242 ALCOHOL, VINEGAR, SAUER KRAUT, TOBACCO, SILAGE, FLAX 
When the leaves are fully grown the crop is reaped and hung up 
in a shed or barn to undergo a partial drying. After the drying 
process has reached a desired stage the leaves are ready for the 
fermentation proper, the process upon which the value of the 
product largely depends. There are two quite different methods 
of bringing about this fermentation. In the first method the 
leaves are left hanging a long time, and are eventually packed 
closely in boxes weighing several hundreds of poundseach. ‘These 
boxes are then left to take care of themselves. They are generally 
packed in the cool weather of fall and remain undisturbed several 
months. When the warmer weather comes, in the spring, a fer- 
mentation is set up in the cases, which progresses without any 
attention from the owner; but after a number of menths the boxes 
are opened to determine the success of the fermentation, and the 
crop is sold at a price depending upon the character of the product. 
The second method of fermentation, adopted chiefly in warmer 
climates, keeps the whole process under close observation and is, in 
this respect, undoubtedly superior. The leaves, after drying, are 
piled upon each other, not too tightly, and a great heap is made, 
sometimes three feet high, sometimes more. For the proper fer- 
mentation of this heap there should be a warm, moist atmosphere, 
such as is found in tropical and semi-tropical climates. Within a 
short time the temperature of these masses begins to rise, some- 
times as high as ten degrees in a day. When the temperature 
reaches a point between 125° and 130°F., the piles are opened and 
the leaves are heaped up again in other similar piles, care being 
taken to put on the inside those leaves which were before on the 
outside. Another rise in temperature follows and again, after 
reaching 125°F., the heaps are thrown down and remade. This is 
repeated from five to eight times, several days elapsing between 
the successive heapings. At the end the tobacco is in the proper 
condition for market. This second method is quicker and, in 
some respects, better than the first method. The fermentations 
do not always end here, however. The manufacturer commonly 
