Burton, translating from Mitjen, goes more fully into the Cuban practice. He advises firstly that the “shoots and the sprouts should be put apart from the principal tobacco, with which it should never be mixed, neither in the heaps nor in the packages. The day after the tobacco has been cut and placed in the curing-houses, the poles should be pushed together, making thus a compact mass, with the object, that by means of the warmth, which this contact produces, the fermentation should commence, called _maduradero_. In this state it should remain 2 or 3 days, according to the consistency of the tobacco and the state of the atmosphere. By means of this first fermentation it acquires an equal and a yellowish colour: by the second or third day, at the latest, this colour should be uniform, and then without loss of time the poles should be spread apart, and given all the ventilation possible, so that fermentation may not continue, and the drying of the leaves may be facilitated—care being taken that they are not exposed to the dew, the sun, nor to sprinkling of water, should it rain. As the tobacco dries, the poles should be hung on higher pegs, so as to leave the lower ones unoccupied for the fresh leaves brought from the fields. This operation should be performed early in the morning whilst the leaves are flexible and soft; because later in the day they become crisper, and are more apt to tear. “It is not judicious to allow the tobacco to dry too precipitately, by exposing it to a very strong current of air, because strong wind greatly injures its quality; many leaves break, and that silkiness of appearance is destroyed which good leaves should have, and which it is desirable to preserve. During heavy winds the doors of the drying-house should be kept closed; they should also be kept closed if there is much dampness in the atmosphere occasioned by heavy and continuous rain. Dampness causes mildew, which shows itself first in the points of the leaves, and is the commencement of the rot. Under these circumstances, and to check this evil, it is convenient to spread, or part the poles a little; and if the rains, or the excess of humidity continue, fires should be kindled and smoke made in the curing-houses, opening at the same time the doors and the windows, so as to facilitate the circulation of air whilst the smoking is going on. “After the tobacco is thoroughly dry, it should be placed on the highest beams, or pegs, of the framework which support the poles, squeezing them compactly together. This must be done in the morning whilst the leaves are soft, and all this should be done with a view of protecting it from the effects of change in the atmosphere. The house should, after this, be kept closed, until it is time to make the heaps.