Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-09-16
CHANGES IN CIGARS.

CHANGES IN CIGARS.
The Wrapper Receiving the Most At
tiOn-American Growers Careless.
Prom the New York Sum-
How will you have your cigars-stylish, col
DRY, or is 1t flavor that you want3"
Are there styles and fashions in cigars7"
"To be sure" the tobacco man replied.
Fashions and styles change in cigars even
more than they do in DRESS The judges Of q
really good cigar are very few indeed. The av-
erage smoker buys q cigar through his eyes.
Now, here is one" taking it from glittering
show case. "that sells for five cents. You will
notice that 1t Is rich, dark glossy, and hand
some: 1t has no quality, but smoker is
satisfied with It because 1t looks well and stuck
In his mouth, 1t serves the purpose of 25 cent
cigar. | remember when it was fashionable to
smoke lght-colored cigars, Claro or Colorado
as they are known In the trade, but now every
body wants dark, colory goods. This has led to
the use of coloring extracts. and Havana tobac-
co extract is now q staple article of merchan-
dise IN the trade. In shapes the cigar manu-
facturers are controlled by mould makers. who,
in order to stimulate their business are as in
exorable in their seasons changes as are the
makers OF hatters' blocks. Cigars are pressed
into wooden moulds before the wrapper is put
on, and, according to the mould. the cigar is
turned out to be thick or thin, dumpy pointed
at end, or entirely round. Smokers, as 1 said
before, are attracted by appearance, and some
shapes become very popular and have great
run; others don't take at ALL and then the mould
makers get up another shape. As for quality. it
is simply matter of taste Some men actually
prefer the taste Of a nickel cigar, just as an
lrlshman will cling to his clay pipe and 'nigger-
mead. But 1t is curious fact that if a smoker
once inhales the flavor of fine cigar he loses all
taste for cheaper article
a 70 dino l1rh ono mil nj, k,S
in the matter Of taste, and there would soon be
no market tor nickel cigars if the ranks of
smokers were not constantly recruited from
boy cigarette smokers Last year the consump-
tion OF cigarettes was fourteen million less In
this country than the year before. This shows
that recruits have been added to the ranks of
cigar smokers. Perhaps You don't know that
New York has become the largest manufacture
ing center of the cigar industry in the world.
aor tne seven months OF this year ending July
80 there were AL ,236, 900 cigars made in New
York city. These, at Sc per thousand, yielded
a very handsome revenue to the government
Ihe cigar industry is controlled by foreign
err, and all have made money. Cigar mai ers come
principally from Germany; many are from b.
hemla, and few are from Belgium, Holland,
and England. German cigar makers are COM
ing over now In large numbers and are settling
In New York at the rate of 1900 year. They
all ind employment at renumerative wages. A
good workman gets $3.50 per 900 for making
cigars day.
Tobacco is apeculiar plant. Every leaf DIFF
fers: The more tender the leaf the finer the
quality. No machinery has yet been perfected
to supplant the skilful manipulation of the
human hand, although there have been numer-
Gus attempts to make cigars by machinery.
The essential parts of cigar are the filler and
the binder, which is called a bunch, and the
wrapper. The wrapper is not the thirtieth part
OF cigar, and yet it is the part which imparts
flavor to the whole. bad wrapper will spoil
the filler and binder, while good wrapper put
on poor bunch will make very good smoke.
The introduction of a new tobacco grown on
the Island of Sumatra into this market has
lately caused great futter in the trade. This
tobacco is grown under the direction of a
wealthy Dutch syndicate at Amsterdam, which
employs coolies to raise tobacco on their pos
sessions in the East Indies. The tobacco has
only been in this market for two years. yet it is
gaining favor so rapidly that the importations
of 1t have increased at the rate of 100 per cent
year. In 1874 the total tobacco product of
the Island of Sumatra was only g. 463 pounds.
Last month 147.z24 pounds alone were
is cured so well, and is 80 glossy and
handsome in appearance. that cigar makers
eagerly take to it. Its quality is very poor, but
since four pounds of it will cover 1000 cigars,
where twelve pounds of seed or domestic are
ordinarily used, it is much cheaper to use
Sumatra tobacco where appearance only is con-
sidered, notwithstanding it's duty of thirt y-ive
cents a pound and ten per-ce ad valorem.
Cigar manufacturers say that American growers
oftobacco have become very careless in the cul-
tivation of their tobacco crops. 1t requires one
year of curing before the crop is ready for the
market, and the 80 and the 81 crops
have been found SO poor that in self-defense
the handsome Samaritan stranger has been
given the preference. Lately the tariff COM
mission, while at Long Branch, heard argu-
ments for the suppression Of this imported to-
baccO by placing on an additional fifty per cent
or one hundred per cent ad valorem duty.
Cigar manufacturers aver that they prefer to use
Pennsylvania or Connecticut tobacco. If they
can get it fit for use in cigars. The native Leaf,
they say, has the quality, but it is poorly cured
and of bad color. The sorting of colors of
Sumatra tobacco is graded with the most per-
feet nicely. There are, for instance thirty-three
shades of brown, comprising dark, red, yellow,
and middle browns and light and dark faltow.
1t is this nice arrangement of colors which
causes the Sumatra tobacco to be preferred.
and it is said that American growers might
take valuable lesson from the care and skill
which characteriZes the coolie labor"
g.