etc. These are distributed to either special 
houses or departments. The tobacco leaf when 
first received is usually dry and brittle. The 
bundles are carefully opened up and the leaves 
loosened and spread out on large trucks where 
they are sprayed with water. When the leaf 
has soaked the water and is pliable it undergoes 
a sorting which is done by selecting leaves from 
different cases or even bundles of leaves and in 
a general way arranging them so that each 
truckfull represents a blend of the different 
kinds of leaf which are suitable for the purpose 
in view. These sorted packages are then rough- 
ly fastened together and after being again 
sprinkled thoroughly are sent to the “sweating” 
room to undergo fermentation which may last 
several weeks. The temperature of this room 
must be carefully regulated and is usually kept 
at about 90° F. 
The selection and blending of the different 
kinds of leaf is most'important. It requires 
accurate and expert knowledge in choosing 
leaves and kinds possessing different strengths 
and other qualities and in combining them in 
such proportions that the final effect of the 
blend gives just what is required. 
It is particularly in this expert treatment of 
the leaf before manufacture that the greatest 
advance has been made in the tobacco industry. 
78 
