45 
itself. The cases are piled up in these rooms heated often merely by 
an iron stove, which holds a vessel of water to produce a moist temper- 
ature so as to prevent the tobacco from drying out too much. 
With the “sweating in bulk” the condition differs.! The rooms 
generally have a temperature averaging from 21-28° C, (70-85° F.), 
and the only covering for the tobacco consists of blankets, which 
admit air freely between the sweating “hands” of tobacco. The 
oxidation processes can therefore be carried on with much more 
energy, leading to a considerable rise in temperature above that of the 
room, a rise amounting daily to from 5 to 8° C. (9 to 14° F.). A great 
advantage of the fermentation in bulk is that these bulks are repeat- 
edly turned over and rebuilt, which enables a minute examination. 
A careful workman is thus able to observe whether the process is 
going on normally and can frequently remedy troubles. The forced 
sweat in cases, however, does not have this advantage. As to the 
ammonia produced by the sweating, there can be no doubt that it is a 
normal product of the destruction of the nitrogenous compounds by 
the oxidizing enzyms, and not a product of putrefaction, as held by 
some authors. The writer showed in Report No. 59 that bacteria of 
putrefaction can not thrive upon tobacco leaves in the sweating con- 
dition. Every normally sweated tobacco contains some ammonium 
salts.2 It depends upon the amount of ammonia thus formed whether 
a tobacco of commerce shows a faintly acid, a neutral, or a faintly alka- 
line reaction. 
As to the question which especial compounds are attacked in the 
sweating process by the oxidizing enzyms in the leaves, it is probable 
that all soluble organic compounds present in the leaf are attacked, 
but with a different degree of intensity. Although certain com. 
pounds, such as nicotine, may be attacked with difficulty, a noticeable 
amount nay nevertheless become oxidized in the course of time, since 
the sweat in the bulk or the forced sweat in cases lasts about six 
weeks. The oxidation need not lead directly to the production of 
carbonic acid with every compound, as there may be formed inter- 
mediate oxidation products, which undergo further oxidation but 
Slowly. By allowing the temperature to rise to about 65° C., which is 
5 degrees higher than the generally adopted maximum, the oxidation 
may even extend so far that the aroma.first produced is again 
destroyed and that the extractive matters are diminished until a very 
large percentage of the tobacco consists of mere cellulose. Tobacco 
manufacturers call such an inferior product ‘‘papery.” Nevertheless 
the temperature of the fermenting wrappers in Sumatra is sometimes 
‘Report No. 60, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Temperature Changes in the 
Fermenting Piles of Cigar Leaf Tobacco, by Milton Whitney and Thomas H. Means. 
- This report contains a full description of the ‘“‘sweating in bulk” as practiced in 
Florida. 
>Thoms obtained 88 grains of ammonium sulphate from 15 kilograms sweated 
tobacco on distillation with steam; but only a part of the ammonia is obtained in 
this way. Various analyses give from 0.05 to 0.5 per cent ammonia in tobacco. 
