14 



them. The temperature is only ascertained by inserting the hand 

 into the pile; if the pile becomes too heated it is taken apart, and 

 after the tobacco has cooled off is remade. The pile generally 

 remains in this condition from ten to twelve days, after which the 

 tobacco is placed in wooden boxes for from fifteen to twenty days. 

 When taken from the boxes it is graded into "capas," "tripas," and 

 "capas y tripas," i. e., wrappers, fillers, and wrappers and fillers. 

 After classification it is wrapped in green plantain leaves and again 

 placed in boxes. If the tobacco is light, heavy weights are placed on 

 it to help the process of fermentation. In from thirty to sixty days 

 (about April or May, as the case may be) the tobacco is ready for use. 



Other planters use about the same method, except that the heavier 

 tobacco is placed in piles 5 meters long by 3 meters wide and 1| 

 meters in height, while with the lighter grade tobacco the height of 

 the piles is increased to 2 meters. In building the pile a hole for 

 ventilation is left in the middle of it. The piles containing the heav- 

 ier leaf necessarily contain much tobacco of lighter quality, and the 

 reverse is true of the piles of lighter quality on account of the top, 

 middle, and bottom leaves not having been kept separate. After 

 from six to eight days these piles are torn apart and remade ; this is 

 repeated in about twenty days, the latter piles being allowed to stand 

 until June or July. The tobacco is then classified as follows: 



Classification of Porto Mean tobacco. 



Light wrapper — Capa fiiia clara. 

 Dark wrapper — Capa oscnra. 

 Light wrapper and filler — Tripa y capa clara. 

 Dark wrapper and filler— Tripa y capa oscura. 

 Heavy filler, first length — Tripa primera calidad. 

 Heavy filler, second length — Tripa segunda calidad. 

 Fine filler, first length — Tripa primera fina. 

 Fine filler, second length— Tripa segunda fina. 

 Ordinary — Tripa ordinaria . 

 Sand leaves — Boliches. 



In another locality a pile was seen about 2 meters in height and 3 

 by 4 meters in diameter. This pile was allowed to remain until July. 

 The tobacco was then moistened and classified. The outside leaves 

 were quite "green" and the inside oversweated. Some parts of the 

 pile were, more by accident than good management, cured just right. 



Another method used by very few planters consists of making piles 

 of from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds. After standing from six to eight days 

 they are torn down and rebuilt. After another period of eight days 

 these are again torn down and remade into piles of from 4,000 to 6,000 

 pounds each, which are allowed to stand one or two months. When 

 the piles show signs of becoming too heated they are torn down and 

 rebuilt. The tobacco is then baled, the bales containing all classes of 



