14 



Another necessary building will be a fermenting room, but this 

 can be located at any convenient place on the plantation, the product 

 being taken to it from all the curing barns at the end of the cam- 

 paign or at a convenient season. 



The stringing room should be well lighted and well ventilated, 

 and should be provided with a number of single stalls, arranged with 

 hanging rails, as in the main body of the curing barn. 



The fermenting room should be well constructed, with tight floor 

 and tight walls, absolutely under control as to heat, moisture, and 

 ventilation. Xear the fermenting room should be a well-lighted and 

 well-ventilated sorting room with large table space, the temperature 

 and moisture under control, in which . the tobacco is finally assorted, 

 graded, and classed for baling after the fermentation is completed. 

 A suitable press for baling should be provided in the fermenting 

 room. 



These buildings are absolutely necessary if it is desired to produce 

 tobacco of good quality, and they should be provided before the crop 

 is started. 



THE SEED BEDS. 



The seed beds should be made of 1-inch redwood lumber, 12 feet 

 long, 1 feet wide, and 10 inches deep, provided with gable ends hav- 

 ing an angle of 15°. A slot 1 inch by 3 inches should be cut in the 

 apex of each gable end to permit the insertion of a movable ridge- 

 pole 1 inch by 3 inches wide and 13 feet long. A strip of muslin 36 

 inches wide should be fastened by one edge to each side of the ridge- 

 pole and a slat about 1 inch by li inches cross section tacked to the 

 lower edge of each piece of muslin. The strips of muslin should be 

 13 feet long. This constitutes the covering of the seed bed. The 

 advantage of its use is that it can be rolled up when the seed beds are 

 empty, removed to admit sunlight, or either side thrown back 

 over the ridgepole to permit partial exposure in hardening the plants 

 before transplanting. 



The soil for the seed beds should be sterilized previous to use. A 

 cheap apparatus for sterilizing soil where live steam is not obtainable 

 is a rectangular box or trough of redwood planks, the bottom of 

 which is made of No. 10 gauge sheet iron. Fasten the iron securely 

 to the bottom of the sides and lead the joints with a mixture of 

 white lead and red lead or steam-fitters' putty. About 4 inches above 

 the sheet-iron bottom of the trough fit in a loose false bottom to 

 sustain the weight of the soil and prevent the dirt falling through to 

 the bottom of the trough. This trough should rest on stone or iron 

 legs about 14 inches from the ground, so that a fire can be built 

 underneath. YVhen ready for use fill the trough with water up to 

 about the level of the false bottom, insert the false bottom, and fill the 



