The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1884-01-31
DO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY SMOKE
How Many People Really Know
What Kind of Tobacco they are
EvnnEtnpg

Snow, GUS" sud q CRITIC reporter, knock
ing the::ashes from his cigar, to tho one behind
the bar, who had Just furnished him with q
match, "what color should be the ash of
good cigar? or can you tell anything about q
cigar by its ash2"
The one spoken to professed to have thor.
ough knowledge OF the various changes
through which the tobacco leaf passed until 1t
finally appeared in Its box In the case, and to
have also reliable judgment OF the points OF
"Yes," he replied, "you can tell by the ash.
1t is not, as very many seem 70 think, a white
ash that denotes good cigar. know great
many assert that TO BIO 80, but It is not, aud
you Will ind II is not 80 II you observe for
yourself the ash OF the cigars smoked by those
men who always smoke the best. The ash OF
the best cigars is q dark gray-you might call
theee cheaper cigars and they Will have an
ash as white as that" and no pointed to some
light-colored mats under some bottles near.
"rhe white ASH he continued, ''shows the
presence OF potash, aud can take another, no
better, and It Will have darker, dirtier ash;
but this latter may be no better than the other.
SHOW about these little ones here, is there
good stun In themf Are not small ones, as a
general thing, inferiorp"
"rhose little ones" he replied, s'are better
and sell at Wholesale for more than these
larger ones. They sell for I'VE cents apiece,
but you cannot get six for quarter, as you
Elk, when aek them II they want one of these
little once, swear they wouldn't smoke the
things, and take one that 10 really poorer"
moment and then asked:
"Does a good cigar go out II you are not
drawing on It continually 2"
"Yes, indeed; you will ind u good Havana
wrapper SO oily that the IRE Will go out II you
lay the cigar down for n couple OF minutes. In
fact, the Havana leaf is too oily to make agood
swell, what do you think makes the bsst 2"
"a Connecticut leaf; that Is dry and Will
burn well. The best cigar, In my opinion, Is
made OF q Connecticut wrapper and filled with
Havana tobacco. II will burn we'll aud you
get all the taste and flavor OF the imported TO-
bacco."
Snow, what about the superiority of Havana
aThere is no doubt that some domestic to-
bacco is better than some imported, particu-
larry the n cheaper grades OF imported pc, ,t; =,
ginning TO burn In suspioiously irregular
manner, to which the attention OF the tobacco
oracle was directed.
cigar by any MEANS" he said. "You will ind
that sometimes the Leaf is so rich that It can
not BIO dried sufficiently. The moister parts
will not burn as readily rs the dry"
Tho two were here Interrupted by young
man who came In for cigar, and after care
full examination OF the lot picked out light
colored one, which he said he guessed was
mild enough. When he had gone, the dealer
said;
"Thats Just the way with people. They
certain all the time he is smoking that cigar;
that II is mild merely because the wrapper is
light. colored. great many seem to think
that they can pick out mild or strong
cis sWa,, c,n,. t,.v, ,.r.t I. DARK o,,or !,
strong onef"
"Not necessarily. You can't tell anything
abont the filling by the color OF the wrapper.
have seen men filling cigars many a time
They have their leaf and their filling and M
dark, With the he same tobacco. Attorward the
| cigars are assorted, 80 you may ind two boxes
| OF cigars looking quite different, and yet they
| contain the same Kind OF tobacco. 80 no mar
can judge OF cigars strength from its
"How can a dealer tell, then, whether he
| "Oh, there are ways, OF course. manutac
| turer knows what kind Of filling goes into his
cigars. or course, with the higher grades o.
cigare, great care is taken. man putting M
| $S0ciGars Is mighty careful: 80 one putting
| up 800 ones, but when 1t comes down to $50
cigars, why anything is good then, so III
| tobacco"
swell, does color of tobacco denote any
thingi" ...-
ooh. yes; dark tobacco is stronger, aud
suppose that is why people have como 4
think dark cigars strong. But It Isn't th'
wrapper that Il man smokes"
| "What makes the dark color?"
"rhat part OF the plant near tho ground /
dark, because shaded from the sun. II get
| Its strength from the groundi sometimes 1t |
very rank. Higher up, as the sun strikes tn
plant, II is lighter.colored, aud being furthe
from the ground 1t 10 milder. You hav
noticed those yellow spots on tobacco, un
doubleday. Well, they are caused by san
blowing on the plant. Now, Ia there anythin
| moro about a cigar that you want 20 knowT
| But the reporter replied that he believes
| the subject was exhausted, unless the othe
could toll him how to distinguish ''rea
wssSfho bioaters." But that wac dcemo
1000 much OF an undertaking"