quality. The corporate owners of shade-grown tobacco 

 farms operate bulking houses themselves. 



The building of bulks is as carefully done as though 

 the piles were intended for permanence. Thermometer 

 readings are regularly taken at the center of the piles. 

 At intervals the bulks are turned and rebuilt so that all 

 leaves have the natural heat necessary for fermentation. 



The practice of sweating leaf in these large piles has 

 recently been abandoned by a number of handlers. Their 

 method now is to pack shade leaf in cardboard con- 

 tainers and place it in heated rooms until it is sufficiently 

 fermented. 



G 



rades of shade 



When the sweating process has run its course, workers 

 of long experience sort the leaves and arrange them 

 individually bv grades. There will be no fewer than 10 

 and as many as 20 or more grades, arranged by color, tex- 

 ture, and condition. The leaves, separated into sizes, are 

 then re-tied in hands of 25 to 40, placed in bales and 

 stored under cool temperature during which they pass 

 through the final stage of fermentation. 



A year and more will have passed from the time tliis 

 tobacco was planted. Not all of it goes into manufac- 

 turers' bins. A considerable part stays in storage until 

 ready for hand rollers or machines. 



For the past twenty years or so a good deal of wrapper 

 leaf has been sent to Puerto Rico for sorting and grading 

 by highly skilled hands. As needed, these wrappers are 

 manufactured by American firms in the island. For the 

 most part, however, factories in the United States pro- 

 duce the cigars bought by American consumers. 



