The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-30
THE TOBACCO OF CUBA
THE vUELTA ABAJo DISTRICT AND
ITS VALUABLE PRODUCT.
Cultivation Of the Plant and the Foes
That Retara It's Growth short
nge of Good Tobacco.
special corresponaence o. DE journal.

erybody knows. the knowledge OF tobacco
first came 10 the world from the Caribbean
archipelago-some authorities say from
Cuba, others from the nearby island Of To-
bago, whence the weed derived its name
At any rate. history is explicit on the point
that in 1882 Columbus sent out a party
from the caravels OF his first expedition 10
explore Cuba, and rhe men brought back
an aromatic herb called ''tooaco.' which
they found the Indians using. The aborig-
inal method was to burn the weed over fires.
inhaling the fumes thereof through W
shaped tubes. the two points OF the pipe in
serted In the nostrils Of the smoker. the
other end held close TO he FIRE. About the
same time Spaniards on the coast of South
America reported that the natives there
were chewing tobacco. masticatins. but not
swallowing the leaves; and Franciscan
friar who accompanied Columbus on his
second voyage TO Cuba described the habit
OF snuff taking-how the Indians dried and
pulverized the weed and then drew IL up
untoe the nose with distressful sneezing"
Meanwhile Cortez in Mexico was making
| similar discoveries-only the Aztecs called
| their plant hycieu and considered IL The
sacred emblem of the goddess Chihuaco-
| huatl, or human serpent In Mexican myth
| ology this divinity was the first mother OF
concerning her one may trace resemblance
to our own erring ancestress, who brought
the race Of men TO grief through disotedi-
ence. AS the American continent vas fur
| Their explored, IL became evident that eNery-
where the consumption OF tobacco, espe-
cially by smoking, was a universal and i'm
| memorial usage among the tribes OF the
Western hemisphere. in many cases con-
nected with the most solemn religious cere-
| monies.
Though tobacco grows best In the now
| famous Vuelto Abajo OF Cuba, the neigh
| borhood OF Habana claims the distinction
| Of the first plantations, established by the
| Spaniards about the middle OF the sixteenth
| century. The industry soon grew TO such
| magnitude that the crown claimed the mo-
nopoly, and kept it until the recent war.
| From the first the pipe Of peace" in Cuba
| has been a promoter Of Instructions Dur
| ing the previous century at least three rev.
olutions grew out Of the visits Of the crown
| Inspector, who annually made the rounds
| of the plantations to fix the price upon the
crops and see to IL that Spain got the ulti-
mate drop of blood money. Sometimes the
tobacco growers refused to accept the Of
| fered terms, and, like the strikers OF mod
ern times, would not allow others 70 do
L
the crops Of those who acceded TO SPANS
demands: and then Spanish soldiers took a
| hand in the proceedings, killing a few OF
the malcontents and deporting others to Al
rican prisons. $500, sff.1
VUELTA ABAJO's CROP
| The Spanish government constructed the
| first real fabrica de tobacas (royal tobacco
factory In Havana In L6i-the great
wooden building on the bay, just south OF
the arsenal which has since served as
| military hospital Tobacco farms are known
| as vegas and when the late war began
there were upwards OF 1900 Of them In
Cuba, the crop Of the vuelta Abajo alone
worth an annual average OF s3oooO,0oo The
best vegas lie on the sandy-soiled margsnsf
of rivers or in other low. moist localitiesf
One caballeria of land about thirty-thref
acres) is the rule. half OF it devoted to raif-
ing bonjatas and platanoes-Cuban sweet
potatoes and bananas-the workmen's stan
of life. The owner or tenant OF the tobacco
farm is called the "veguero." and his dwell
ing house the casa de vivienda-" There
must also be a drying house, some mule ana
| cattle sheds and the straw-thatched "bo-
HOS" or huts Of the laborers. The latter
are usually negroes or mulattoes. an aver
age of forty to the caballeria, under direc-
ton OF ''mayoral," or overseer. AS every
body cannot keep hotel-the choruses are
born, not made-so II requires special talent
10 be successful tobacco-grower. The ma
jority OF foreigners who undertake II IN
Cuba, If they do not actually come to grief.
attain small measure OF success. The
Cuban vagueroes claim that the genius
for picking tobacco properly is an heredi-
tary gift with which no acquired skill can
compete. Their fingers seem TO know by
| bud he min ofr
and leaves cut TO regulate the height OF the
plants and the strength or miIdness OF the
tobacco. The genus nicotiana," 'cohiba.'
or whatever the tobacco plant is called
| and IL rejoices under a variety OF
names-attains a height of six 10 nine
feet and is covered with wide. rough
leaves OF a dingy green. The tobacco -
stronger when few leaves are permitted 10
grow, twelve being the average allowed TO
a good plant The fowers-some dull pink,
others greenish-yellow, indicating different
| species-haye an acrid, disagreeable smell,
and one is rarely fortunate who does not
return from tour OF his vega covered with
the parasites that infest the plants. Cubans
divide the leaves into four classes; FIRST.
the "desecho limpio"-young, thrifty leaves
near the top OF the plant. which are the
J best because they have come directly under
,
class-"desechito"- next below, while
the third, or 'libre," includes the smaller
and defaced leaves. The fourth, or ''inJuri-
ado" are those growing nearest the root,
sure to be stained by the soil and more or
less eaten by worms and insects. In each
of the aforementioned classes there are
again several grades, all with names some
what longer than the leaf. such as injuriado
! de reposo injured leaves that have been
resorted), descechitoes segundos. etc. The
trade distinguishes these grades and classes
by numbers, which 10 the expert suggest
the names. Connoisseurs readily distinguish
the choice qualities when dried. and even
in many cases s5A vegas which produced
them. by their tintings OF rich brown ana
freedom from discoloration- The test Of the
finest is in the smoking; cigars made from
Il burn freely. with white ash which Will
remain intact at the end until the weed
IS half consumed.
PRODUCTION AND PROFIT.
A thirty-three acre vega should produce
ten thousand pounds OF tobacco a year. OK
which five hundred pounds may be desc
eho." or best. Probably two thousand
pounds are ''desechito." or second: three