24 



and there is a considerable evolution of ammonia throughout the 

 whole fermentation process. As soon as the fermentation is complete 

 the tobacco is ready for the final sorting. 



SORTING TO COLOR AND PREPARATION FOR BALING. 



From the fermenting room the fermented tobacco is again taken, in 

 such quantities as will not dry out, to the sorting room, which, as 

 in the case of the one previously used, should be well lighted, venti- 

 lated, and so arranged that it can be kept moist. A good arrange- 

 ment of this assorting room would be with north light along the 

 whole side of the building. Direct sunshine or southern exposure 

 is very detrimental. The sorting tables should be at right angles 

 to the source of light, the sorters with their sides toward the win- 

 down. This final sorting is the most important stage in the whole 

 process of treatment of the tobacco leaf. The leaf must be graded 

 to color, shape, thinness, and length, and requires a class of labor of 

 the very highest skill. Wrapper tobacco of the Sumatra types is 

 graded into seventy-two classes. There should be at least six colors 

 of wrappers — dark, brown, light, green, specked, and broken. They 

 should be graded to length, so that there should not be a variation of 

 more than 2 inches in the length of leaf in any lot. Gradations of color 

 can best be determined under north light. A final separation should 

 also be made to thick, thin, and medium leaves. The more perfectly 

 this final separation and assortment is made the higher will be the 

 prices obtained for the crop. It is well to remember that the selling 

 price of a hale of tobacco is governed by the quality of the lowest 

 grade in the bale, and when finally prepared for marketing each bale 

 must be marked to indicate what the lowest grade in the bale is, and 

 the mark on the outside of the bale must be true. 



After this final sorting has been completed the tobacco should 

 again be made up into hands of smaller size, not to exceed from 1 

 inch to 1^ inches in diameter at the butts. No leaf should be placed 

 flat in the hand whether previous to fermentation or previous to 

 baling. It must be opened and flattened by the sorter to determine 

 the size, color, shape, and other characteristics, but when these are 

 determined the leaf should be drawn through the fingers to close it 

 back to its natural condition. Great care should be exercised in 

 forming the hand of the finally assorted tobacco, because the neat- 

 ness of the bundle always adds to the attractiveness and selling price. 



BALING. 



The size of the tobacco bale varies according to the type of the 

 tobacco. The weight of the Sumatra tobacco bale varies from 175 

 to 200 pounds, the Cuban from 90 to 100 pounds. The bale of either 



