Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce Part 25

"Nor has snuff itself been less liable to the rule of fas.h.i.+on than the boxes that held it. We will give a few familiar instances. In the naval engagement of Viga, in 1703, when a large Spanish fleet was taken or destroyed, a great quant.i.ty of musty snuff was made prize of, and patriotism ran high enough to cause the 'town' for some length of time to resist all that was not manufactured to imitate the flavor from which it took its well-known name of 'musty.' Nearer to our own time, a large tobacco warehouse having been destroyed by fire, in Dublin, a poor man purchased some of the scorched or damaged stock, and manufacturing it into coa.r.s.e snuff, sold it to the poorer cla.s.s of snuff-takers. Forthwith capricious fas.h.i.+on adopted it, endowing it with fabulous qualities, and Lundy Foot's Irish Black-guard (so it was termed) filled the most fas.h.i.+onable boxes.

"Again, during the Peninsular campaigns, in which the light division of the British army bore so memorable a part, the mixture used by and called after its gallant leader, General Sir. Amos Norcott, had a more extensive sale than any other.

When Napoleon was at Elba, and folks began to tire of legitimacy, as they soon did, it became fas.h.i.+onable to use snuff scented with the spirit of violet, and significantly to allude to the perfume. Garrick, when he was manager of Drury Lane Theatre, brought a mixture into fas.h.i.+on by using or alluding to it in one of his most famous parts. The tobacconist whom he thus favored was his under-treasurer, Hardham, whom no writer about snuff should omit to notice.

He was a great favorite with Garrick, whom in his turn he almost revered. One of Hardham's most important duties was to number the house from a hole in the curtain above the stage; and it is amusing to fancy the little tobacconist, snuff-box in hand, calmly watching the pit fill, or from his elevated position admiring the histrionic talents of his gifted patron. His shop in Fleet street is also memorable.

It was the general resort of theatrical men and tyros, who sought to reach the manager through his subordinates, and his little back parlor witnessed the _debut_ of many who afterwards gained applause from larger, though not more exacting audiences.

"Her Majesty Queen Charlotte has bequeathed her name to a once favorite mixture, and George the Fourth has some slight chance of being remembered by the famous 'Prince's Mixture,'

which was so popular when it was the fas.h.i.+on to admire and imitate that gifted individual. It would be a grateful but almost an impossible task to enumerate the kings, soldiers, lawyers, poets and actors who had sought from and found in the snuff-box comfort and inspiration. Prominent among the rulers of the earth who have acknowledged the pleasing influence of snuff is Frederick the Great. His snuff-box was the pocket of the long waistcoats of that period, in which he kept large quant.i.ties loose--a dirty habit, which Napoleon, who was a great plagiarist, adopted. It would be easy to draw out a famous list of literary names attached to snuff, beginning with Dryden, who was particular enough to manufacture his own mixture, and selfish enough to preserve the secret of its excellence, with a view, probably, of enhancing the value of the pinch from his box, for which the beaux and wits at Will's intrigued.

"In the pulpit, at the bar, and on the stage, snuff has been equally valuable in adding to the persuasive eloquence and talent of its patrons. By the female portion of human-kind it was at one time pretty generally taken, nor was it uncommon for young and even pretty women to offer and accept a pinch in public. After the gentle s.e.x had to a great extent given up the habit, some strong minded females were to be found who retained it. Mrs. Siddons, when she came off the stage after dying hard, as Desdemona, or harrowing the hearts of her audience by her representation of Jane Sh.o.r.e, could composedly ask those around for a pinch of the precious restorative. When we consider the beneficial influence which snuff has exerted over mankind generally, we cannot help regretting that its virtues were not sooner known.

