18 



leaves to shelter the tobacco from the elements. Many of them are 

 from 36 to 120 feet in length. In general, no thought is given to ven- 

 tilation or to the situation of the curing shed with reference to the 

 sun, wind, and rain. Openings with shutters for regulating the inside 

 conditions were not seen except in a single instance, which was on 

 the plantation of a large American company. It may be said that 

 the results of tobacco curing in Porto Rico depend exclusively upon 

 the weather conditions. Nothing is done to prevent pole rot and 

 drying out of the leaves before the color changes, so that good 

 tobacco often loses its quality (elasticity, color, etc.) through bad 

 treatment. Tobacco was seen hanging in stables, kitchens of houses, 

 dwelling rooms, and sheds of which the sides were entirely open. 



CURING AND FERMENTATION. 



Many planters follow the practice of allowing twenty-one days for 

 the curing of the tobacco. The plants are then placed in piles 

 between green plantain leaves, without removing the leaves from the 

 stalk, and allowed to remain from one to seven days, according to 

 the locality and circumstances, with the object of producing the first 

 fermentation and making the tobacco moist enough to strip. The 

 leaves, after stripping or removal from the stalks, are separated into 

 different classes, termed "capas," "tripas y capas," "tripas," and 

 "boliches" — i. e., wrappers, fillers and wrappers, fillers, and the bot- 

 tom or sand leaves. Sometimes these are again divided into first 

 and second grades. They are then tied into bundles. 



To ferment the tobacco some planters place it in this form in 

 wooden cases, under heavy weights, for a period of about three 

 months, after which a further classification is made, the leaves tied 

 into hands, and baled. If the tobacco has been placed in the boxes 

 in too moist a condition it very often rots; on the other hand, if it is 

 too dry, it does not sweat enough, and consequently is of inferior 

 quality. However, manufacturers work this unfermented stuff into 

 their product, causing many of the cigars to have a green or acrid 

 taste. Some planters make it a practice to open the cases and venti- 

 late their tobacco once a month for a period of three months or even 

 longer, in order, it is claimed, to obtain a better quality of leaf. 



Other planters place the tobacco in sheds, hanging the plants from 

 4 to 5 inches apart, and allowing them to remain from twenty-two 

 to forty days. The heavier plants are allowed to hang longer than 

 those of a lighter weight. The leaves are then taken from the stalks 

 without separating them into different grades, such as top, middle, 

 and bottom leaves, excepting the "boliches," (the inferior damaged 

 bottom leaves, which are kept separate). The leaves are then made 

 into "hands" of about 80 to 100 leaves, and placed in round piles 

 from 1| to 2 yards in height and 2 yards in diameter. Green plan- 

 tain leaves are placed under each pile and the whole covered with 



