22 



forefinger, all butts being kept even. When the hand is from 2 to 3 

 inches in diameter, it is tied by bringing one leaf up over and twist- 

 ing it around the butts, the loose end being tucked into the hand. As 

 soon as from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of tobacco of any one grade has 

 been assorted, it is ready to ferment. 



When taken from the curing barn to the sorting room, the tobacco 

 should be moist. If the weather is cloudy or rainy, no artificial 

 additional moisture will be necessary, but in a dry period, or when 

 the humidity is low, the tobacco can be moistened by wetting down 

 the walls and floor of the sorting room, or by turning live steam 

 in the room, in case a steam plant has been provided. The tobacco 

 must never be sprayed or any direct application of water made to it. 

 A properly cured leaf absorbs moisture from the air with great 

 rapidity and will hold from 20 to 25 per cent of moisture without 

 detriment. This is about the amount it should contain when placed 

 in the fermenting heap. 



FERMENTING. 



The fermentation should follow immediately after the grading 

 and sorting process, as the tobacco is then in the best condition. 

 A much better fermentation can be secured immediately than after 

 a delay of weeks or months. The tobacco is taken from the assort- 

 ing room to the fermenting room. The fermenting room is provided 

 with platforms 5 feet wide and of sufficient length to hold from 1,000 

 to 1.500 pounds. These platforms are raised a foot above the floor 

 and should have a bulkhead at each end, about 5 feet high. The plat- 

 forms are covered with cotton cloth, burlaps, or some other cheap 

 material to keep the tobacco from coming in contact with the lumber 

 of which the platforms are constructed. To build up a bulk or 

 fermenting heap the hands are laid 'close in 4 or 5 rows until the 

 bottom is completely covered, the butts overlapping the tops about 

 a third of the length of the leaf, and subsequent tiers are added 

 until the quantity at hand is all in the pile. A tin or copper pipe, 

 about 2 inches in diameter, closed at one end, should be stood in the 

 center of the pile and the tobacco built up around it. This tube 

 should be long enough to reach above the top of the pile of tobacco, 

 and the open end is placed up. This pipe is to be used for a ther- 

 mometer, which can be lowered to a position corresponding with the 

 bottom, middle, or top of the pile. If the tobacco is in proper case 

 when it is placed in the pile — that is, if the leaf contains 20 to 25 

 per cent of moisture — a rise in temperature will begin at once. The 

 fermenting heap when finished should be covered over with a tar- 

 paulin or rubber blanket, excluding all air and retaining all moisture. 

 No weight should be applied. When the building of the ferment- 

 ing heap is finished the temperature of the room should be raised 



