The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1914-07-03
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES
BLACK ROT IN SWEATING.

BLACK ROT IN SWEATING.
From Bulletin No. 237, University Agricultural
Station, by James Johnson.
The fermentation (sweating) of to-
bacco in cases is sometimes accom-
panied by the development of troubles
which in the past have caused the
packers considerable loss. Owing to
the nature of the Preventative process
it has been difficult to follow the de-
velopment of the diseases, and the eff
feet is not usually discovered until some
time after the completion of the injury.
Black rot is recognized by>a dark brown
or black color in place of the normal
chocolate brown Of properly fer
mented leaf. The leaf maintains it's
form until mechanically disturbed when
it is found to have lost it's texture in
spots. The disease is also recognized
by the experienced packer by it's odor
which differs from that of ordinary
fermenting leaves. The whole leaf is
rarely affected, more commonly only
small portions near the tips are dis
eased. The line of demarcation be-
tween rotted and unrotted areas is
quite sharp, and sound portions are
still of value if they are large enough
to warrant their separation. Black rot
has been found to be due to fungus
which under favorable conditions of
temperature and moisture grows and
feeds upon the fermenting leaves in
the interior of the fermenting piles.
This fungus is peculiar in that it grows
best at a high temperature (about 100
degrees), such as occurs in heating
boxes of tobacco. For the control of
black rot the packer should keep down
the moisture content of the leaf to the
minimum of that required for fermen-
tation. To this end it is important that
the growers should have the crop cured
out before freezing weather sets In in
the fall This should be followed on
their part by taking down the crop for
stripping before it comes into too high
case" When packers obtain relative
ly moist tobacco (26 per cent moisture
and upward) it is possible to adopt one
or more of the following courses to re-
duce the moisture before packing:
i. Sort and pack the crops holding too
much moisture late in the season after
they have lost considerable moisture in
the bundle. 2. Crops containing a
high percentage of moisture may be
bulk sweated with safety. The bulk
sweating may be complete or only par
tial, consisting of one or two bulkings
before packing in cases. 3. The to-
bacco may be packed directly in cases
and force sweated by raising the tenn
perature of the tobacco above 113 de-
grees, which is above the temperature
at which black rot will take place.
Force sweating at 90 to 100 degrees
may favor black rot f. If black rot
is feared in tobacco packed early in the
season, it is advisable to try to prevent
fermentation by storing the cases in
cold room, unless they are to be force
sweated. If the temperature in the in
terror of the case can be kept below
68-70 degrees until early summer when
considerable moisture will have es-
capped from the leaves, the likelihood
of black rot occurring during fermenta-
tion will be lessened There appears,
however, to be some possibility of
''must' occurring in relatively moist
tobacco kept at low temperature for
some time. 5. 1t is possible that a
drying machine or "evener" might be
so constructed as to regulate the moist
ure content of all tobacco passed through
it. By reducing the moisture in this
way to 22-24 per cent the tobacco
would be allowed to ferment properly,
and danger from black rot would be re-
duced to minimum.
Kentucky's to bacco pooling law has
been nullifed by the U. S. supreme
court. In decision by Justice Hughes
the court held that the Kentucky stat
ute was null and void. The decision is
of far reaching effect to the tobacco
trade. Some years ago Kentucky
passed law legalizing the pooling of
tobacco by farmers and providing pen
alties for those not abiding by the pool.
Two Kentucky farmers, Patrick Col
hns and Thomas Malone, withdrew
their tobacco from the pool and shipped
it to points in Kentucky and Ohio.
They were prosecuted under the law
and fined. They appealed their case to
the supreme court and that court held
that the Kentucky pooling law was not
legal. This decision prompts the u. S.
Tobacco Journal to add: That pooling
law of the great southern tobacco state
was an abomination in itself inasmuch
as its object was to raise arbitrarily by
combination the price of commodity
far above its intrinsic value and at the
same time to punish the tobacco grow
er who refused to join the combination
and to retain his individuality in the
action of disposing of his product. Ex-
actly what was intended to be made
illegal by the federal antitrust statute
was legalized in contravention to this
statute and also in contravention to the
local statute which prohibited combina-
tions for the price raising of all other
commodities.
While the Wisconsin tobacco growers
have been considerably handicapped IN
getting the crop into the field by an
overabundance of rain, the South, es-
pecially Virginia and the Carolinas,
find the crop very greatly curtailed by
the drought which has affected the en-