On their return from the first fermentation the bundles go to the picking department. Leaves which are damaged or unsuitable in any way are here picked out and put aside to be used in the cheaper grades. The leaves are then subjected to a thorough cleaning to remove particles of sand, clay, etc., packed tightly in bundles and returned to the sweating department to undergo further fermentation and to allow for a thorough interchange of the aroma of the different blends. In due course the bundles pa.s.s to the stemming department for the removal of the midribs which usually form nearly one-third of the entire weight. The resulting half leaves are then arranged in piles of 50, each pile forming a "book."
From the stemming department the books pa.s.s to the drying room where any superfluous moisture is removed by hot air currents.
From the drying room the books pa.s.s to the ordering room where they undergo inspection for color, size, etc., and subjected to further treatment if necessary. Here they are finally packed in cases and stored for several months to allow perfect and uniform blending after which they are ready for shipment to the factory. Filler leaf for the finest cigars may stand in these cases for two or three years.
Leaf which is intended for chewing or pipe smoking is not subjected to so great an elaboration of processes as cigar leaf, as the matters of uniformity of color, and delicacy as well as individuality of aroma are not of such great importance. Usually such tobacco leaf is fermented in bulk, and the removal of the stems is done before the princ.i.p.al fermentation.
After the preliminary selection of varieties, sorting, stemming and cleaning, the leaf is dipped into large vats containing flavors; and after drying are subjected to steaming. They are then packed away in bulk in the sweating department where they slowly ferment until required for use.
These "bulks" or stacks may contain many tons of leaf. They require constant turning over, etc. Indeed it may be said that every step in these processes requires constant care. Temperature, moisture, length of exposure, etc., must all be carefully seen to. Otherwise the tobacco will spoil.
In the case of tobacco leaf intended for export trade rehandling consists mainly of stemming and removal of moisture. This is done before shipment in order to reduce the weight as customs duty is levied in accordance with the weight of the imported packages in the countries importing.
REFERENCES
U. S. DEPART. OF AGRIC. _Farmers" Bulletins_ 6 and 60.
LAUREUT, L. _Le Tabac, sa culture et sa preparation, production et consommation._ Paris, 1900.
BOUANT, E. _Le Tabac; culture et industrie._ Paris, 1901.
BOEKHOUT UND DE VRIES. _Uber Tabacfermentation._ "Centralbl. f. Bakter,"
1909. 2 Abteil. Vol. 24, p. 496.
LOEW, O. _Sind Bakterien die Ursache der Tabakfermentation?_ "Centralbl.
f. Bakter," 1909. Vol. 6, p. 108.
KILLEBREW AND MYRICK. _Tobacco Leaf._ Part I. New York, 1897.
SUCHSLAND, E. _Bobachtungen uber die Selbsterwarmung des fermentierenden Tabaks._ In "Festschrift 200-Jahr Jubel. d. Verein. Friedrichs Universit."
Halle-Wittenberg, 1894.
WOLF, JAKOB. _Der Tabak und die Tabakfabrikate._ Chapter IV. Leipzig, 1912.
HOAGLAND, J. G. _The Tobacco Industry._ In _Quarterly of the Nat. Fire Protec. a.s.sn._, 1907. Vol. 1, Nos. 2 and 4.
JACOBSTEIN, M. _The Tobacco Industry in the U. S._ Chapter II. New York, 1907.
CHAPTER IX
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF TOBACCO IN THE UNITED STATES
STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION. AMOUNT OF CAPITAL INVESTED, ETC.
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF TOBACCO. GENERAL REMARKS
The importance and magnitude of the tobacco manufacturing industry in the United States will be best understood from a consideration of the following statistics taken from the latest available government records:
(_For all Manufactured Products_)
Cost of materials used (1905)==$126,000,000 (1909)== 177,000,000 Value of the product (1905)== 331,000,000 (1909)== 417,000,000 No. of establishments (1905)== 16,828 (1909)== 15,822 No. of persons employed, more than one-third being women (1905)== 160,000 (1909)== 197,000
The figures are given in round numbers. The total capital invested in this industry is between $300,000,000 and $400,000,000.
There are more than one and a quarter millions acres in the U. S. under cultivation of tobacco which yields a crop at present approximating to 1,000 million lbs. of leaf annually.
The industry shows an absolutely increasing condition in every particular at each census. During the past 45 years the value of the product has increased more than $300,000,000.
In addition to the trade in manufacturing in the U. S. there is the export trade princ.i.p.ally in unmanufactured leaf. This amounts at present to about $54,000,000 annually. The price of export leaf has been continuously increasing despite of the fact that the production of leaf abroad is increasing. Thus in 1886 the average export price of leaf from the U. S.
was 8-1/2c per lb. In 1914 it was more than 12c.
The following statement shows at a glance the marvelous increase in the tobacco industry:
_Comparative Statement of Manufactured Tobacco in the U. S. (all products)_
Capital No. of persons Value of invested. employed. product.
Year 1880 $ 39,000,000 86,000 $126,000,000 Year 1890 90,000,000 117,000 195,000,000 Year 1900 111,000,000 142,000 264,000,000 Year 1905 324,000,000 159,000 330,000,000 Year 1909 197,000 417,000,000
In addition to the number of persons employed in manufacturing we must take into account those employed (as well as the capital invested) in the agricultural and distributing ends.
The export manufacturing trade is not important, being only valued at about 3 million dollars annually.
The value of the home manufactured products which in 1905 was shown at $330,000,000 is distributed as follows.
Cigars $198,000,000 Cigarettes 16,000,000 Chewing and smoking tobaccos 109,000,000 Snuff 6,000,000 Other products 1,000,000 ------------ Total $330,000,000
For the increase in the present value of the product these figures would be proportionately increased.
In the year 1913 the United States exported about 350 million lbs. of unmanufactured tobacco leaf, and in 1914, 449 million lbs. This was distributed as follows:
To Great Britain and Ireland 174 million lbs.
To Canada 17 " "
To France 55 " "
To Germany 32 " "
To Italy 45 " "
To Netherlands 28 " "
To Spain 17 " "
To j.a.pan 16 " "
To China 11 " "
To Belgium 11 " "
To Africa, Australia, etc. 43 " "
---- Total 449 " "
The largest export manufacturing trade was to Asia, the cigarettes exported there having a value of 2-1/2 million dollars.