The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1870-04-07
Something about Cedar.

One Of the most valuable trees in the
entire vegetable kingdom is the Span
ish cedar. Il is likely to remain so as
long as people smoke regalias aud the
Queen Of the Antilles yields the tobacco
of which to make them. just as afi-
thracite is found everywhere 10 the fc-
gions Of frost, so Cuba not only supplies
the world with the finest cigars, but tho
material in which to pack them. There
are various species Of cedar. The
white gives us capital wooden ware"
the red is indispensable for the maui
facturc Of pencils and yermin-proof
trunks. The Spanish cedar is equally
necessary for the making Of Cigar hoz-
es. The reason is that in wood OF no
other kind can cigars be kept without
deterioration. The longer rogalia is
kept in a box of Spanish cedar tho iinef
becomes its favor.
The best Spanish cedar is indigenous
to Cuba. 1t attains size beside which
the cedars that We see hereabouis
would be dwarfs. The war in Cuba is
so cffecting the supply that manufac-
turers are thinking seriously from
whence they shall derive it after The
exhaustion of the existing very slender
stock now in the country. The troes
are cut in the mountains by the
most primitive process, run down. into
tho ravines, and there lie until tho
rains swell the streams and drive thcm
down to tide water. Sometimes the
streams become torrents, an drive vast
quantities of logs far out to sea. In
order to pack the hold of a ship to bet
ter advantage, the logs are squared,
wasting probably one third Of their en-
tire contents. Even squared as they
are, the sticks run all the way from II
to 80 inches in thickness
Before the cigars are packed in tha
boxes the wood is deliciously fragrant.
Its odor is changed when cigars como
in contact with it, very decidedly to tho
advantage Of the latter. The wastago
is eagerly sought for by the smokers Of
fancy hams, to which itimparts favor
communicated by nothing else, the finer
sawdust being used for that purpose.
The cutting of the trees in Cuba is
now stopped, and it is feared that no
logs for shipment can be procured for
long time to come. The breaking out
of the Cuban revolution found largo
stocks gathered at various ports Of ship
ment for which the Germans we're no
tive competitors with the United States.
The consumption of Spanish cedar 10
Germany is very large indeed.
Most Of the correspondence of Cuha
with Philadelphia houses predicts the
entire success of the revolution. There
is not likely to be single years sus-
pension ol the crop Of sugar, but that
the Soodsman can or will st once return
to the mountains and resume operations
in cutting timber is deemed very uncer-
tain. Some times two successive years
elapse without sufficient rain to create
the freshet necessary to bring out tho
logs fiom the ravinas into which they
have been hauled or thrown.
Such being the case, until we get
Cuba, we shall be il strait for cigar
boxes. AS it is now very large pro-
portion Of our lower grade Of domestic
cigars are being packed in poplar and
in some cases paper boxes. The ut
most care is being taken everywhere OF
the stock of wood now on haud.-PhH-
adelphia North American.