"For we put forth the proposition seriously, that its effect upon the world has been to render it more humane and even-tempered, and that had the western hemisphere discovered the tobacco plant earlier, historians would have had more pleasant events to chronicle. For instance, it is not impossible--nay, most probable--that the fate of Rome, discussed by the Triumvirate over their snuff-boxes, would have been different. Is it likely that, under the humanizing influence of mutual pinches, Antony would have asked for, or Augustus resigned, the head of Cicero to his bloodthirsty colleague; or that the other details of the conscription which deluged the streets of Rome with the blood of her best citizens, would have been agreed to? Again, can any one imagine Charles the Ninth and his evil counsellors plotting the ma.s.sacre of St. Bartholomew over pinches of the soothing dust? Is it probable that the High Court of Justiciary would have ent.i.tled its royal martyr to a special service in the Book of Common Prayer, if its deliberation had been inspired by the kindly snuff which since that time has so often softened the rigor of the law? My hypothesis may seem an absurd one, but history supports it.

"When Charles the Second introduced snuff into general use, men's hands had scarcely adapted themselves to more peaceable occupations than cutting their neighbors' throats, and the ashes of a long and bitter civil war needed little fanning to break into a blaze again; and yet, for forty years of misgovernment the nation kept its temper. How can this forbearance be accounted for? Was it that circ.u.mstances no longer called for as stern and as effectual remedies as before? No. Was the second Charles one whit more desirable than the first of that ilk? Was Clarendon more liked than Stafford? Was Russell's head of less consequence than Prynne's ears? No. Again, wrongs as grievous as those which Hampden had died in resisting were to be avenged, but in a milder, better fas.h.i.+on; for mankind had in the meantime learned to take snuff. Much of the haste and irritation which had previously led to blows discharged itself in a good-natured sneeze. Snuff made men forbearing, even jocular over their wrongs. Who can doubt that the revolution which ended in placing William of Orange on his father-in-law's throne owed its bloodless character not a little to the influence of snuff. We read of difficulties in its course, which, fifty years previously, would inevitably have led to bloodshed, being easily, almost humorously surmounted. The plagued nation effected a revolution over its snuff-boxes in the happiest conceivable manner.

"Having ventured so far I am inclined to put forward a yet higher claim which snuff has upon our grat.i.tude, and to hint that the great deeds of great men who were snuff-takers may be traced by a chain of reasoning--slight, yet conclusive--to this dearly prized luxury. The hackneyed saying that time is money, or money's worth, has more truth in it than most of the fallacies which are supposed to regulate our conduct. The most important events of our lives often hinge on moments. A moment to stifle pa.s.sion, to summon reflection, to plunge into the past and bring up a buried memory, to consider results, is often of the utmost consequence, and this valued moment the pinch of snuff insures, when, without it, delay would be simply embarra.s.sment. The pinch of snuff, taken at the right instant, secures an important reprieve, during which the unpleasant question may be evaded, the hasty reply reconsidered, or an angry _repartee_ thought better of, while the same time gained serves to improve the diplomatist's _equivoque_, to point the orator's satire, and polish the wit's _mot_. In a word, its use on important occasions affords, to every one who needs them, better means of acting upon Talleyrand's mischievous yet clever aphorism--that language is useful rather to conceal than to express our thoughts. Moreover, the action necessary in conveying the tempting graces to their destination has not unfrequently been found useful. It employs the hasty hand that may itch to take illegal vengeance for fancied insults; it serves to hide the angry twitching mouth and pa.s.sionately expanding nostrils, to give a natural expression to changes of the countenance which would otherwise indicate emotion, and to parry attention till reason has been summoned to supplant pa.s.sion.

"It is denied (in a rather irritating way sometimes) that the subject of our article has any beneficial influence upon the intellects of its patrons. We are not about to claim for it any such exalted qualities, but we may be allowed to mention a fact or so which ent.i.tles it to some respect medicinally. As we have before stated, in its early days it was considered to possess powerful healing qualities, and even now is found of use in cases of headache and weak sight. It was also supposed valuable in cases of heaviness and obtuseness of intellect. Is it, therefore unreasonable to presume that it may have had some share in gaining for our brethren beyond the Tweed that shrewdness of national character which has become proverbial?

[Ill.u.s.tration: Curing a headache.]

