The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-03-31
Something About the Tobacco
Received in Mankat0.
Small Crop Of "Undertakers
Hope Produced Here.
Tricks of the Trade as Relat-
ed BY One of EN-.
From Tuesdays Daily.

From TUESDAY DAILY.
Tobacco from many places of wide
ly varying climates, not only in this
country but abroad as well, continual
ly comes into this city in huge bales to
supply the demands of Mankato's eight
cigar manufactures. Large quantities
of the Cuban grown product come up
from Havana. The delicate Sumatra
leaf is brought across the sea and stow
ed away in custom houses to await the
demand, and no small amount comes
to Mankato, for here are made some
very high grade cigars, and the thin,
sweet favored wrapper that bears the
name of the far away Asiatic island
has not its equal in any nome grown
tobacco. thinner tobacco, some from
Spain, but largely from the state of
Ohio, makes delightful filler. The
regular Havana filler, with a Havana
binder and Havana wrapper, makes a
powerful ten cent cigar, with an eX-
quisite aroma. Attempts are made to
grow the Havana seed on American soil.
In Texas the Havana seed is raised be-
meath hugh protecting tents and very
soft, delicate, thin leaf of good flavor
is obtained but it is far from being
equal to the genuine Havana, grown on
Cuban soil beneath the more tropical
rays. Considerable quantities of this
American Havana are used in Mankato
factories, and it makes very good
filler Pennsylvania Broad Leaf is also
extensively used here for filler pur-
poses.
For the fine cigars the Sumatra wrap
per is largely used. Connecticut tobac-
co is adapted to binder purposes, and is
largely utilized for that purpose. The
same kinds of tobacco can be used for
binders and for wrappers, as they APP
pear on the outside. For binders and
wrappers, thin leaves are wanted. Thick
wrappers tend to drown the taste of the
filler, and the filler is really what is in
tended to be tasted by the smoker
That is why it so often happens That
a smoker on first lighting cigar will
taste the wrapper more tnan anything
else and will think the cigar is very
fiat, but, on getting the fire in toward
the center, where the cigar itself is
wired and there is more filler, he will
think he was mistaken about the taste
of cigar and that it is all right after
all. This is not the case, however,
when Sumatra wrapper is used, as
that is sweet in itself, and tastes well.
On the cheaper cigars made here, the
wrappers grown in New York, Connect
cut and Wisconsin, are used. The Wis
consin wrapper is quite thick and
heavy, and is poorly adapted to the
making of any but quite cheap cigars.
Some tobacco is grown in Minnesota,
but the soil of this state does not seem
well adapted to the production of any
good tobacco. Most smokers strongly
object to the flavor. Recently man
from a neignboring town came into one
of the Mankato cigar shops with some
smoking tobacco that he had grown on
Blue Earth county land. He filled his
pipe and began to smoke. An cutlery
wa sraised in the shop, and the work
men begged him to desist.
The cuttings left over in the making
of wrappers and binders are carefully
saved and often used for filler in very
cheap, mild cigars. Sucn filters do
not have much flavor or strength. These
cuttings are also sold for pipe tobacco,
often being mixed for this purpose with
some cheap kind.
The most rigid economy is practiced
in the making of cigars. The men are
requested to work close, that is, not
to waste the tobacco, but to use it all
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