The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-12-15
Cigars and Cigarettes.

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The tobacco-trade. possibly, has mora
mysteries than any other in this age of
commercial immortality. 1t is almost as
difficult to purchase a good cigar pro-
mscuously in Havana as it is in London;
unless you know the right shop to go to,
you are as likely to buy Whitechapel and
Bremen denominations, exported from
Europe for the purpose, and put up in
the most orthodox s'Habana'' boxes. In
Vera Cruz, you may buy cigars for five
shillings hundred, which the vendors
for few cents extra will pack and label
with the name of some famous brand.
So they will in Porto Plata or San Do
mingo. So they used in Brazil; but
Balkan and other Brazilian cigars have
now made their own name, and have
established an honorable claim to be con-
sidered among the best cheap cigars in
the world. 1t is impossible to get an
inexpensive good cigar in Cuba ITSELF
the best brands are not exported, for few
people here would care to give half-a-
crown or three shillings piece for their
..smokes' which the wealthy Cuban
who consumes them soft and green,
wrapping them in oiled silk to preserve
the iavor-pays on the spot. There is
much in a name. Thousands of really
excellent weeds are made in England
and Germany from good raw tobacco
imported for the purpose; but it would
never do to offer them for sale as British
or German produce. What charm lies
in the words ''Vuelta Abajo," to be read
on your cigar boxes! Vuelta Abajo is
small district between Havana and
Santiago, consisting of a few acres of
land only, now in the possession of two
or three of the richest planters in the
island; and probably not an atom of the
tobacco-noted for its richness-which
is grown there finds its way beyond their
own air-tight bladder cigar-pouches, or
those of their intimate friends.
Throughout the whole of South and
Central America, the Southern States.
and in many other parts of the globe, it
may safely be averred that the majority
of the male population of all classes have
cigarette between their lips during the
greater part of their waking existence
from childhood upward. The Senator
smokes in the Chamber of Debates; the
servant smokes as he waits upon you; the
shopman does not trouble himself to re-
move the smouldering rice-paper from his
mouth as he answers your queries; the
coachman who drives you, the half-clad
nigger who blacks your boots, the hunter
on the prairie or pampa, and the Indian
in the backwoods who rolls his morSel of
tobacco in maize leaf-all smoke cigar
cites. We visited one huge mandatory
in Havana which stands out into the
the bay ike an immense mahogany
cigar-box itself, where over a million
cigarettes are turned out daily. We
entered our names in book on adj
mission, aud when we had completed
our tour of the factory were each pre-
sented with an elegant case of cigarettes,
every bundle of which bore our respect.
i've names, the date, and n compliment
airy sentence in Spanish, printed in
different styles on beautifully-embossed
labels. There can be no doubt that the
introduction of tobacco in this form has
greatly increased its consumption in this
country. A cigarette is thing that
can be lighted or tossed aside at any
time, and often serves to fill up odd in
tervals of few minutes; while pipe,
as rule, demands reconciliation, and
is INDUCED in only at regular periods:
and a cigar-especially good one-is
rarely commenced by one who can APP
preciate it, except under circumstances
favorable for its full enjoyment and
completion. -CtanljerS' Journal.