The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-03-26

and Wisconsin. Among there to-
baccos you can pick ont as fine a
quality as there is in the world, pro
vided you are judge enough to know
good tobacco when you Gee it. Uns
fortunately, good judges of tobacco
are very few indeed. In large crop,
say of Pennsylvania tobacco, l can
pick out fifty different kinds, rang
ing all the way up from the
vilest scabbage-leaf' to the
finest that Cuba or elsewhere
produces. If our people were
as careful in selection and would
manufacture cigars upon the Cuban
principle, there would be less talk
of the superiority Of the pure Ha-
vana. The principle of the manu-
facture of cigars is peculiar thing.
It requires more judgment and
manipulation to produce good
cigar than nine tenths of the people
have any Idea.
''The trouble with the American
is the idea current that a good cigar
cannot be obtained unless a big
price is paid for 1t. This is an error.
I can make selection of Pennsyl
vania tobacco and make a cigar that
will deceive an expert. I can make
a domestic cigar and sell 1t for less
than an imported cigar, and 1t will
at the same time be superior to the
latter. An imported cigar that is
usually sold over the counter al 15c.
apiece, or two for 25c., will actu>
ally cost in Havana about S35
per 1000 !; and at the latter
rate, in Cuba, it cannot be sold
cheaper in this country on account
Of the heavy duty, cost Of trans
portation, factors commission,
profits, sc. A cigar that sells in
Havana for $32 is really a poor cigar,
and it is sold here two for a quarter,
falls below the domestic at the same
price. To get a good cigar in Ha>
vana $50 to $50 will have to be paid.
What are considered the best cigars
in Cuba dOnot come to this country
or they come in such small guam.
titles as to be hard y worth noticing.
They are heavy strong cigar, have
much more nicotine in them and
burn with dark ash. SUCH q cigar
is not relished by Americans; they
prefer mild tobacco. When an
American says he wants a strong
cigar he means that he wants q
dark cigar, dark, bit mild. If a
manufacturer should start here and
turn out a cigar such as a Cuban
would pronounce to he the best, he
would soon find that there would be
no market for such an article, and
would have to close up.
"What call a good domestic
cigar can be bought three for a
quarter. Such cigars, if made by q
reputable firm, are superior to any
Is cent imported ones. Most all of
the domestic contain Havana
tobacco, not. as I told you before,
because that tobacco is superior to
the American, but because the lat
ter of the same grade is scarcer.
The advantage which Cuba has is in
the quantity Of good tobacco, not
the quality. In all my experience
/ never knew the domestic cigar to
have az good reputation as it has
to day.
GAS to the number of cigars con-
sumed in this country Annually 1
can only give an approximate figure,
but think that about 100000, 600
would be about near the mark. As
to what constitutes good judge OF
tobacco, 1 could no more describs
than I could tell you what makes q
good judge Of music. A good judge
knows by the grain Of tobacco
whether it Is gooa or not, and that
is all that can be said on the sub.
ject. It Is all matter of natural
bent"
The same gentleman then told
briefly the process Of cigar man.
ufacturing after the case Of tobacco
leaves has reached the factory. He
said that after the case is opened
the tobacco is removed and damp
ened with water and allowed to re-
main in this condition for two or
three days, when it becomes soft
and silky by the creeping Of the
moisture to every part of the leaf.
1t is then repacked in the case and
is "resweated" for the purpose OF
removing the impurities and for ob.
tanning darker color. The mode
adopted in resweating is to subject
the tobacco to temperature OF 100
degrees Fahrenheit, and this takes
some three to 20 days. After this
the stem is taken out and the leaves
are put in half-pound packages
With the points Of leaves together.
These packages then 60 into the
workmen's hands and are made up
into cigars and packed in boxes:
The packing, he said, is no small
part OF the business, for upon the
packer devolves the duty Of select
ing cigars Of identical shade and
coIor-a thing which requires very
sharp eyes and much experience.
philadelphia Ledger.