Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-03-19

take the leaves grown on their own laud
or holdings and lay the leaves strnight.
"dop' II with New England rum aud
molnsses, instead Of using "boughten
terbakker"
II is curious to note that In New York
city 10 per cent Of the fine-cut sold Is
In foil covered packages, while outside
the bulk Is demanded IN pals. Also
that New England and the Eastern
States want n sweetened plug, and that
the West requires an unsweetened one.
and that manufacturers have to arrange
their trade accordingly.
Previous to the present century fine
cut chewing tobacco was unknown, and
all chewing tobacco was In the plug or
twist, the leaf was made up nearly in
a natural state very little foreign mat
ter Of any description being used. The
first sweetened plug in this country was
made In Baltimore by man named
Patterson, seventy years ago. and he for
many years managed TO keep the for
mula n profound secret. until one day n
sailor cutting off a suitable piece from
his plug with his jack knife, struck q
piece of licorice and the secret was ex-
posed. Swectening caught on to the pub
lie taste aud even the fnrmerS fell into
line with their homemade plug, making
It by an ingenious method which two
years ago was seen In operation In the
Mississippi valley. A log about twelve or
eighteen inches In diameter was secured,
and in this the farmer would bore with
an auger dozen or more holes, Accord
ing TO the length. using Il bit of an
inch or more in diameter Into these
holes he would press, with hammer Of
wood, a little tobacco, then a little honey
or maple syrup, then more leaf and more
sweeteniug, until the holes were filed.
Then he would plug each one With q
piece of wood, md ct intervals of q
al. IA Il
! TO give the moisture a chance TO work
well into the tobacco FROM all sides.
Then he would split the log down the
center with q wedge and his plug would
fall out ready for use, and not bad chew
ing by any means.
About 1890 appeared the first fne-cut
chewing and it Is difficult 60 say which
of six firms originated it. Ii doomed in
an unprecedented manner, made Tor
tunes. and totally upset all previous
records aud methods of business. This,
however, was an unsweetened chew,
| made first of Virginia and later of dark
Kentucky, and the popularity II reached
| in the East was undoubtedly due 10 the
| fact that il could be procured fresh from
the factory, rs after keeping little
| time il became dry and very pungent
| 10 remedy this drying out sweeteneing
was added and flayoring substances, but
west OF the New England states 1t could
never be doomed into popularity. The
| old fne-cut makers are dend and forgot
ten, and but few people Of today remem-
| Der the tobnccos of Lillienthnl and Co,
| Thomas Hoyt or John Cornish, but their
contemporaries, the Lorillards, Mrs. Mil.
! lcr aud ID. Buckner are still in the ring,
although CandOr compels one TO own,
! that us far as ine-cut Is concerned, they
are more than Slightly dishgured." II
| was stated some time ago IN tobacco
| trade paper that the sales of hne-cut
amounting IN 1915 TO O4,OOOOOO pounds
had now fallen OF TO 15,O00,OOO pounds
Outside of New York, Detroit ranks
| old factories of Cincinnati, Coyington
Dayton. Toledo, Chicago and milwaukee,
may now be counted out
Some years after the war the sales OF
| fne-cut began TO fail, and when the
| famous Burley superseded Virginia IN
| the plug, iine-cut was practically doomed
| The plug makes n tougher chew which
| lasts longer In the mouth, requir
| ing more work 20 exhaust IL, and be-
| side, old chewers will tell you that
as in cigarette smoking, half the pleas
ure is In rolling the cigarette, so IN chew
| ing half the fun Is in carving a piece of
the especially II the plug - Dor
| rowed onel Mean men with false teeth
| are said TO be in the habit of taking
| their teeth out when chewing thank
| you" tobacco, so as TO make It last
| longer. The fashion or style of GOV.
| ering fne-cut with tin-foll IS snid %
| have been brought about by General
| Scott when In the Mexican war he sent
| home for some chewing tobacco to old
| John Anderson at his store corner OF
| Duane. from whence pretty Mary kog
| ers was decoyed and murdered by un
| known persons The tobacco was wrap
| oil In, Fpt1 ursriU gmpn UUU0
| condition. and was SO welcome, that
| General Scott wrote 10 Anderson TO that
| effect, and for many years the framed
letter hung In the quaint old store
| The letter said, "Your tobacco come.
rs genuine solace,' and on the brand
OF SOlace (still well known old John An
derson built up the fortune still be
ing fought over in the courts OF law
There is quite trade at the present
time, and for years past. in the discarded
foil Of tine-cut packages; II Is bought al
a nominal sum about 4 20 y cents pei
pound) aud Is said 10 be used by den
fists to forma filing for teeth, known
TO the trade as succedaneum.
The process Of making plug tobacco u
clearly and simple, and the ghost stories
of dirty colored people tramping arounC
in It. barefoot, chewing and spitlng arr
| now thing Of the past, In fact such {
practice never existed. The same thinl
was said, when / was boy OF DroWl
sugar and pieces of wood were declared
to be pieces of nails. As soon as the 60
bacco is plable enough not TO breG
when united. IL is 'cased.' that Is, sweet
ened which Is effected by spreading tn
tobacco on the floor, and with watering
pots sprinkle il with mixture OF lico
rice. sugar and fayoring Cwhere II j
used. Then il Is turned with pitch
fork, and moistened on the other side
Cheap tobaccos have used on them eheal
grades Of licorice, etc, but on the hne
grades, graduated sugar and 2S-cent lie
orice Is In order. This easing take
away the bitter taste of the barn curing
aud 100 pounds of tobacco VIII tax
up about twenty pounds Of CASING max
ing about 100 pounds. The tobacco !
tEen sent to the bins from where II j
weighed out TO the rollers with so man.
wrappers. These rollers are negroes VIII
lists to form filling for the teeth. know
helping them, and each roller employs AM
pays his team" just as was done Il
the tenement house cigar factories. III
stemrners tear off the stem or back ri
of each leaf and pass It along TO III
rollers or cutters, who shape II int
twists, Tugs, etc, each OF which h accur
ately weighed, measured and inspected
for ont of each three pounds Of wrapper
the roller is expected to turn IN twent
pounds of worked up product, There Ia
happy negroes stand or sit, and WORE
singing with a swing and a tenderness
that does one good TO heP and wien
striking strangers ear as he passes III
factories, causes him 10 stop and ask I'll
reason of the song.
These lumps are then taken into rooI