannot be regarded as a favorable place for bacteria 

 growth. 



On the other hand, these enzymes are found in abundance on the 

 leaves, and they are capable of producing an oxidation, such as 

 occurs during the fermentation. The conclusion that the enzymes 

 from the tobacco leaves are active agents in the curing seems 

 indisputable. 



But while these facts suggest that enzymes may play the chief 

 part in the fermentation, they by no means exclude the action of 

 bacteria. Tobacco lovers know that the tobacco of Cuba develops 

 in its fermentation a flavor which is not found in tobacco prepared 

 elsewhere. The same species of tobacco raised in other countries, 

 although it will undergo a fermentation of a normal character, 

 acquiring the chemical and physical properties which it develops 

 in Cuba, does not acquire the flavor that it has in its own home. 

 Cuban tobacco is now raised in the United States, but its flavor 

 is inferior to that raised in Cuba. 



We have already noticed that in the ripening of cheese, though 

 the enzymes are extremely important agents in the chemical changes 

 going on, the bacteria are of chief importance in the production of 

 the flavors. The fermentation of the tobacco by the oxydases does 

 not satisfactorily explain the flavors. When Havana tobacco 

 is fermented in the United States, it ferments normally, but does 

 not develop the typical Cuban flavor. It is quite possible that 

 this flavor is, after all, a matter of bacterial action. When the 

 Cuban planter ferments his tobacco, he commonly sprinkles it 



