Edible Products. 



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corner and covered up with big mats. The tobacco in the press must also be kept 

 elosely covered when bundles are not beinggot out. The fonque leaves are those, 

 one or two, nearest the base of the plant that were overipe and had become badly 

 spotted and broken in the tying and hanging ; it always follows that the better the 

 cultivation and handling the smaller will be the proportion of fonque to the rest of 

 the crop ; this proportion must, however small, be kept out of the good tobacco. 

 The carpa are the perfect leaves and are known by their kid-like texture. 

 The workman who picks carpa draws every leaf from end to end between thumb 

 and fingers, taking off the soft and perfect leaves and leaving on those that have a 

 dryish, still' feel, which are the tripa leaves. It may here be stated that another 

 receptacle will be required of the same dimensions as the first for the accommodation 

 of the matulas, another press in fact. The second press should be square, as it is 

 more convenient for the neat and close stacking of the square, brick-shaped 

 matulas. The two presses Nos. 1 and 2 will be needed for a crop of 3 acres, and for 

 each additional 3 acres a matula press must be provided, reserving No. 1 for the first 

 fermentation. All the presses must be of the dimensions shown, as, to a large 

 extent, the quality of the tobacco depends on the quantity put together to ferment ; 

 it may be too much or too little. 



The stripping of the leaves and making into matulas must be done as quickly 

 as possible, for if the temperature of the press rises to 130 P., before a quarter of the 

 tobacco has been striped, the work is going too slowly, and there is danger 

 of the remaining bulk getting too hot, causing what is known as wet tobacco. 

 If nearly half the press has been striped when the thermometer shows 130 the work 

 is going right. It should be borne in mind that from the first the tobacco should be 

 kept warm and bulked together tightly, never allowing it to remain spread out any 

 longer than necessary. It is desirable, therefore, that stripping should be done 

 quickly, and the leaves packed into the matula box before they lose their natural 

 heat, and that the matulas are packed closely together into No. 2 press and covered. 



Occasionally, a wet leaf will be discovered, and these must never be allowed 

 to go into the matulas until after they have been laid out in the shade to dry ; this 

 is most important as the wet leaves unfailingly cause the growth of fungus, and 

 this will spread through all the adjacent leaves and spoil the lot. 



When the whole of the pilon has been picked it will be seen that the 

 resulting matulas occupy about a third of the space that the bundles took up, 

 and if then the matulas are spread over the bottom of press No. 2, there will not be 

 sufficient depth to retain the existing heat, much less generate more ; in other 

 words, fermentation will cease. It therefore becomes necessary to re-arrange the 

 matulas and make them up into a neat cube in the snuggest corner of the press. This 

 may be done by the aid of boards kept in position by props from the sides of the 

 press, remembering to put a layer of banana trash between the tobacco and the 

 boards, and to do the work quickly. The fonque may be packed on the top or kept 

 separate until it is sold, no more attention being given it in the way of curing. As 

 soon as there is sufficient tobacco dry, another pilon should be fermented and the 

 matulas packed firmly into the space between the wall and the cube of matulas in 

 No. 2 press, taking away the boards and trash; the next lot that is fermented jus 

 about filling the press. A thermometer should be placed at the centre, as in No. 1 

 press, and should be read once a day; it will then be observed that heat is not 

 generated as quickly as in press No. 1, requiring some two and a half or three weeks 

 before the temperature arrives at 123 or 130 F. When the latter figure is reached, 

 the whole pilon must be taken out and repacked, turning the bulk upside down and 

 inside out. The room must be closed, mats spread over the floor, and the work done 

 quickly. Four heaps should be made, one of the top matulas, one of the outside, one 

 of the middle, and one of the bottom ; this ensures accuracy in repacking. The 