"The specimens which came in the reign of James I., southward, did not command much respect or admiration from our countrymen; indeed they were the bulls at which every satirist hurled his shafts, and blunt must have been that one which did not pierce some potent folly of language or manner. The town rang with anecdotes of their rags, beggary, and quarrels; ballad-singers made merry at their expense, and the stage resounded with uncomplimentary allusions.

Indeed, in one of the most popular plays of that period, the king himself was not spared, and the actors (Ben Jonson among them) had very nearly lost their ears for their boldness. Nor was it at least for a hundred and fifty years after this period that the Scotch became noted for that enterprise and talent which now distinguish them.

"We do not deny that the union may have developed their traits, but it is clear that within that time snuff had become a national stimulant. To the observer of men and manners there is something very characteristic in the various fas.h.i.+ons in which the pinch of snuff is taken. 'The exercise of the snuff-box,' as it was once termed, was an acknowledged science, but few were the great proficients who could mutely express their feelings by its aid. We have not s.p.a.ce to run through all its exercise, but we may mention the 'pinch military,' which Frederick, and after him, Napoleon practiced inhaling snuff copiously, and with much waste, as though it were human life they were throwing away; the 'pinch malicious,' of which Pope was perfect master; the 'pinch dictatorial,' which burly Jonson established; the 'pinch sublimely contemptuous,' such as Reynolds took when some travelling virtuoso hinted at excellence away from Leicester-square, and ruffled his complacent vanity; and, above all, the 'pinch polite,' which Talleyrand understood so well.

"From snuff to sneezing is but a step, which we purpose taking before we bring this cursory article to a close. The act of sneezing appears to have been variously regarded at various stages of the world's history, but from the earliest times of which we have any authentic record, it has been the customs of those around to give vent to a short benediction immediately upon its commission. The Robbins considering themselves bound to find a reason for this universal custom, and being hard pressed, gave the somewhat incomprehensible explanation that, previous to Jacob, man sneezed but once in his lifetime, and then immediately before death; so that those around, warned of his imminent journey, hastened to wish it a good termination. How it was that Jacob inst.i.tuted a new order of things we are not told, but as a proof of the truth of their a.s.sertion they give the fact that in all nations of the earth a similar custom will be found existing.

"Strangely enough this a.s.sertion was corroborated by the first colonists of America, who found the habit to be in common use amongst the aboriginal tribes. The Greeks and Romans certainly had a similar habit, but far from attaching any ill-omen to the sneeze they regarded it as of good augury. Thus Catullus a.s.sures us that when Cupid upon a memorable occasion sneezed, all:

'The little loves that waited by Bowed and blessed the augury.

And in the 'Life of Themistocles,' Plutarch informs his readers that sneezing by the General on the eve of a battle was regarded as a certain sign of conquest. Strangely enough we find that in comparatively modern times, the custom of giving expression to good wishes when a friend sneezed was attributed to the fearful plague which periodically swept over Europe. Sneezing was one of its first and most dangerous symptoms, and those who were by, as they gathered their robes about them and fled from their doomed fellow-creature, would e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e a quick 'G.o.d bless you,'

hurriedly invoking from a more merciful quarter the aid they feared to give. Violent sneezing was not only among the first, but was one of the last fatal signs of that fearful scourge, and was often too rapidly followed by death to give time for more than a short benediction. Anyhow, the custom still exists and one of the most pleasant reminiscences attached to the first pinch of snuff is the chorus of hearty good wishes of sympathizing friends which follows upon the inevitable sneeze."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Highlanders.]

The variety of taste in snuff is accounted for by the proverb, "So many men to so many noses." Highland gentlemen of every degree are mostly fond of Gillespie; while operatives from the Lowlands generally prefer plain Scotch. When two Highlanders meet, they usually exchange a pinch of snuff, mutually _preeing_ the contents of their _mulls_, while their _colleys_, (dogs) after a fas.h.i.+on of their own, take a reciprocal _sniff_ of each other. Cuba is the favorite of the gentlemen of the stock exchange; the tradesman's box usually contains rappee; high dried Irish is grateful to those who love to feel the taste of snuff in their throat. Sea-faring men seldom take snuff: a sailor with a snuff-box is as rarely to be met with as a sailor without a knife.

