The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1909-02-04
THE KINGS A
Where and How They Are Grown, and
What He Pays for Them.

From Casseirs Saturday Journal.
Queen Victoria's father, the duke OF
Kent, smoked once q day-from the
time he arose in the morning until he
tetlred at night. His royal wife didn't
like 1t, and his beautiful young daugh-i
ter sometimes had to leave his pres.
enca. So, when she herself becamet
Engiand's sovereign. and, in 1871, be-
came the mother of little Albert Ed.
ward, she pointed 10 the lac one day
and said: There's a boy who shall
never smoke
A month or SO ago the ma who was
once the queens little boy ordered from
q tobacco company 5000 cigars that
come eight to the pound, and are war;
ranted to burn two hours and a half in
any climate. The bill was a2.oe0-
each cigar costing about IA shillings.
Such are the uncertainties of fulfill
ment, even OF royal mothers plans.
King Sends Cigars to the Kaiser.
AT the same time the king sent along
an order for 1000 cigars for his
nephew, the emperor of Germany. The
British monarch is always generous il
his gifts, but for the kaiser's cigars, he
paid only six shillings apiece.
WiAsam IL of Germany, being nor
malla, a bundle Of nerves. smokes a
cigar that lacks a little of being half
as large as that OF his uncle's best
brand.
Any time that you happen to be 90
miles southeast of Havana you can
look about you and see the ountry that,
produces. not only the kings cigars.i
but the tobacco that goes into the,
smoking material consumed in all the
royal palaces of Europe, except that of
the sultan of Turkey. The surround
Ing country is known as the Vuelta
Abajo district. Contrary to general
belief, this territory from which tobac-
co for royalty comes is not small.
Many a man bites off the end OF a.
wrapper that grew mex hill to the
kings ii shilling cigar. The difference
Is that edward Wis smokes are all
made of the largest, finest leaves. while
the ordinary man's cigars are put to-
gether from what is left.
Growing tobacco for royalty is q DEL.
icate business. The first step is to get
the best seed. Once in the ground. ii
Immediately requires much water.
Each plant is daily carefully sprinklad.
In three weeks it is time to transplant.
Those that haven't shown up well are
thrown away, and the others are put
IN the ground three feet apart.
All fer the PaIate's Sake.
Then begins the difficult task of fore
ing into h leaves the Ingredients that,
when burned. make the monarchs feel
at peace with all the world, whether
they are or not. Potash is needed to
supply part of the aroma and the fla
vor. OF this substance each plant is
fed with all it wants. But h tobacco
plant is also an enormous consumer of
nitrogen, and therefore cotton seed
meal, bone meal. and dried blood are
frequently mixed with the earth. MANY
Cuban COW has gone to the block
without knowing that the blood in its
veins wonfd yet add a delicate flavor
to the cigars of a king.
AS soon as SO much fluid has been
forced into the plant that 1t threatens
TO run over by going to seed, a cork 10
put into the top, 50 to speak, by cut
! n off the end OF the stalk, and the
Forcing process from the bottom goes
on. In a little while the leaves near
est the ground begin to turn yellow.
= planter who is raising tobacco for
plain Bill Jones sees a yellow leaf or
tive at the bottom of the stalk, he cuts
down the whole plant. But in raising
tobacco for kings and czars and empe-
rors, only the leaf that is yellow is
picked. and the others are permitted to
remain until they, too. are ripe.
Inc next step Is curing. First. the i
leaf must hang In the sun just so long.
While It is hanging in the sun it must
other leaves, 1t must be tied In a bun
ole. And by the time 1t has had some
more sunshine, and Is ready to begin
process now as Fermentation, it
has lost SIS per cent Of its weight. IT
has become the boiled-down sweetness
of the tobacco plant.
Fermentation is for the purpose OF
reducing the quantity of nicotine in the
and improving the aroma. In the
performance Of this task, heat Is the
.oie agency. Tobacco a be fernented.
TOR the average man In about two
weeks; for a king the time required is
years.
A Box-of One.
a men who make the kings cigars I
set 4 shilings each for making them. !
Ihey make g dozen a day. Each cigar t
9 nine inches long and three-auarters
an men IN diameter in the miadle. t
And packed a hundred in the box? j
Maybe Tor the czar and the king OF Z
spain, III not for King Edward. He t
his one in a box, hermetically 4
'eaied, with a little strip OF glass for q
'over. SO ne can see through and be \
II should not be assumed that he fills
us cigar case With these cigars to pass ],
mem out to his friends at the races or !
y otner pisces. He has another kind !
2. tnat purpose-the kind that he him :
s!i moke every day--the same quail !
ixe. The 14-shilling cigars are for use
- very special occasions. ]
howard VII. Is the greatest royal
moker in Europe. Once In a while he
lghts q cigaret, but cigars are his {
ssauy diet. Inc czar Is ais a great d
inoker, but he prefers cigarets to {
igars. h sultansof Turkey smokes
lothing but cigarets. I
The Dion-Bouton automobile factory, /
suteaux, France. has built what ii
IL the theatrical car OF the flu
= corlmodious to carry a Of s
bout AZ persons with room for the !
lAkSaEe on top. In suc a vehicle the !,
layers may 80 from city to city at !