The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-01-25

rmuor,ant Facts Relating 20 Dangerous
Commodity.

commonly.
The bales are opened ss required,
and the various leaves u5Ael Sd that
fonr different priced qualities result,
the best kind being that in which There
il the least Smyrna tobacco ana inc
/ least percentage OF large leaves. II
cigarettes are made exclusively Of
The best leaves. which arc light
yellow brown in color and meas
/ nre ONLY four by two inches, the
aroma is very pleasant, but the smoker
gets a headache after about tive ol
/ them. The middle leaves, when dry,
measure about seven by four and a
half inches. and the lowest leaves OF
all are considerably larger. Cairo AR IS
SO dry that the leaves must be dampcd
with water here before being cut, but
in Alexandria this is not necessary.
English made machines cut up tue
, leaves and on the following day the
cigarettes are rolled by Greek, Syrian
or Jewish workmen. 4 clever work
man can roll as many as l,50O a day.
The cioarettes are then carefully over
hauled by an expert, left a week to
dry. and then packed III tin boxes for
sale They should, Of course, be
smoked directly instead Of being kept,
as is too often the case in England.
So much for the tobacco; now Tor
the paper. All large Cairo firms en-
ploy one kind of paper only, which IS
made by a half English company at
Fume near Trieste. II comes to
| Alexandria in foolscap sheets, and IS
There cut up TO the required size. It's
not known how it is made, or whether
il is chiefly rico straw; but the mer-
chants here all VOW that 1t Is the best
tbev can get. If one is right IN sus-
pecting the paper instead Of tho to-
! bacco. il might be well 70 try to get
cioarettes rolled in tobacco leaves in
stead Of paper.
Tho ONLY other ingredient left TO
consider is the starch for joining the
paper This IS used with thyarS'-cly
! bv the men who rQl ldb cigarettes l
mavssq that each workman Is al
lowed to smoke as many cigarettes
(slv foty) as he likes during his work
and is presented with ten every night
10 take home with him The first
establishment that | visited only came
into being five years ago but now II
has three branch shops in London aud
one in Bombay, Berlin and New York.
The proprietors sell only per cent OF
their cigarettes in Egypt, but export
100000 a week to England, beside
100000 weekly 10 India, Europe,
China Australia, etc.
Nv second visit was paid TO a well
known purveyor who exports 2JO
week 20 England alone, where ! saw
100 men rolling cigarettes, and bales
full of the best tobacco leaves Attic
third house [ was shown several bales
of Jobeck tobacco from Ienldje. This
consists of specially selected leaves,
and is the finest possible from Turkey.
This proprietor sends about l2j, 900
every week to England.
Nv fourth visit was TO a man whom
| had never heard OF before, but who
was keenly alive 20 the correspond
ence in the English newspapers. lie
sends every week more than $4,000
cigarettes to England, and a greater
quantity to Germany Although IN
smaller line of business than tine
others, he gets his leaves and his
papers from the same spot as his com
petitors. There are, of course, many
other reputable establishments IN
Cairo besides these four which, as /
have shown, supply every week ,OOO,.
600 cigarettes to England alone and
about the same number to other parts
of the world.
My opinion is that 40 opium on other
drug is mixed with the tobacco; and
even in hasheesh dens the devotec
BUYS a bit of the cannlbis indica cX-
tract and mixes it himself with the to-
bacco. Ia conclusion, one practical
hint from a wise old Oriental who
smokes seventy or eighty cigarettes a
day, his wife smoking almost as grcato
number: Always use q cigarette holder,
and in the holder tiny plug Of cotton
wool previously dipped in lemon juice
and changed every time with the
cigarette. London Lancet