The history of the rise and progress of snuff-taking abounds in incidents and anecdotes, among the most curious of all that relate to the various modes of using the weed. Though once the most popular and fas.h.i.+onable manner of using tobacco it now falls far behind the other and more common and more popular forms of indulging in the herb. In France and Spain the introduction of tobacco ushered in this form of using it, and to inhale a few grains of the pungent dust was the delight of polished and favored courtiers who regardless of the forms royalty patronized and gave sanction to the custom. Thus its use in a short time became popular all over Europe and gave unlimited scope for the satirist and dramatist to ridicule the habit. In spite, however, of frown and ridicule this ancient custom though not now as popular or as fas.h.i.+onable, still claims many sincere votaries and doubtless will as long as the plant is cultivated or used in any form.

CHAPTER IX.

CIGARS.

"The poet may sing of the leaf of the rose, And call it the purest and sweetest that blows; But of all the leaves that ever were tried, Give me the tobacco leaf rolled up and dried."

The smoking of cigars is now considered the best as it is the most fas.h.i.+onable mode of using the weed. The word cigar is from the Spanish _cigarro_, and signifies a cylindrical roll of tobacco leaves, made of short pieces or shreds of the leaves divested of the stem and wound about with a binder, and enveloped in a portion of the leaf known by the name of wrapper--acute at one end and truncated at the other. In the East Indies a sort of cigar called _cheroot_ is also made with both ends truncated. The smoking of tobacco in the form of cigars is doubtless the most general as well as the most ancient mode of its use. When Columbus landed in Hispaniola, the sailors saw the natives smoking the leaves of a plant, "the perfume of which was fragrant and grateful." But while cigars are of very ancient origin in the West Indies, they were not generally known in Europe until the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. In fact, of all the various works on gastronomy and the pleasures of the table, written and published from 1800 to 1815, not one speaks of this now indispensable adjunct of a good dinner. Even Britlat-Savarin, in his _Physiologie du Gout_, entirely ignores tobacco and all its distractions and charms. Benzo gives the following account of the manufacture of a cigar in Hispaniola:--

"They take a leafe from the stalks of their great b.a.s.t.a.r.d corn (which we commonly called Turkie--wheat) together with one of these tobacco-leaves and fold them up together like a coffin of paper, such as grocers make to put spices in, or like a small organ-pipe. Then putting one end of the same coffin to the fire, and holding the other end in their mouths, they draw their breath to them. When the fire hath once taken at the pipe's end, they draw forth so much smoke that they have their mouth, nose, throat, and head full of it; and, as if they tooke a singular delight therein they never leave supping and drinking till they can sup no more, and thereby loose their breath and their feeling."

Sahagun, in his "History of New Spain," speaks of the natives as using the leaves of tobacco rolled into cigars, which they ignite and smoke in tubes of tortoise-sh.e.l.l or silver. The following article from the _New York Times_ contains much valuable information in regard to cigars, especially Havanas:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cigars.]

"It is perfectly safe to say that there is more money spent every day in New York for cigars than for bread," (doubted.) "From the fine gentlemen, who buy their cigars at Delmonico's, or get them direct from the importers, down to the little barefoot boys in the streets, who buy theirs from the Chinamen at the corners or pick up the stumps that are thrown away, all smoke. In some countries pipes and cigarettes are made to do duty by the poorer cla.s.ses, but in New York cigars seem to be almost invariably preferred. Now, while there is nothing better, in the way of something to smoke, than a first-cla.s.s Havana cigar, there is nothing nastier than some of the cheap abominations made in that shape in New York. To the truth of this last proposition, anyone will readily testify who has ever been so unfortunate as to have had to ride from Harlem to New York in a late smoking-car, with half a dozen roughs smoking cheap cigars on board.

"The cigars sold in this market may be divided into three cla.s.ses--the imported, those made of imported tobacco, and those made of domestic tobacco. These may be again cla.s.sified under many different heads, as there are many kinds and grades of each. The cheapest cigars in New York are dispensed by dilapidated Chinamen, who have little stands about the streets and markets. These are certainly the vilest cigars made anywhere in the world, and are sold from one to five cents each. Next in order come the common domestic cigars. They are sold at five cents each, or six for twenty-five cents, and are of the kind kept at the cheap refreshment stalls, lager beer saloons, and low groggeries.

