The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-05
TOBACCO MICROBES.


A German Scientists Plan to Utilize
| Germs to Impart Fine Flavor to 1nfe-
| rior Leaves
| Fermentation has always been looked
upon as very important stage in the
preparation of tobacco but, if hacterio-
| logists are right, even greater stress
| must be laid upon it, for it is the key
stone of the whole and of paramount i'm
portance. AS a preliminary to it, the
| brown leaves are sorted and made up
| into hands, or small bundles, containing,
| perhaps, from six to ten leaves apiece.
| All these separate bundles are collected
and piled up into great heaps or solid
| stacks-a stack containing sometimes as
| much as fifty tons Of tobacco. Directly
| the stacks are completed fermentation
| begins, encouraged by the warmth and
moisture within, and now, too, begins
| the production of aroma and flavor.
And this is the work of the bacteria
which inhabit these heaps, for it is con-
| clusvely shown that these stacks are the
homes and breeding places of myriads of
bacteria-in fact, complete flora of
| fungus life is to be found within them,
! for side by side with the bacteria are
| members from many other parts of the
great group of fungi of which the mi
| crobe life is only a small section. At
| this time the conditions of life are high
| ly favorable to the welfare Of this flora,
and the growth and development of all
| its members begin apace. And fermen-
| tation is the outward and visible sign OF
the stirring Of growth and increase with
in and its direct outcome. For as the
germs develop, food is a necessity to
them, and they can only obtain it from
their Immediate environment hence they
draw nourishment from the leaves COM
prising the tobacco heap, working mean
while subtle changes in them, and, at
the same time, inducing that little-un-
derstOod phenomenon, heating. Why to-
bacco, hay, cotton and other vegetable
matter should heat under similar cir
cumstances is at present very vaguely
explained. We know however, one TACT
about tit is due to the agency of fungi
(among which we include the bacteria),
for it has been clearly proved in the case
of cotton waste, for instance, that if the
vegetable matter be sterilized so that
there is no possibility of germ inhabi-
tants there is no heating; introduce
germ lie, anu Ill UlICt SiNSi eiiN PANS
ence of Oxygen. we have heating. Thls
is, however, at present a phenomenon
which presents almost clear Held FOR
research. But in the case of tobacco
heating Is carefully checked before 1t has
gone very far by continuous turning of
the stack inside out and sides into mid
die" no temperature higher than ninety
degrees Fahrenheit being allowed.
Now. a certain amount of special
study of these particular bacteria and
the effects they bring about in the to-
bacco heaps has already been made by
German bacteriologst, e. Suchsand
but he has provided little written infor- /
nation for later investigators. 1t was
he however, who first drew attention to
the remarkable fact that the real flavor |
of tobacco is not inherent in Itself, but Is |
due to the microbes engaged in this fer |
mentation process. He went further |
even than this He made interesting |
and cultivated them and then he intro
tobacco, tobacco famed for Its delicate |
aroma throughout the world; he isolated |
and suggestive experiments with these |
bacteria; he explored for and examined |
the germs which he found in the fer
lHtilIlIlS tIa VI tlit liIltGl w tSI liltlh'A
duced these same bacteria into heaps OF |
inferior German tobacco which was in |
course of treatment And the result he |
obtained was both striking and extraor-
binary. The poor German tobacco, so |
remote from the flavor of the best West |
Indian, became transformed as if by |
magic into tobacco of very different
quality, Practically a miracle had been
performed, for so great was the i'm
provement wrought that the poor tobac-
co could scarcely be distinguished from
the very best, and even connoisseurs and
experienced smokers of the finest native
tobaccos failed to distinguish it as the
original inferior German. And yet all
that had been done was to Introduce !
few intitesimal germs to work out their
development in their own manner; the
cause seemed quite disproportonate to
the effect!
A patent has been applied for in Ger
many, for the conversion Of tobacco
upon these lines, and we are threatened 4
with a revolution in tobacco manufac-
ture If they prove workable. If the fla
voring of tobacco is chiefly matter of
the presence OF certain species of bacte-
ria, it follows that the path to success
and wealth lies in the furtherance of sci
entitic knowledge of germ life and in the
power to appreciate it and utilize it to
the best advantage. This patent of DIR.
Suchsland Is the first practical step that
has been taken In the application of
bacteriology to tobacco culture, and it is
not difficult to foresee great economic
changes. If it is really possible to de-
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