Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. BUEDLE TIN OF Tit ) USDEPARIMENT OF ARCULTIRE No. 109 Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. June 11, 1914. THE MOLDS OF CIGARS AND THEIR PREVENTION. By R. H. Trove, Physiologist in Charge of Plant Physiological and Fermentation Investigations. INTRODUCTION. In 1901 a number of complaints were received from eastern cigar manufacturers to the effect that considerable losses were being sus- tained through the appearance of moldy growths on the finished products. These growths in some cases appeared within about three days after the manufacture and the boxing of the cigars, thus fre- quently being noticed before they left the factory. In some instances, however, they did not appear until after considerable periods of time. If the mold was detected before the cigars left the factory, the only recourse was to wipe off the growth by hand, a rather expensive process. Perhaps equally objectionable results followed when the mold was not discovered until the cigars were in the hands of the buyers. In either case very considerable loss was likely to result. The writer was asked to study the problem and, if practicable, to work out feasible means by which the trouble could be remedied. Several factories in which this trouble appeared were visited, mana- gers were consulted, and materials for further work were obtained. FACTORY CONDITIONS. In order to get light on the conditions to be dealt with, the proc- esses involved in making the brands of cigars most liable to mold were observed in the factories. In the case of one factory more diffi- culty was experienced with Sumatra wrappers than with other sorts, and the trouble was believed to be worse in rainy seasons than at other times. The mold usually appeared most abundantly on the “head,” or closed end of the cigar, less frequently on the veins or Notr.—This paper discusses the losses due to the development of molds on cigars, out- lines the studies directed toward the prevention of them, and presents practical directions for the use of an effective remedy. The molds were found to be introduced principally through the gum-tragacanth paste used to fasten the small flap at the head of the cigar. The sterilization of the paste by using a nearly saturated solution of boric acid instead of water in mixing it has proved so successful that it has become a routine process in the factory in cooperation with which the investigations were conducted. 43386°—Bull. 109—14 2 BULLETIN 109, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. other elevated portions of the wrapper, but in some cases the entire surface was more or less involved. The wrapper leaf is usually prepared for use the day before it is actually used in manufacture. It is first brought into the necessary moist condition, or gotten into “case,” by dipping into water. The leaves are bound into small bundles in which the bases of the leaves are tied together. These bundles, or “ hands,” are grasped by their’ bases and carried down into and through the “casing” liquid with a scooping motion, so performed as to drag the bundle of leaves with the bases ahead, the blades of the leaves being pulled through the liquid. After this quick dip, the bundles are shaken and set upright on a draining board to permit the surplus liquid to drain away. The pile, loosely packed together, is then covered with a moist cloth and allowed to stand until the droplets of water clinging to the sur- face of the leaves have been absorbed. In a few hours the leaf be- comes soft and pliable without giving the impression of being wet. The ribs are then pulled out and the broad leaf blades are worked up as their size, shape, and quality may determine. The freshly made cigars are then sorted according to colors and boxed immedi- ately, or sometimes held in bundles, to be packed later. In this condition each cigar is round, and the prescribed number of cigars when placed in the box overfill it, so that the cover must be brought into place by the use of pressure. Here the moist cigars yield to each other and take on such flattened sides and angles as may be required to get the box closed. Sometimes the lids of the boxes are considerably bent by the pressure of the fresh cigars, and the boxes are then placed for a day in large presses before they are nailed up. In warm weather the mold sometimes appears while the boxed cigars are in the presses; that is, within 48 hours after they are made, but more frequently within a week or two after making. When warm, humid weather conditions prevail it is not rare for molds to appear while the cigars are in transit or in storage. Since heat and moisture are necessary conditions for mold development, it follows that little trouble is experienced in the winter months but much during the hot summer months. A number of attempts had been made by the factory managers to remove this source of loss. Small quantities of vinegar in the water (1 pint in 4 or 5 gallons) used for casing wrapper leaf were found to aggravate the trouble. When the leaf was cased in vinegar at full strength the molds were suppressed, but the luster of the leaf was thought to be impaired. Casing in alcoholic solutions was found to be helpful, but too expensive. Small quantities of glyc- erin were found to be useless in suppressing molds, but helpful in retaining moisture in the wrapper. THE MOLDS OF CIGARS AND THEIR PREVENTION. 3 LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS. Cigars on which mold had developed were obtained from several sources and submitted to examination. Two forms of mold seemed to be present—one, of most common occurrence, a small organism of grayish or whitish appearance, usually thinly scattered over the cigars, but most abundant and frequent at the head of the cigar, and the other a larger organism, occurring usually near the head of the cigar in rather sharply defined patches of a dazzling white color. The latter organism was much less frequently seen. It being evident that the factories offered favorable conditions for retaining spores of molds when once introduced, it was clear that general treatment looking toward the eradication of these organisms was out of the question, assuming that it was practicable to prevent the entrance of new infections on tobacco leaf and other materials brought in. The most serious localized sources of trouble were there- fore sought. PASTE USED. Gum tragacanth is used in small quantity to fasten the wrapper of the cigar in place. The wrapper is rolled tightly on the cigar, the rolling proceeding from the open end toward the head, the last portion of the wrapper remaining free being a small flap of leaf which serves to finish off the head. This small flap receives a little paste on the under surface and is then carefully brought into place. The cigar is then usually rolled with some pressure between the hand and the board or table at which the cigar maker works, thus giving it the desired regularity of form. Thus, a little paste is always found at the head of the cigar, and if an excess has been applied, especially if the paste is rather thin, a portion is liable to be squeezed out on to the board or table at which the maker works, and the cigars may receive a more or less extensive smear of paste over the surface of the wrapper. The paste as usually made up contains about 10 parts by weight of gum tragacanth to 90 parts of water.