The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-08
KINGS COSTLY SMOKES.
Come From Cuba, Run About Eight
to Pound and Cost $3.50 Each.

Queen VictOTia's father. the Duke Of
Kent smoked once Il day-frOm the
! time he arose in the morning until he
retired at night, says the Boston Post.
His royal wife didn't like ii, and his
beautiful young daughter sometimes
had 10 leave his presence. So. when
she became England's sovereign, and,
in 1S41, became the mother of little Al
bert Edward, she pointed to the lad
one day and said: There's a boy I. no
shall never smoke"
month or so ago the man who was
once the queens little boy ordered f., m
a 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 over e2,OOO-
each cigar costing about fourteen shill-
I ings.
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 1,0O0 cigars for his nephew,
the emperor of Germany. The British
monarch is always generous in his gifts,
but for the kaiser's cigars he paid only
six shillings apiece.
William II of Germany, being normal
iy 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 nine
ty miles southeast of Havana you can
look about you and see the country
that produces not only the kings cigars.
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 surrounding
country is known as the Vueita Abajo
district. Contrary to general belief. this
territory from which tobacco for royal
~ comes is not small. Nany a man
bites off the end of a wrapper that
grew next hill to the kings fourteen
shilling cigar. The difference is that
Edward Wis smokes are all made of
the largest. finest leaves, while the or
binary mans cigars are put together
from what is left.
Growing tobacco for royalty is a de-
lieious business. Once in the ground it
Immediately requires much water. Each
plant is daily carefully sprfnkled. In
three weeks II 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 for the PsIate's Sake.
Then begins the difficult task of fore
ing into the 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 ia
voT. OF this substance each plant is fell
with all IL wants. But the 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
~
without knowing that the blood in its
veins would yet add a delicate flavor
to the cigars of a king
As soon a. so much fluid has been
forced into the plant that it threatens
to run over by going to seed. cork is
put into the top, so TO speak. by cutting
off the end Of the stalk, and the forcing
process from the bottom goes on. In a
little while the leaves nearest the
ground begin to turn yellow. That's
sign that they are ripe. When a planter
who is raising tobacco for plain Bill
Jones sees a yellow leaf OF two at the
bottom Of the stalk he cuts down the
whole plant But in raising tobacco for
kings and czars and enperors only the
leaf that IS yellow is picked. and the
others are permitted to remain until
they. too. are ripe.
The next step is curing. First. the
leaf must hang in the sun just so long.
While it is hanging in the sun IT must
not touch any other leaf Then. with
other leaves. il must be tied in a bun
die And BY the time Il has had some
more sunshine, and is ready to begin
the process known as fermentation. II
has lest s. per cent of its weight. IL
has become the boiled down sweetness
of the tobacco plant.
Some American students recently disco