Evening journal., 1901-08-20
FINE OLD-TIME HAVANAS
ARE NOT MADE NOWADAYS

business. 1t is a curious fact that
nearly all the high-grade Spaniards inl
the cigar manufacturing business inl
those days came from Asturias.
In those days the Havana cigar was
wrapped in a leaf of Vuelta, the same
tobacco used inside for the filler 1T
was a dark rather rough-looking leaf,
which If held up to the light showed
an iredescent growth OF follicles or
tiny hairs covering it's surface. When
the cigar was smoked two distinct fra
grances were obtained, one from the
smoke taken into the mouth, and an
other from the burning end of the
cigar, both delicious.
In those days Partidos tobacco was
practically unknown. II grew sparselyl
in the phosphate soil of the PartidosI
district, which lies eastward from
Pinar del Rio, along the high Gulf
coast, and can almost be said to be the
connecting link between the magnif-
cent Vuelta tobacco of Pinar del Rio
and the eoarser and more arid
growths of Yara (now extinct), Rene
dos, Manicaagua, and the poor to-
baccO lands The cigar value of this
tobacco is Shown by the fact that fif-
teen years ago or so, Rosendo Rosen-
dueles ran a factory using nothing else,
and his perfectO cigars were sold in
Cuba for SIS a thousand, although they
had the same weight, the same high
class workmanship, ETC., as the Vuelta
perfectos of Pedro Murias, which were
worth $165 Thousand Both these
cigars were sold on Broadway, New
York, at % cents each at RETAIL "A
| The Partidos tobacco is thin, silky.
oily leaf, very much handsomer and
sightlier than the Vuelta tobacco, and
after time, being driven to it by the
scarcity of Vuelta, some manufacturers
began to use the PartidOs tobacco for
the wrapper or outside covering of the
Vuelta cigars. 1t was one of those
chance happenings that bring about al
revolution. The lighter colOred cigars
caught the American eye which was
looking forAa mild cigar and the
United Safes being the greatest buyers
OF Havana-made cigars, this demand
for light-leaf speedily brought about
the almost universal use of Particles
tobacco for wrappers. Some of the old
eAAAN AAShoA TO- ouNAA do lildl VI NluIldH.I
struggled against the new craze. as it
was called, but eventually had to give
in, since. by reason of the demands of
Americans in Europe. England also be-
gan to demand the light wrappers.
Then sounded the knell OF the old
time Havana cigars. More attention
was given to the Partidos crop and il
was improved until it did not become
gray with age, and the old-time fra
grant bouquet of a cigar was replaced
by the more or less innocuOus, char
acterless, sweet, mild smoke OF to-day.
The cigar now demanded is one of
which man can smoke half a dozen,
one after the other The old-time
smoker Of fine Vuelta tobacco says:
YES, the tobacco is good, sweet
and mid, but after a couple OF those
cigars I still want a smoke"
When this change first began Fran
cisco p. Alvarez of the Henry Clay fac
| tory conceived the idea OF consolidation.
He consolidated his own factory with
that OF Book e Co. and eventually took
in several other well-known factories.
aided by English capital Then came
the Cuban and Spanish war, and at its
close. the present combinations of fac
tories were achieved. Consequently.
instead of twenty separate factories.
with distinct products, each vieing with
the others to reach the highest excel
lence. each trying to secure the most
favored vegas, or sections of crops,
there is now a company endeavoring
to make homogeneous product to
please the smoking public at the least
possible cost.
Some idea may be formed Of the
wonderful technical knowledge of the
Il native Cuban experts in handling to-
baccO, when it is said that men such
as Senior Alvarez, Calixto Lopez and
Murias could handle a bale or two and
state definitely how the blend would
! would turn out, if the tobacco would
y burn clear or would coal" If it would
stand exposure to light, and nine times
4 in ten they would state correctly on
} what land it was grown.
ri Occasionally one will find in some
old-fashioned family here, or in El-
3 rope, cigars specially manufactured for
5 that family, costing, possibly, 30 cents
leach, and in these will be found much
of the old fragrance and flavor, but the
Il Vuelta wrapper no longer receives the
p lold-time care and attention. 1t is
3 coarser, heavier in the vein, lacking
- much Of its best characteristics. Still
5 it is leagues ahead of the characterless
e. Partidos.