The St. Johns herald., 1893-05-18
POOR JUDGES OF TOBACCO.

Lack of Knowledge of the Weed Pos-
 sessed by the Average Smoker.
 "I have come to the conclusion that the average smoker is poor judge of cigars" remarked young physician of prominence to Detroit Free Press reporter, ''and to test the correct ness of my view of the matter made a test two or three days ago that strength ened my conviction.
 ''While walking down Gratiot avenue Saturday afternoon met small boy who importuned me to buy some cigars that he was carrying in box under had been sent out to peddle the cigars, but suspect he didn't come by them any too honestly. However, I exam ined the weeds and finally made the youngsters heart glad by giving him thirty cents for fifteen of them. Just out of curiosity I lighted one of the alleged cigars, and oh! my countrymen. but it was rank! Concluding that I liked cabbage boiled and served with corned beef rather than rolled into the shape of cigars slowed my purchase away in my various pockets and deter mined to play practical joke on a friend who brides himself on his epicu- rean tastes, and who makes great pre- tensions on being superior judge of liquors and tobacco. Calling at his office I seated myself for chat, and after few moments desultory conversation drew two of the cabbage conchas es- pecialos from my cigar case-one of which I had carefully wrapped in tin foil-and handing them to him, said: Here are some cigars, Frank, that l know you will enjoy. They were given me by an acquaintance who has just returned from Havana, and he assures me that they are the identical brands smoked by the wealthy Cuban gran lees. The one in tin-foil, which by the way would cost forty-fve cents in New York if bought by the wholesale, is the stronger of the two, and would advise you to keep that for an after-dinner smoke. The other is a thirty-five cent er: try that now.'
 ssMy friend thanked me warmly for my thoughtfulness in sharing my treat with him and applied match to the 'milder' cigar. After he had puffed minute or two in silence he blew mouthful of smoke full into my face and rapturously exclaimed:
 "'Ah, my boy, there is fragrance for you! Oh, how soothing such a cigar is. By my faith, I could spend all my work ing hours in smoking had but such deli cious cigars as these at my command
 "He continued talking in similar strain until the cigar was consumed. Placing the half-inch stub in small china receptacle he said:
 "srll keep this to remind me of the most satisfactory smoking experience of my life, and after have dined will discuss the beauty wrapped in tin foil
 "Chucl1ling involuntarily I bade my friend good afternoon and left him to gloat over the treat that awaited him after dinner. Meeting him the next morning he almost wrung my hand off as he told me of the pleasure that he had derived the night before as he inhaled the 'highly-scented' smoke of the tin foil-wapped Havana
 "'Why, do you know, my boy he said, with sparkling eyes, I never imagined that so much comfort, solace and soul satisfaction could be extracted from cigar as that 1 fairly bathed in last evening. That second cigar was poem in richly-tinted tobacco that sprang into life, blossomed and grew to ripeness under the warm tropic sun of Cuba and absorbed as it ripened all the thousand and one delicious odors of that gem of an island. If ever I accumulate fortune, believe me, will smoke nothing else but those Havana beauties such as the two your generosity has enabled me to enjoy
 'Now, what do you think of that from sensible, level-headed man? Smokes some vile cabbage-leaf cigars, and just because he is told they are a choice importation goes into all sorts of rhapsodies over them. It establishes the correctness of my proposition-that the average smoker is a poor judge of cigars, and demonstrates the power of