The Penn's Grove record., 1885-07-25
The Home OF the Havana.

The manufacture Of cigars in Havana
Is carried on with more care, skill and
tboroughness than in any part of the
world. 1t is greatly to THIS circum-
stance that the huer aroma and favor OF
cigars made there are due. Natural
differences in the various kinds Of to-
bacco and climatic causes, Of course,
have much to do with this superior
aroma and flavor; but, even if other
countries had the Havana leaf, they
could not produce the same excellent
cigars. One reason why cigarmakers in
Cuba are more skilfui is because they
confne themselves to one brand only.
The cigars are made with such exscti-
tude and perfection that they appear to
have been nodded. Not the smallest
stem or RIB is allowed to show in any
one Of the four or FIVE layers Of Havana
used. The genuine Havana has q fra.
GRANGE. apart from that which the
quality of the leaf and careful seasoning
imparts, which must be attributed to
the modus o~perandi-of the c~igarmaker
and the methods Of manufacturing.
Our faverite brand is manufactured
Immediately after the plant has gone
through the process Of fermentation,
and while the leaf is almost coiorless.
some people think that fresh tobacco is
more easily handled, because it is softer
and more elastic, but in reality this is
not so. Most kinds of tobacco in Ha-
vana must be immersed in water before
they can be worked. Cellars are un-
known there, and, In consequence,
tobacco becomes drier by heat and
iraughts than in other countries. Hs-
vana tobacco undergoes fermentation
twice, first when 1t is laid up in heaps.
and again when it is packed in bales.
The stronger and heavier kinds require
a seasoning of eight months before they
attain such q degree of eoloring that
they can be used. If the leaves are
worked much earlier they yield princi-
pally third class cigars.
Havana furnishes the world with .
cigars, and in no other place in the
world are there SO many cigar factories.
Much OF the pleasant aromatic flavor of
the Havana cigar is due to the fact that
the filters are stripped and packed in
ordinary -four or potato barrels and al
lowed to remain SIX months. The ION
ger the filters are stored the stronger
the favor becomes. The method of
making cigars in other countries is very
defective, as the exquisite flavor is lost
by too much drying Rainy weather
always iuterferes with the manufacture
of cigars, as tobacco easily absorbs
moisture. The filters must always be
dry before they can be worked, Poor
to0acJN is improved by being artih-
ciafIy favored with Catalan wine,
which, undiiuted, is entirely too strong
T. drink. The manufacturer never esti-
mates how many pounds of tobacco will
he needed for 1000 cigars, but esti-
mates how many cigars can be made
from a bale.
In making a cigar, the workmen
{ kes two or three pieces of leaf and
places them fat In his left hand; he
then takes as many smaller pieces as
may be required, rolls them all together
in the hand, and finally applies the
wrapper. His chief object Is to cover
the veins or place them all on one side.
BY this the sklllful manipulation may be
!. cognized. An impractical maker will
make third-rate cigars out of first class
I bacco. Another test of a good work
nan Is the amount of scraps he makes
q tay. A good cigar-maker will average
orly one-half pound. The heads of the
Havana cigars are not fastened with
gun or any other sticky substance, but
SIMPLY by wheat bread. This is taste
less, and every workman carries a we'll
kneaded portion with him. With very
fine Havanas nothing is used to fasten
the ends, but they are secured by many
skilful t~wistings that wind INTO each
other.
Everybody in Havana smokes, but
the ladies in high life are rather secre.
tive about the matter. The cIgar-men
smoke contin aaliy, and when the EN-.
ployer does not supply them freely
with cigars of the finest quality tue
laborers steal them. First-class cigars
have a fine, smooth appearance, the
wrapper being without veins and of
beautiful color. Second and third-class
cigars are of fine quality, but not sc
well made. The different grades Of
cigars may be recognized by the differ
emit colors Of silk bands that bind them
in bundles. Great care is taken in
embellishing the boxes of fine cigars,
some of the orders of the nobility in
foreign countries being elaborate in the
extreme,