The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-04-03
TOBACCO CARDENOFTnFTss
New York Herald.

4 .NtN tVih fifItln. ~ 'f|01 III
Havana. American cspi.s, 3
of s1oo.o0o.Oc0 stands p,sa.s ~ s7>e<
enterprise OF uniting under u
nent. u not ownership. the 80. -k
producing plantations oil the .v,., '''>sl1
jo' district in Havana ana p,.,S ~
provinces. In this distrlct /. ~
finest grade OF tobacco to 81 ,o',., "n
world, the excellence OF the y
due undoubtedly TO peculiar;,,.. ~
soil. Ownership Of these toh... "
carries with Il control Of tho ~
which can be broken only by the IL q, us
bly, applied n" 'o't,
Samples of the vuelta Aha,o ~,
been submitted to the most esns Z" -
lists, none of whom has been AZ. Z. Nus '1
trRte natures secret. so capr,e,,. !" pea'
combination of soil and plant is ~. = y
ough agricultural experiment 4. aas eaI
to separate the good from the ~ ss :,
land In apparently the sams u, s0ass
with a few ieet ulvidlng them IN ",
found tobacco plants growing. on w, VIZ
ing leaf that is cheap at sIo n, r .a
the other dear at an equal price ~ ~, "
dred weight. And more. the rirhi' ut. w
soil never wears out, while ira os r,oa
4 soil can be improved by no kpowo ', ss'.l
os treatment Plants brought fra,, A. ~,
districts or foreign countries "a v v'ee
Abalo require only careful cultiyatiosss J.
give them rank with the native .ns....
Nhile reversal of the process jnvsr,.t,
/ results IN tne plant transferred ~.
Nuelta Apa1o To any other district dess,,s.
ating INTO the commonplace 'pittsbsr,.
or wheeling weed of comnlerce
To secure title to the entire toA.,..
producing district will require only I'M NM
patience and capital on the n,r -', :, H ~
proposed trust. This will be hst,s = ~
derstood when it is known that ! " W.
dozen Havana cigar MANUFACTURES. w y,
ready own about one-half Of vusl,s .s
ajo OF ccurse, to send agents inse ~ M
held with the announced intention 4, M
ing all the god tobacco lands womb 49,.
prices skyward In a hurry, but trnx, II : :
not operate in that manner. For ssr..s,
weeks shrewd agents OF those bact !, T.
immense speculation have been lour,;ss
around Vuelta Abajo buying vegas us,s4'S
when the price and quality al ~ ~
pleased them. There are abou, 4. ~ \.
these purchasers and they have ars,ss
secured options upon many thousssds !,
acres without their real purpose h,l,,
generally known. as
4 Twenty-six thousand men and about 4,
thousand women and children haye ~,
directly employed in the production II
tobacco IN Vuelta AbaJo. Within thrs
years 1t Is believed that district viii III,
employment to fully $4,000 men. Ibe ~ ~.
Of wages has been high compared via
that of other employment in Cuba. or ef,s.
pared with the pay of farm hands II Is.
United States. Those employed the ~,
around receive from SIS to $40 and tht,
keep per month. Those employed ar, 4
i ing harvest receive about Slot Der lar
1t requires the attention OF one mar d
produce 1000 pounds Of tobacco, and \
! is sad that an apprenticeship Of fury
five years must be served before one resjr
understands the science of tobacco grur
ing. The best men come from the Cea,r
Islands, though Cuban negroes, when Ok
too lazy, make excellent plantation hsrA
i In many ways tobacco raising Il IL
most attractive agricultural ind,siry i
Cuba. Tobacco plants are placed ID IL !
ground during October, November ard D.
cember. The harvest begins n Jsnurr
and lasts until the latter part Of Mr.
The fret cutting is for wrappers, the lrg
field the tobacco is taken to the dfya
house, where it is left for about Tort
days to ripen.
Though it may be ripe and rssdy d
handle, the tobacco must remain In n |
drying house until the rainy season h /
set in and it has absorbed enough mcl.
ture to allow OF its being handed witt.
out crumbling After It has taken up ii.
fieient moisture the leaf is spread In hsss
whore IT. goes through sweating process
after which 1t is assorted, according
quality, color. length and size, Her
is divided into about twelve CLASSES. ralt'
ing in value from S25 to $1,000 per w
of 100 pounds. Tho cheapest quality ssi
into cigarettes. the best into cigars Y
retail price Of which Is about SIP s1at
Incidentally ii may be mentioned that
/ bacco chewing is q habit unknown IN GUN
and chewing tobacco has never been nai'
ufactured here. but since the aTlyal
the American soldier at least one y
vana cigar manufacturer Is expermenlg
with the idea Of supplying the unexpS'H
demand for plug" or fine cut
In Havana there are about lou cigar ~
tories, big and little. though mol nM
than twenty-five ere worthy OF inc nss'
OF the larger factories, eight are X.
trolled by the English syndicate recelu
organized by Gustav Book, VINO Is w
the prime movers in the present alp.N
to secure title to all the tobacco NJ
ducing lands in Vuelta Abajo. in IN
factories produce about 80 per csn' !. n n
the cigars made in the city, ana !.
American syndicate idea Is sucus
every important factory in HaSA~ =
be purchased or leased. -,
Mr.. Book was an object OF in'efps~ ~ts
= interest and discussion last spring, ~ ~
he appeared at Key West with Letters ~ ~
Secretary Alger, General Lee ana IN
other influential Americans, sukss s
that he be permitted to break tne IVA ~
and enter Havana Mr.. Book Snowy 4
his business was suffering srear
cause of his absence and tnal ~ IN
Blanco was about to slaughtel W III
oxen for food for Spanish SOLDIER. a.
appeals however, failed TO sv' ,.sss
heart of Admiral Sampson, ana,
Mr.. Book was generally denouoen
Spanish sympathizer. A little iass .as 70.
tered Havana harbor or p'ocs s X n
ne. from Mexico. and signaiisssss pl,,a
rival by a violent quarrel WIN IA .
which resulted in his peink nj
the streets as an "Amerlcano.,, M -
saved his oxen. or, at least ~ y
which had already been slauE st.' n cs.s
he controls the tobacco sitnauoa c,rs y
end has for many years. haslns ,,rf
Havana in 1857 when he was fssis
man of 90 those who woula lo,' IN lstf'
tobacco trust have gone TO MN
/ .frfn