“In all kinds of sortings, the fragments of broken leaves, too small to use for cigars, should be collected, sponged, and with them packages made of _picadura_. This should be preserved, and the following year it will be useful for making _betun_. Wash the tobacco, or rather sponge it, with a solution made from these pieces of good leaves, and not with a solution made from stalks and trash of new tobacco, as some do. The wash (_betun_) has the same effect on tobacco that yeast has on bread. It is the agent employed to produce a strong and quick fermentation, from which results that strong and agreeable aroma that may be observed in old tobacco which has been well _betumeado_ (sponged with tobacco infusion). This infusion, made with fresh tobacco, is not bad if made carefully, but we consider that made with old tobacco is the best, because it instantly imparts an agreeable odour to the leaves on which it is used; and, instead of the infusion which is generally used, it would be cleaner and better, if a strong decoction was made from _picadura_—the small pieces of leaves of good tobacco—and used after it had become cold, or on the day after the boiling is made. “If the wash is made by infusion, at least two jugs should be used to make it in, and it should be only used on the third or fourth day, renewing it as often as it appears to pass into a state of putrid fermentation, in which state it is of no use, and on which account two deposits are necessary, so that one at least may always be in a fit state to use, whilst the other is acquiring the necessary strength and a transparent golden colour, in which state it is fit for use. “Each tobacco leaf should be dyed separately, and not, as some do, after it has been made up into _gavillas_—small bundles tied at one end of the leaf. It is very important that all the leaves should equally receive the benefit, and this is impossible when several are tied together. The good system of dyeing is used by all practical _vegueros_; to save labour some do it otherwise, to the great injury of the aroma and quality, and no small risk of the tobacco becoming spotted, and full of holes; for tobacco invariably commences to show these spots and small holes near the heads of the _gavilla_, where the dye has not been able to penetrate owing to the manner in which the leaves are tied. Each leaf ought, therefore, to be dyed separately, as the most intelligent people do. The leaves should be placed separately in rows on a bench, having all the heads in one line; then the dye should be applied by means of a sponge, which should be soaked in the dye or infusion, and squeezed, so that a dampness only will be communicated to the leaf.