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from 8° to 10° above the temperature of the pile until the tem- 

 perature of the pile becomes equal to that of the room. In the 

 tobacco districts of Hawaii the summer air temperatures are about 

 65° to 75° inside the buildings. The fermenting room should be 

 heated to from 85° to 95° and should be kept at that temperature 

 until the temperature of the pile of fermenting tobacco equals the 

 temperature of the room. As the temperature in the fermenting 

 pile of tobacco increases above 90°, the air temperature should be 

 permitted to remain about 10° lower than the increasing temperature 

 of the pile. 



AVrapper, binder, and filler tobaccos require different treatment 

 in fermenting, the best wrapper tobaccos being produced at lower 

 temperatures than fillers. The higher the temperatures in the fer- 

 menting pile the darker the color of the finished leaf. Under no 

 circumstances must the temperature of the fermenting tobacco be 

 permitted to rise above 136° F. As soon as the temperature in the 

 middle of the pile, which is the hottest, reaches 100° F., the pile 

 should be torn down and rearranged on an adjoining platform. 

 The bottoms, sides, and tops are placed in the center of the new pile, 

 and the center of the first pile becomes the outsides, bottoms, and tops 

 of the second pile. This process should be continued throughout 

 the various rebulkings. 



Indications are that the best qualities of wrapper leaf should not 

 be allowed to go much over 100° F. If light colors are shown — that 

 is, if the color of the leaf is desirable — fermentation may be reduced 

 to a minimum, which will mean that the pile will have to be rebulked 

 perhaps every twenty-four hours. An important point is to maintain 

 a constant degree of humidity in the fermenting room. The air in 

 the fermenting room should never be permitted to become dry, but 

 should always show from 85° to 90° of humidity, irrespective of the 

 temperature. In wrapper tobacco color is everything. As the piles 

 are broken down and rebulked there is each time a slower rise in tem- 

 perature, and it is a matter of judgment as to when the fermenting 

 process should be discontinued. T\Tien the stage is reached where the 

 temperature of the tobacco in the pile rises, remains stationary, and 

 then begins to fall, the fermentation is finished. 



Binder tobacco will stand more fermentation than wrapper. Thick 

 wrapper will stand more fermentation than medium wrapper, and 

 both than the- thinnest or highest quality of leaf. The better the 

 quality of the tobacco the greater care should be exerciesd in its manip- 

 ulation. In the case of filler tobacco it is best to allow the temperature 

 to approach the maximum limit of 136° at the second turning, the 

 subsequent rebulkings being checked at lower temperatures. In the 

 first stages of fermentation large quantities of ammonia are set free, 



