The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-03-13
Tobacco Paper.

While seeking information among re-
tail tobacconists. a peculiar preparation
of tobacco used for the manufacture of
a certain inferior class of cigarettes in
Havana was spoken of to the reporter,
and with some difficulty 1t was learned
that German merchant who is not in
that line of trade had box of peculiar
cgars sent TO him some time ago from
Germany as sample, with purpose
of inducing him to undertake putting
them on this market.
Take cigar" he said Hospitality,
offering a box half full of the "weeds,
and lighting one of them himself. "Yes,
/ did have some such cigars sent 10 me
awhile ago, but declined to have any
thing to do with them, as there was no
profit in them. They could not pay
duty and compete with the class of ci-
gars they would be expected TO run
against here. Peculiar manufacturer
Yes, rather. The richest, oiliest, rank
est tobacco brought from some of the
" est Indian islands is first put through
a process exactly Ike that of making
paper pulp. While it is in that state
chemistry's aid is invoked to entirely
change its character The Clements
eliminated from it; other essential oils
and ethers are added 10 it. 1t can be
made to exactly counterfeit any tobacco
in the world, even the finest from the
Vuelta de Abajo.
when it is just right, it is run out in
film, that gradually grows in thick
ness to sheet, just as paper is made
Upon this sheet certain acids are lightly
sprinkled in minute drops here and
there, to simulate upon the perfected
sheets the little spots and blotcheS that
you see in the genuine tobacco leaf.
The color has already been attended to
and regulated so that it will come out
Just right for any shade of cigar, from
Claro to an Oscuro, but now other
essential oils are touched to the sheet
IN the most deli ate way, to give the
rich. oily gloss or sub-tautaneous color,
so to speak. that will be observed on The
finest dark leaf. Finally. the sheet goe s
between powerful steel rollers, upon the
carefully matched surta :es of which are
deeply engraved exact reproductions in
the mcst delicate detail of markings of
genuine tobacco leaves. When those
leaves are cut out of the sheet, it re-
quires the skill of an expert to deter
mine that they are not real. The REM
nants 60 back into the vat, and the
leaves are according to their quality,
made into ciga~s or chopped up into
filling for cigarettes. BY the way, how
do you like that cigar you are smoking
now?"
Very we'll"
Good flavorp Burns well? Holds
we'll it's fine white ash?
ITO all your queries Yes"
"Well. that is one OF the cigars have
described to you the making of. Take
wrapper and the filler carefully. am
not surprised to hear YOU say that it
looks like natural leaf and that YOU
can trace the lines of the veins and fine
stems in it. OF course you can. But
tear bit in two and look at its edge
with this magnifying glass. Do you 90
serve that its fibers are irregularly dis
posed of cris ,-cross. just like this bit of
paper that tear and put under the
glass? A natural leaf does not tear in
that way. Srape it. and you will see
that its tibers separate from their ho,d
in different directions. Soak it in water
and it will become soft and pull apart
like paper. 1t is simply tobac paper.
No, l do not know that there are in tn
country any more of these cigars than
the few have left. do not think that
there are. But know that great guam
titles of them are sold all over Europe,
and that the expectations TO South
America are quite large. People there
smoke them in preference to the genu-
inc and good real leaf cigars grown
and made in their own countries. VOL,
perhaps they don't know how the i'm
ported ones are made. A dealer need
not feel il compulsory upon him to tell,
and thers's great deal of virtue in
label to the average cigar smoker.
N. Y. Sun.