The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-03
Tobacco Growing
 In Connecticut
Federal Bureau of Plant Industry Acknowledges Indebtedness
 to Planters of This State

ACknOWlcQgeS llQeDIQcQeSS
 to Planters of This State The bureau of plant industry of the department of agriculture has pub lished a paper by Dr. W. W. Garner on the use of artificial heat in curing cigar-leaf tobacco. This paper rep resents the results of investigations which have been in progress for sey- eral years in the Connecticut valley relating to the improvement of pres ent methods of curing cigar tobacco.
 It has been demonstrated that by the use of artificial heat the curing can be successfully accomplished dur ing the most unfavorable weather conditions, and methods for accom- plishing this end are outlined.
 The author acknowledges his indebt- edness to W. s. Pinney, of Sufheld, who has made a study Of tobacco curing for many years, for his enthusiastic cooperation in these Investigations. MT. Pinney, he says, has not only worked out many of the mechanical f1ues, but has thoroughly demOnstrat- ed by tests conducted on 8 large scale the value of this method of utilizing artificial heat in curing cigar tobac- co.
 That the properties of the tobacco leaf are greatly changed in the curing is well known to every grower. but the changes in composition which thus alter these properties and the necessary conditions for bringing about these changes are little under stood.
 The leaf when harvested contains from 70 to 80 per cent. of water, the greater portion of which is lost by evaporation during the curing. New ertheless, curing involves much more than the mere drying of the leaf, for a leaf can be completely dried in a few minutes by applying sufficient heat and such leaf does not show the properties of cured tobacco.
 CONDITIONS FOR GOOD CURING
 It Is quite possible to dry the to- bacco leaf without curing it, and 1t ifs also largely possible to cure the leaf without drying 1t. The two pro- cesses may Or may not go hand Tn hand, depending on whether the ex- isting conditions favor both processes. leaf under such conditions as will best develop the desirable qualities of cured tobacco. It Is to be remember ed that if the living cells of the leaf are killed prematurely the curing is stopped once for all. although the dry conditions the leaf Is killed by the loss of water, so 1t is essential that too rapid drying be avoided in order to afford an opportun for the curing changes to take place. On the other hand, if the drying is too slow or is too far. The rate of drying is there fore one of the principal factors in good curing
 In addition to the loss of water, the leaf cells may also be prematurely killed by excessively low or high tenn
 Ar ~f.4 SNS1 such as bruising the tissue while har- vesting. No portion of leaf which is prematurely killed by these or other means will be successfully cured. 1t follows that tobacco that is subject to frost, freezing temperatures, or too Is applied, especially in the first sta- ges, cannot be properly cured.
 Aside from the premature killing of the leaf tissue by extremes of heat or cold, the temperature plays very important part in effecting the rate of curing, the curing proceeds very slowly or is stopped completely at renheit, while the drying may go on rapidly if the air entering the barn is dry; in other words, the leaf under these conditions is likely to dry with out curing. On the other hand. cur ing proceeds very rapidly at 30 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the rate of drying can be controlled by regulat- ing the humidity in the barn.
 It is seen therefore that the neces- sary conditions for good curing are that the tobacco be placed in the barn in sound condition. that the tempera- ture be kept sufficiently high to allow the curing changes to proceed nor mally, and that the rate of drying be controlled by regulating the hu. midity so as to avoid either too rapid or too slow drying.
 .POLE-SwEAT, OR POLE-BURN.
 Pole-sweat, or pole-burn, which is also we'll known in those tobacco pro- ducing sections where artificial heat is not used in curing, is one of the results of too slow drying in the more advanced stage of curing. Pole sweat is nothing more than the rot ting or decay of the leaf and is anal- ogous to the ordinary decay of or ganic matter of either animal or veg etable origin.
 While it is true that pole-sweat is held in check by temperatures below 60 degrees F., it is to be remembered that the curing is also stopped at low temperatures, while the drying Of the ticable remedy lies in the proper con- trol of the humidity in the barn; in other words, there must be adequate means of removing the excessive moisture during periods of wet wealth CT.
 To so regulate the temperature and ventilation as to avoid pole-sweat and at the same time insure the best pos sible curing is matter for which definite instructions cannot be given, for the reason so much depends on the varying outside weather conditions and on the character and quantity of the tobacco in the barn
 Experiments in the Connecticut val ley have shown conclusively, however, that pole-sweat can be easily and completely controlled by the combined use of heat and ventilation, no mat ter how unfavorable the weather may be, and it is only a matter of ex2eri- ence to determine the quantity of heat and the amount of ventilation re- quired in any given case.
 To be assured of success under all an,,dit;onr rnaans must ha auaila hls