41 



as regards color as in case of the primed leaves. The chief difficulty 

 is that the top leaves, the less ripe, are covered by the middle ones, 

 and these in turn by the bottom ones, so that the ripest leaves are the 

 ones which, on account of their exposure, receive the greatest venti- 

 lation while the greenest ones receive the least. This difference is 

 probably partly overcome by the leaves being connected to the stalk 

 and through a possible movement of water from the greener to the 

 riper leaves. The advantage in case of the primed leaves is that those 

 of equal ripeness may be placed separate from those which may be 

 greener and, therefore, given a different ventilation. 



The system of cutting and curing the whole plant, however, is the 

 cheaper, and is advised for crops that do not promise a considerable 

 percentage of wrapper leaves. When the cut plants are removed from 

 the poles they should not be placed in piles, but the leaves should at 

 once be removed and the top, middle, and bottom ones kept separate. 

 Further sorting of the leaves need not be made at this time, but they 

 should be made into hands and at once put into small piles. These 

 piles should be frequently inspected to see that the temperature does 

 not materially rise. If the leaves are too moist and begin to heat, the 

 piles are separated and after a little exposure are made into piles 

 again. When this operation has been repeated several times several 

 small piles may be put together. It is of course understood that 

 before this work is commenced the plants should be moistened by 

 leaving the ventilators open during the night preceding the opera- 

 tions, and in case of a dry day the work should cease before the 

 plants become too dry to handle. 



SUGGESTIONS REGARDING FERMENTATION. 



In order that tobacco may properly ferment it is necessary that the 

 requisite amount of moisture and ferments be present in the leaves. 

 The process of fermentation develops color, gloss, elasticity, burn, 

 and aroma. It is most important that the leaves contain the proper 

 amount of moisture. If too dry the fermentation progresses very 

 slowly or not at all; if too wet it progresses very rapidly and there 

 is danger of molds and putrefaction. The operation requires very 

 careful watching by one who has had previous experience. 



Under the old regime, when dark colors were used, fermentation 

 was allowed to progress very rapidly, the high temperatures produc- 

 ing the dark colors. It was then sufficient to carefully watch the 

 temperatures and to prevent only such high elevations as might burn 

 the leaves. At the present time, with the demand chiefly for light 

 colors, it is necessary that fermentation progress slowly. This can be 

 accomplished by slightly less moisture in the leaves, and by repeatedly 

 tearing down and rebuilding the fermenting piles whenever the tem- 

 perature rises to 50° C. 



