Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17


thinner leaf results. All of our filler to-
bacco. including that from Havana seed.
is exposed directly to the sun in growing,
no shelters whatever being used.
Cigar Smoking Machine.
unique sight in the new tobacco labora-
tory Just being put to rights here In Wash
ington is a cigar tester, smoking four
cigars at once. Heretofore, when an expert
wished to test a cigar, he had to smoke 1t
himself, and the test WAS not a fair one
unless he smoked a dozen or so and struck
an average. Such a test by dozen experts
smoking simultaneously would count for Ut
tie, since no two men smoke alike. In facti
no smoker consumes two cigars under pre-
cisely the same conditions. Or. Garner
smoking machine can, on the other hand,
smoke a Thousand cigars without varying
a fraction of an iota in the processes or
consumption. The puffs are all of the same
length, the suction is always OF the same
force and there are no disturbing move
ments of the cigar during the operation.
Leading from four glass cigar noiders are
as many glass tubes terminating IN glass
siphon pump. which continuously puhs on
the cigars In the holders. taking first long
and deep inhalation and next an equally
complete exhalation, the smoke from an
four cigars rushing out of g. glass tube IN
the top.
BY substituting pipes for the cigar hold
ers pipe tobacco can be tested In the same
manner, as can ClRdI6tt6s, WHcA C8diSllS
holders are fitted. The high officials of the
Department of Agriculture Will permit
neither a photograph nor detailed descrlp-
ton of the apparatus to be made public II
is rumored that they fear that that de-
votes of the weed-"UncIe joe Cannon
may become envious and may hold up the
appropriation for the smoking machine
once he learns definitely that there Is
creature In government employ capable OF
smoking at one and the same time four
cigars supplied by Uncle Sam.
Measures Points of Good Cigar.
Even If you are an fnveterate smoker,
you probably do not know all of the points
of q cigar This machine measures them
In detail The tobacco. having been received
from the field experts, is placed in storage
In a special room in the laboratory build
ing After samples have been reserved for
chemical analysis the leaves are turned
over TO an expert eigarrnaHerf who takes
those of certain variety for wrappers
those of another for binders and those or
still another for filters.
The cigars are then placed in the machine
and smoked The first point considered is
evenness of burn. A good cigar shows
sharply defined line between the ash ana
the tobacco. and does not burn down fur
Their on one side than on the other, even
when smoked to the butt. This evenness of
burn is a matter Of chemical composition.
The next point noted Is color or ash. A
good cigar gives either a. pure white or
very light gray ash, whereas the ash of
poor one Is brown uneven or mottled. A
further consideration is whether the ash
fakes off or holds together firmly. A good
ash holds clear down TO the butt in the
smoking machine, where there are no dis
tt1rbng motions. The last consideration IS
whether the cigar "coals'-turns black and
Fuckers about eighth of an inch ahead
OF the burning. When a lot of cigars thus
standardized average below par, the cigar
maker is required to make wrappers only
of the same tobacco, and these shells are
smoked without any filler or binder; or
a complete cigar may be made of the filler
tobacco to determine whether 1t is at fauit.
50 complete are the records of all OF these
new varieties of tobaccos that the experts
knoY the complete genealogy OF each leaf
put in test cigar. Each package of seed
planted in the seed beds, each Seeding
transplanted and the cured leaves of the
matured plant are all carefully numbered,
so that If a defect Is found not only exact
environment and chemical conditions, but
heredity can be looked up. Thus we have
the work upon newly Invented tobacco.
from planting to smoking
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.