19 



bales should also be reversed at least once a 'week until fermentation 

 stops. The wrapper grade should be ready for use after being in the 

 bale three months, while the tillers should remain in bales at least six 

 months. 



THE MANIPrLATIO>* AND PACKING OF SUMATRA TOBACCO. 



When the tobacco is received from the plantation, it should immedi- 

 ately be taken from the package and divided into three grades, as fol- 

 lows: Light thin leaves; medium- weight leaves of medium color: and 

 dark heavy leaves. Then it should be tied into small bundles of 

 about 50 leaves to a bundle and put in bulks of from 3,000 to 5,000 

 pounds each. This division is made in order to give to each grade just 

 the amount of curing needed. Keep the room in which these bulks 

 are made at a temperature of 75". This is done by means of steam 

 pipes running through the building. Also have the pipes so arranged 

 that the room can be tilled with steam, thus making the air soft and 

 moist. These bulks are to be watched, turned, and rebulked from time 

 to time in tbe same manner as Cuban tobacco. There are no fixed rules 

 by which this work can be done, as the condition and tj'pe of tobacco 

 govern the work in all cases. Every effort should be made to sweat 

 this tobacco to a finish with what moisture it has when received from 

 the curing shed. This can be accomplished if the tobacco is delivered 

 from the farm in a proper condition. This is especially true if the 

 tobacco is light and thin, as but little heat is needed to finish its 

 curing; but if the tobacco is heavy and gummy, it inevitably becomes 

 necessary to use water to force the curing. 



It is the experience of the packers that there is nothing more suicidal 

 til an to offer to the trade raw, uncured tobacco. It must be cured even 

 at the expense of color, etc. Light tobacco is made in the field, not in 

 the curing shed or packing house. Thin light tobacco will cure out 

 thin and light. Heavy, gummy tobacco, though light in color when 

 taken from the poles or curing shed, will be dark when sufiiciently 

 cured for use. ' It is often the case that tobacco which is thin, light, 

 and very fine is delivered to the packer from the farm in an exceed- 

 ingly dry condition. This tobacco must be softened: but to give it 

 water is risky, whether the water is applied by dipping or by si^ray- 

 ing. Even in using a very fine atomizer it will get water stains. The 

 following method is therefore adopted: 



After softening up a lot of low-grade goods pile in a great heap, and 

 allow it to remain until it becomes very hot. Take this hot tobacco 

 and make a bed about 5 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 1 foot thick; then 

 lay a strip of paper about 12 inches wide across the end of the pile 

 and begin bulking the dry tobacco. Allow the body of the leaves to 

 lie on the paper and the head of the hand to rest on the hot tobacco, 

 running rows across the bulk. Begin again, allowing the next layer 

 to rest on the first with the heads of the hands pulled a little forward. 



