TOBACCO CULTURE IN THE WEST INDIES 47 
amount of light,, These things are not so serious however, 
as the humidity. If the air is very dry, which it may hap- 
pen to be for a long period of time, it is diffieult to re- 
tain the proper amount of moisture in the barn. But it is 
worse still, when the air is laden with moisture, in which 
case it is almost impossible to prevent mould in some parts 
of the barn. 
It would of course be possible to overcome all of these 
difficulties if it were known just what conditons are best 
for the tobacco, but unfortunately the conditions must be 
different according’to the condition of the leaves. <A leaf 
grown in a certain soil, with certain plant food and under 
certain climatic conditions, requires a different treatment 
in the barn from a leaf grown under other conditions. This 
involves problems in plant physiology not yet solved. 
The general plan of the barns in Cuba and Porto Rico 
is a width of about 30 feet and about the same height, 
with a length according to the size of the field. The mate- 
rials used are boards for the sides and palm leaves for the 
roof or simply a frame work covered entirely with palm 
leaves. Ventilation is secured through a door in each end 
and usually ventilators in the sides. 
CURING 
The palm thatched barn has the advantage of not being 
much subjected to sudden changes in temperature. Dur- 
ing the first peried of curing the air current is kept up 
-eontinuously but not rapid. Later, when the leaves are 
well colored ventilation is often rapid and intermittent. 
During hot days as well as damp days or nights, the ven- 
tilators are kept closed, and during continuous damp 