After these are the more pretentious home-made cigars, manufactured of selected domestic tobacco, which are sold all over the city, and in the making of which Havana 'fillers' are supposed to be used. A filler, be it known, in technical parlance means that portion of the tobacco of which the inside of the cigar is made. Price, ten to fifteen cents. Then comes the best cla.s.s of cigars in which domestic tobacco is used, those which are made with clear Havana fillers and Connecticut wrappers. Fifteen cents is the price, and many are palmed off on the unwise for the real imported article. Cigars made wholly of imported Cuban tobacco come next on the list. Some of them are excellent, and compare favorably with many of the imported. They bring from fifteen to fifty cents each at the cigar stores. Last in line, but best of all, is the genuine, imported Havana cigar. Few and rare are they, and great is the price of the higher grades thereof.

"There are some places in New York where an imported cigar of a reasonable size may be bought for fifteen cents, but they are few and far between. Twenty or twenty-five cents is the price usually charged, and from that to a dollar. All the cigars made in the United States are invariably put up in imitation Havana boxes, with imitation Havana labels and brands. It is doubtful, however, whether this transparent device deceives anybody, for in accordance with the United States Internal Revenue laws, all boxes of cigars manufactured in the United States must not only bear the manufacturer's label, giving his full name and place of business, and the number of his manufactory, but they must also bear the United States inspector's brand. Before the present law was in force, and the duties on tobacco were low, this scheme may have been profitable. But why the practice is still adhered to by the manufacturers is hard to imagine, for the boxes now used, being made of imported cedar, must be very costly, and must materially increase the price of cigars. Only those of the very poorest quality are packed in white wooden boxes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cigar-holders.]

"Some people seem to smoke not because they like it, but only to be in the fas.h.i.+on. Some days ago the writer of this article happened to be in a cigar-store, when two well-dressed young men came in and asked for some ten cent cigars. The clerk handed out the box, and after a critical inspection the purchaser asked: "Are these medium?' 'Yes, sir,' said the clerk. 'Then I'll take a dollar's worth.'

After they had gone the writer asked the clerk what they meant by 'medium.' He said he didn't exactly know, but supposed they wanted to know whether the cigars were between strong and mild. 'I told them they were,' said he, 'because I thought they would buy if I said so, but they are all alike.' And in this connection it is very singular that although the Island of Cuba is so near to the United States and so many cigars are imported into this city, so little is known about the different sizes and brands of cigars, excepting, of course, by those in the business. It is a common thing here to see a man ask in a cigar store for a _Flor del Fumar_, a _Figaro_, or an _Espanola_. By this he means a cigar of a certain size, and does not seem to know that these are not the names which designate the size, but are the names of the manufactories. In Havana, were a man to ask for a _Flor del Fumar_, the dealer would ask him what size he wanted.

"Every box of cigars packed in Havana has, at least, six distinctive works on it. First is the brand, which is burned in the upper side of the lid of the box, with an iron made for the purpose; second the label, this bears the name and address of the manufactory; third, the mark designating the size and shape of the cigars, this is usually put on with a stencil; there are not so very many regular sizes, or _vitolas_, made in Havana as might be imagined, a list of them may prove interesting. These are: Damos, Entre Actos, Opera, Concha, Regalia de Concha, Londres, Londres de Corte, Regalia de Londres, Regalia Britanica, Regalia del Rey, Regalia de la Reina, Reina Victoria, Panetelos, Trabucos, Embajadores, Especiales, Imperiales, Brevos, Prensados, Cilindrados, Millar Vegueros. The _Damos_ (Dames) as their name indicates, are meant for the ladies, and are the smallest made. The _Cozadores_ (huntsmen) are the longest, and the _Trabucos_ (blunderbusses) the fattest. The _Prensados_ (pressed) are flat, and _Cilindrados_ (cylindrical) are so called because, when green, they are put in bundles of twenty-five, and tightly rolled in strong tissue paper, which is twisted at each end of the roll. When the cigars are dry the paper is taken off, and the bunch retains the cylindrical shape given it. The _Brevos_ (figs) are also tied up while green, and tightly pressed. This makes them stick together something like figs, hence their name. The _Vegueros_ (plantation) take their name from the fact that they are supposed to be made like those made on the plantations, but they are not made in the same way.

