130 The Fermentation of Cacao 
The Fermentation of Tobacco. 
In connection with my investigations regard- 
ing cacao and coffee fermentation, I made 
some experiments on tobacco fermentation 
in Germany. Unfortunately I have not had 
any opportunity of becoming acquainted with 
tobacco fermentation carried out on a large 
scale. To judge by the results I have obtained 
in my investigations into the fermentation of 
indigo, tea, cacao, and coffee, I think myself 
justified i in assuming that in the case of tobacco 
too much importance is also attributed to fer- 
ments. I was indeed of the opinion that in the 
case of the fermentation of tobacco, as with 
the other products, the oxygen in the air plays 
the most important 7é/e, and that the packing 
together of the nearly dried leaves in heaps 
has for its aim the production of a temperature 
suitable for the process of oxidation. I fur- 
ther gathered that the packing and repack- 
ing (#mpacken) of the heaps was not only 
done in order to. avoid both the production 
of too high a temperature as well as the 
formation of butyric acid and moulds, but also 
in order to bring the leaves into contact with 
the oxygen of the air. The heating of the 
tobacco heaps is, of course, brought about by 
the influence of micro-organisms, and it is the 
sole object of the process just described to 
bring this about, z.¢., to raise the temperature. 
If the leaves contain too much moisture, 
too great acidification sets in, and if there 
