Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-19
"DOCTORED, CIGARS.
Interesting Pointers on the MaufpuIa-
ton of the Fragrant Weed.

ton of the Fragrant weed.
Because cigarettes are said to contain an
admixture of certain drugs which are be-
lieved to be deleterious to health" said a
Washington dealer in tobacco, many
benevolent ladies and well-intending gen.
tlemen, the latter, in all probability, having
never cut open. much less smoked, a cigar
in their lives think that the small roll of
leaf so dear to the hearts and purses Of
other men Is loaded with all sorts of in
f1ammable and dangerous materials.
LAS a matter of actual fact, cigars are,
as a rule, made of pure, good tobacco, free
from any 'doctoring processes or manlpu-
lations which add to the already sufficient
poisonous qualities of the active principle of
tobacco-nicotine. There is enough of the
narcotic in that element
1.-The so-called 'doctoring' is largely a
matter of popular fiction. The real leaf OF
the tobacco is too cheap to attempt to pa I'm
off a smoking substitute. The poorer grades
of the weed are rank enough with adultera-
ton. The cigars put on the market nova
days are vastly superior to those smoked
by men some years ago and especially is
this true of the domestic leaf, which, by
improved cultivation and quality of the
seed. and advanced methods OF curing,
change in keeping with the times. Beyond
a slight sprinkling of innocuous flavoring
extract, to enhance the aroma, as perfume
on a handkerchief, cigars of today are
Straight goods More than ever do men
call for a certain brand, even in the cheap
er and nickel grades. and it is ofttlmes diff
cult to get them to adopt a new one which
We wish to introduce to the trade.
Several brands of nickel cigars are made
from the clippings of a higher priced cigar.
There are as many grades OF tobacco as of
wooden goods. Some men don't know this.
Some men don't know the difference be-
tween Connecticut and a Havana cigar
and never will. In fact, the ignorance of
some men about tobacco is conceived of
only NV -hn Gal in HOY
worse than some women buying dry goods
some men; not all. These men are great
bores, as other men of observing bent of
mind must notice. when the first kind are
explaining to us what they think they
know about tobacco when made in the form
of a cigar.
In smoking tobaecoes there is a great
deal of admixture of different kinds of leaf,
but it is tobacco leaf all right. The finest
grade Of smoking leaf comes from Henry
county, N. c., and L include plug chewing
tobacco in this grade 1t is a beautiful
golden green color. of exquisite flavor, SO
fine that it is almost exclusively used as a
mixer to give grade, flavor and appear
ance to inferior qualities. There is some
thing In the soil of that county which pro-
duces this leaf, for it is found nowhere else
in the United States. and it brings the
highest price. Smokers will recognize these
tiny golden fleckS among the darker grains
in their boxes of high-grade smoking tobac-
CO. The manufacturers of plug tobacco
gild, as 1t were, the outer surfaces with
ms Soi0eh green ieaf, and 1t Is very attrac-
tive to the eye of chewers. The interior of
the plug will be composed of other and
darker grades.
1T is in the making of plug tobacco that
the 'doctoring processes come in more
than in any other form of tobacco Plug
tobacco is made sweet by adding a proper
proportion of molasses in the preparation
of the plug, according to the grade Some
plug grades are very sweet and strong. A
special grade is made for the United States
navy. and it is very strong. Most chewers
prefer the sweet plug, but some will chew
only the dryer kinds. l have heard ii said
that if chewers could go through a plug
tobacco factory, they would be less inclined
to indulge in their habit. A bakery is often
a dirty place and so is a candy factory.
Places where things are made are usually
more or less filthy, and plug tobacco fac
tories are no exception to the rule Restau-
rant kitchens will turn the strongest
stomach, while the kitchen in a mans own
house is place to be avoided lust before
and after meal time
Down in st. James county in Louisiana
they grow quality of tobacco known as
Louisiana perique, which is as black as
your hat and the strongest grown in this
country. Two ounces of the real stuff will
bring up to good standard a pound of a
milder grade of inferior tobacco If this
tobacco were to be smoked clear, 1t would
make a man intoxicated from the powerful
nicotine. 1t is almost as strong as opium.
1.-The demand for cigars and tobacco of
all kinds IS on the increase. Men smoke
much more than they md, and they certain
ly chew greater quantity of plug Long
cut. While still selling, does not compare
with no har