The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-01-26
Cur @lio.
How Cigar Boxes are Made.

From The Ercning Wisconsin.
Three different kinds of lumber are used
in the manufacture of the boxes. Common
boxes are made from bass wood, brought in
heavy boards from the northern part of the
State. 1t is then recut, planed, grained
and stained, in order to give it a cedar-like
appearance The best wood is red cedar,
which IS grown on the sunny southern slopes
of Mexico, Cuba and Central America,
where the vertical rays of the sun may pen
citrate its fibre and the heavy forests shelter
it from the northern and western winds.
This wood possesses the sharp, pungent odor
which renders it particularly valuable for
the packing of fine cigars.
The wood is purchased either from first
hands in the South or from New York
dealers. 1t is cut in the requisite thick
ness, one-fifth of a carload always being of
the necessary thickness for ends. The
strips of wood are run through a rip-saw
and sawed in long strips, and cut into the
required lengths on second machine.
The ends are then planed as smooth as the
sides, and they are ready to be made into
boxes The lids and sides are then put
into printing presses, such as ordinary
printers use, only much heavier and the
brand, trademark, &c, are indelibly impress
ed on them. They next pass into the hands
of the nailers. They are not nailed together
by hand, but by machines which look like
type-setting machines. The nails are fed
into hopper on top, and are led through
small brass pipes into little tubes at proper
distance apart By the pressure Of his foot
the nails are forced by the operator out of
these tubes into the wood as accurately and
six times as rapidly as the most expert me-
chanic could do with hammer First an
end and head piece are nailed together and
placed in large piles, and then two of these
are nailed together, forming the sides.
They are passed to boys at the right, who
rapidly nail the bottoms on by hand. The
half-completed boxes are then taken by
girls, who tack on the covers by hand,
fastening them in place temporarily with
partly driven nails. They pass along to
girls who dexterously paste cloth hinges
upon them. The boxes are then piled up
to dry.
The next operation consists in trimming
off all over-hanging wood, which is done
on a rapidly revolving planer. They are
then placed against whirling sand wheels
and nicely smoothed. The boxes are now
ready for the large force of girls upon the
upper floor, who proceed to place the fin
ishing touches upon them, First the edg
ings are pasted on, then the inside labels,
Innings and flaps. The girls are paid at
the rate of so cents a hundred, and can
earn from 81 to So a week The labels
are made by houses in Chicago and New
York. Some labels are very artistic, The
designs are the work of distinguished artists,
and the coloring is rich and varied. They
are expensive, ranging in price from to 10
cents each
1t has been noticed that the quality of the
cigar can be told by the style of the label.
Those labels which resemble cartoon in
comic paper are intended for cheap cigars.
Those which describe ladies in very decolette
toilets caressing impossible birds ofunheard-
of colors, by fountains of emerald water,
seldom accompany good cigar. The best
Havana cigars usually have motto labels,
bearing some Spanish name, or containing
scenes in Cuban or Spanish outdoor life.
The more gorgeous the label usually the
poorer the cigar The esame rule holds good
with the box itself. Those which have
brass hinges and small catch in front,
and fairly glisten with varnish polish,
generally hold cheap cigars. The printing
department of large factory is as nearly
complete as job printing Office can be,
The names of the brand ordered by manu-
facturers are printed upon the labels at the
factory The boxes are now ready for de-
livery. The silk ribbons used for fasten-
ings form quite an item, the factory visited
by the reporter using over 500 worth
month. A carload of cedar is used every
five or six weeks and costs $40 thousand
feet