42 



In order to ascertain the temperature of the piles bamboo, wooden, 

 or metal tubes are placed in the piles when they are built, one end 

 being at the center of the pile and the other reaching to the circum- 

 ference. If the piles are large two or three of these tubes may be used , 

 one near the bottom, one near the middle, and another near the top. 

 Ordinal chemical thermometers are inserted into the tubes and 

 may be quickly removed and read at any time. The outer ends of 

 the tubes should be closed with corks or cotton to prevent cooling of 

 the interior. 



Before fermenting the tobacco should be roughly graded into wrap- 

 pers and fillers. The tobacco should then be tied into hands and 

 built into piles by laying the hands straight and even, with butts to 

 the outside. The size of the piles may vary according to the amount 

 of tobacco in hand. It is difficult, however, to successfully ferment 

 a small quantity, and the operation should not be undertaken with 

 amounts less than 1,000 pounds. A convenient size for the ferment- 

 ing piles is 5 to 6 feet wide, 10 to 12 feet long, and 4 to 8 feet high. 

 In building the pile it is advisable to start the bottom with trash or 

 some noncommercial stun 2 , because the bottom usually ferments very 

 slowly. Excessive pressure should be avoided in the early stages, and 

 the hands be simply laid on the pile from the outside and gently pressed. 

 Piles built in this way settle considerably, so that after twenty-four 

 hours more tobacco may be put on if thought desirable. When com- 

 pleted it is advisable to cover the piles with burlap in order to pro- 

 tect them from drying out. As regards the further care of the piles 

 the following directions are taken from Farmers' Bulletin No. 60, 

 United States Department of Agriculture: 



The bulk is watched very closely, and as the temperature rises it is torn down, 

 each hand of tobacco is taken up and shaken thoroughly to dry it a little, to cool it 

 slightly, and to open the leaves so that they will not stick together. Before the 

 sweat is completed the bulk is pulled down and built up eight or ten times , accord- 

 ing to the condition of the tobacco. It is impossible, even for an expert curer, to 

 give explicit directions as to when the bulk should be turned, as it depends entirely 

 upon the condition of the tobacco and the temperature it attains, and these must 

 be determined by the operator. 



The temperature must rise gradually, and if it is found to be rising too rapidly 

 the bulk is torn down and a fresh one built up. Sometimes the bulk is not up over 

 twenty-four hours before it is torn down again and built up afresh. If the tobacco 

 is in high case, that is, quite moist, the bulks have to be turned over frequently in 

 order to prevent too rapid action and to shake out the leaves which would other- 

 wise stick together. If a bulk, as seldom happens, should dry out, it is turned over 

 and mixed with a bulk which is in high case. The tobacco should never be 

 sprinkled in this stage of the process to bring it into case. 



The temperature of the pile is allowed to rise gradually until it occasionally 

 reaches 180° F. The fermentation is then at its highest. From this point the 

 temperature subsides until the fermentation is complete and the bulk attains the 

 normal temperature of the room. This maximum temperature must not be 

 reached too quickly, and it must be managed differently with the different tobaccos. 