"In the _Vegos_ (plantations) the _veguero_, or planter, makes his cigar of a single leaf of tobacco, which he carries ready moistened for the purpose, by rolling it on his knee. Besides the above, some fancy sizes have been adopted of late years, but they are made by only a few of the larger manufacturers in Havana. Fourth is the color mark, which is also put on in stencil. Fifth, the cla.s.s mark. All the round cigars made in Havana are separated into three cla.s.ses: _Primera_, or first; _Segunda_, or second; and _Tercera_, or third. Some manufacturers never mark any of their cigars as of the third cla.s.s, not because they do not make them, but because they think they sell better without the mark. They make the first cla.s.s _Flor_, the second _Primera_, and the third _Segunda_. Others mark all their cigars as of the first cla.s.s, and indicate the cla.s.ses by the color of the labels, and in this way none but the wholesale purchaser knows the secret. Sixth, the last, is the mark denoting the number of cigars in the box. This is stenciled on the side in Arabic numerals.

"A theory has obtained that cigars made in Havana, by reason of some inexplicable climatic influence, are better than those made in New York, even should they be made of tobacco from the same plantation. This may be so, but it is doubtful whether this was ever fairly tested, or, indeed, whether it was ever tested at all. The truth is that all the best tobacco grown in the island of Cuba is bought up by the heavy manufacturers in Havana. The crops of the best plantations are contracted for in advance, and the old-established firms buy from the same _vegos_ year after year. Hence it is why their cigars are so uniform in quality. All Cuban tobacco is not good, by any means. The tobacco from the Vuelta de Arriba is not so good as that from the Vuelta de Abajo, and yet there is but little difference in their geographical position. And in the Vuelta de Abajo, a short distance makes a difference in the quality of the tobacco. Some _vegos_ are celebrated for their good crops, while others, perhaps not a hundred yards away, do not produce good crops at all. There are many poor cigars made in Cuba, as all who have ever been there know, and all over the island the Havana cigar is deemed the best. In Havana, and, indeed, in all parts of the island, green or freshly-made cigars are preferred, and the most esteemed cigar-cases are made of carefully prepared bladders, in which the cigars are rolled to prevent the evaporation of the moisture.

"When a Cuban gentleman gives a cigar to a friend, he does not, as we do, open his case, and offer it to him to choose from but he examines its contents carefully and critically, selects the one he thinks the best and offers it. And there is a great deal more in the choice of a cigar, by selecting it on account of its outside appearance, than one not accustomed to it would suppose. A wrapper which has that which the Cubans call _calidad_ makes the cigar much stronger than one which does not possess it. That is to say, that the wrapper which has _calidad_ contains more essential oil, is denoted by an abundance of small pustules on the surface of the leaf, and by a general rich, oily appearance.

As a proof of the foregoing proposition, it is only necessary to know how cigars are made. A lot of tobacco is worked up into say 50,000. After they are all made, they are turned over to be a.s.sorted, according to color and cla.s.s, and are packed and marked. The fillers are all alike, it is the wrappers that make the difference. To a.s.sort the colors a very, correct eye is required, and those who do this part of the work make better wages than those who make the cigars.

