take on additional moisture and becomes soft and pliable, but there is actual- 
ly a loss of moisture when the sweating period is finished. Colors tend to 
darken and become more uniform. As a rule, around two to three years of stor- 
age are required for the necessary aging by natural fermentation. Tobacco that 
is to be exported is not usually held in storage in this country. 
CIGAR-LEAF AREAS 
In handling cigar leaf, some is placed in bulks and fermented before pack- 
ing for storage, and in some, fermentation occurs during storage. 
The cigar-wrapper types are fermented by the process of bulk-sweating. 
The tobacco is taken directly from the curing barns to the packinghases, where 
it is built into bulks of varying shapes and sizes, according to local custom. 
The bulks of shade tobacco are usually 5 or 6 feet wide, 12 to 16 feet long, 
and 8 feet high, and contain 4 to 6 thousand pounds of tobacco. 
Tobacco bulks are built up with great care and kept under close watch. 
Recordings are made of the temperature in the center of the bulk, and the bulks 
are "turned" or rebuilt every few days until the fermentation has been complet- 
ed. The tobacco is further sorted - leaf by leaf - sized, retied, packed into 
bales, and stored in a cool place. 
Figure 40.--Farm bales of Connecticut binder. This particular 
tobacco is being delivered to the Conn-Mass cooperative. 
The cigar filler and binder types (except Puerto Rican) normally receive 
only a very limited amount of handling prior to storage for aging. Most of the 
tobacco is stored in farm bales as delivered by growers. These bales are rec- 
tangular-shaped packages containing 40to 50 pounds of tobacco wrapped in brown 
paper with the ends left open. The tobacco is arranged with the butts at the 
amkots 
