No. 4.] THE TOBACCO TRADE. 165 



much more difficult, because the finished leaf goes out of 

 case and becomes chippy much more quickly than the unfer- 

 mented leaf. But if the advantage of sorting the finished 

 leaf is great, it will not be impossible to make the climate 

 of the sorting room moist and Avarm enough for the purpose. 

 Secondly, damage in the case is avoided. Thirdly, every 

 leaf and all parts of the leaf are evenly fermented. 



Mustiness and canker generally attack cased tobacco before 

 fermentation begins, when it is lying cold and damp, wait- 

 ing for the turning of the seasons to supply the heat needed 

 to start the fermentation . It is possible that much might be 

 gained by starting the fermentation at once in the cases of 

 unsorted leaf with very mild artificial heat, and when active 

 fermentation has ceased, and while the leaf is still damp, 

 sorting and repacking it, to mull and finish through the 

 summer. 



All this, however, is the packer's business, and experi- 

 menting on fermentation is hazardous, and likely to be very 

 expensive because of the large amount of stock which must 

 be used to test the process satisfactoril3^ 



The other three defects of our leaf, — and by " defects " I 

 mean only partial failure to meet what the present trade 

 wants, — the other three defects concern the grower alone. 



Can we do anything to remedy them? Can we grow a 

 much smaller leaf, more uniform in size and shape, and can 

 we make the crops of our many small farms more uniform in 

 all their qualities? 



Considering the question of size of leaf, it is no real objec- 

 tion to say that a smaller-leaved type of tobacco will greatly 

 lessen our yield per acre. We all know that a small good 

 egg is more palata])le for breakfast than a large bad one, and 

 we are willing to pay more for it. 



The average yield per acre of the Florida shade-grown is, 

 I understand, about 4 bales of 150 pounds, — a total of GOO 

 pounds of merchantal)le wrapper leaf; but this at 75 cents a 

 pound pays the grower as much as 1,800 pounds of our leaf 

 at 25 cents. The shade-grown Sumatra leaf now raised in 

 Connecticut yields from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds per acre. 

 The point I make is, that yield in pounds per acre is not 