"The value of cigars does not increase in direct ratio with their size, for owing to the difficulty in getting good wrappers for the larger kinds, the expense of their manufacture is much increased. Upon one occasion, in Havana, a manufacturer received an order for a thousand cigars intended for the Queen of Spain's husband, Don Francisco de Asis, which he agreed to make for $1,000. They were delivered in due time, and packed in a richly-mounted cedar chest, were sent to the royal recipient. They were magnificent cigars, of the cazadores size, all of the same color, and so smoothly made as to look as if they had been turned out of hard wood instead of rolled tobacco. They were placed on exhibition for a few days before they were sent to Spain, and a gentleman who saw them, wis.h.i.+ng to make a present to some dignitary, asked the manufacturer to make him a like number at the same price. To his surprise, the order was refused. The manufacturer said he could not do it for the money. His explanation was that it was not the actual cost of the tobacco and labor of making them, but it was on account of the trouble and expense met with in selecting the wrappers. He said he had to pick over thousands of bales before he could secure a sufficient number of the proper length, color, and fineness.

"Some two years ago there was a story of a Cuban cigar-dealer in Broadway, who selected cigars for his more favored customers by ear. It was said that he put the cigar to his ear, and listened intently for a moment, and by the cracking of the tobacco was enabled to judge of its quality.

This was a good advertising dodge, but in practice it was all nonsense. None but that wily Cuban ever heard of such a mode of trying a cigar. In the Island of Cuba that which we call a cigar is called a _tabaco_ (a tobacco) and when it is required to discriminate between the manufactured and unmanufactured article it is called _tabaco torcido_, or rolled tobacco. This, however, is only necessary when used in the plural. In Mexico a cigar is called a _puro_, and in Peru[62] and some of the other Spanish American countries it is called a _cigarro puro_, in contradistinction to the _cigarro de papel_, or cigarette. Cigarettes in Cuba are called _cigarros_, and their consumption is enormous.

Strange as it may appear, there are some confirmed smokers in Cuba who never use cigars at all, but confine themselves to cigarettes. To the New Yorker it looks curious to see a great, bearded man smoking a tiny cigarette; and, indeed were he to smoke his cigarette as the New Yorker would smoke his cigar, it would be labor lost, so far as getting any effect of the tobacco was concerned. But the cigarette smoker inhales the greater part of the smoke, it goes directly into his lungs, and into contact with a large surface of mucous membrane, and, indeed, with the blood itself. Were the New York cigar-makers to smoke a cigarette in the same way it would make him so giddy that he would be compelled to give it up long before it was consumed. That the smoke does go into the lungs is proved by the fact that a cigarette smoker can inhale the smoke and exhale it again after drinking a gla.s.s of water."

[Footnote 62: Ballaert says that the consumption of cigars in Peru is enormous. "An old fisherman on being asked how he amused himself when not at his labors replied, 'Why I smoke; and as I have consumed 40 paper cigars a day for the last 50 years, which cost me one rial each will you have the goodness to tell me how many I have smoked, and how much I have expended for tobacco?'"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Life in Mexico.]

All tobacco grown upon the island of Cuba is not of the finest quality; the majority of it is far inferior to the best Mexican coast tobacco. The value of the tobacco lands of this last mentioned country has not been fully developed. The variety of soil, exposure, climate, and atmospheric influences are greater than can possibly be in Cuba, and when the best is discovered, combining all the requisites, which undoubtedly will be the case with an increased culture of the plant, it will be found to be equal to the Vuelta Abogo of Cuba, and much more extensive. The subject of tobacco lands, evidently, is not well understood in Mexico, as it must be, from great experience, in Cuba.

All of these varieties of lands and circ.u.mstances exist in Mexico, and it is safe to predict that, at some day, this country will stand pre-eminent over all others in this industry.

We extract the following from the _Tobacco Leaf_ in regard to cigar-making in Cuba:--

"The rule is that a cigar-maker devotes all his ingenuity and diligence to one cla.s.s of goods. For example, one workman makes only _Londres_; another only _Regalias_; another only _Milores Communes_; and so on. In the Cuban's factory the operatives are allowed to smoke as many cigars as they like when at work; and to take home with them, when they leave work in the evening, five cigars each. The immigration of Chinese laborers into Cuba has modified, and must further modify, the labor market there. In the cigarette factories at Havana, Chinese workmen are almost exclusively employed. Though objectionable for many of their moral habits, these workmen are nevertheless docile, ingenious, laborious, and contented."

A writer, alluding to the manufacture of cigars, says:--