Chapter IX: Cigars (1)

"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 fashionable 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 bastard
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-shell or silver. The following article from the _New York Times_ contains much valuable information in regard to cigars, especially Havanas:

"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 classes, 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-class 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
classes--the imported, those made of imported tobacco, and
those made of domestic tobacco. These may be again
classified 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 class 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.

"Some people seem to smoke not because they like it, but
only to be in the fashion. 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 class
mark. All the round cigars made in Havana are separated into
three classes: _Primera_, or first; _Segunda_, or second;
and _Tercera_, or third. Some manufacturers never mark any
of their cigars as of the third class, not because they do
not make them, but because they think they sell better
without the mark. They make the first class _Flor_, the
second _Primera_, and the third _Segunda_. Others mark all
their cigars as of the first class, and indicate the classes
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 assorted, according to color and class,
and are packed and marked. The fillers are all alike, it is
the wrappers that make the difference. To assort 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, wishing 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 glass 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?'"]

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 circumstances 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 class 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:--

"The colors or strengths are _Amarillo Claro_, bright
yellow; _Amarillo Obscuro_, dark yellow; _Claro_, bright;
_Colorado Claro_, bright red; _Colorado_, red; _Colorado
Obscuro_, dark red; _Colorado Maduro_, red-ripe or mellow;
_Maduro_, ripe or mellow; _Maduro Obscuro_, dark ripe or
mellow; _Pajizo Claro_, bright straw-colored; _Pajizo_,
straw-colored; _Pajizo Obscuro_, dark straw-colored;
_Fuerte_, strong or heavy; _Entre Fuerte_, rather strong or
heavy; _Flajo_, light. Then there are the indications of the
qualities:--Superfine; _Firo_, not quite so fine; _Flor_,
finest or firsts; _Superior_, next, or seconds; _Buenos_,
next, or thirds. The cigar has a notable history. First has
to be determined the part of the plant from which it is
taken; then the part of the leaf from which it is taken, the
tobacco being best which is furthest away from the root or
middle of the leaf. One elaborate process follows another
for the perfection of a work of art--for as such we must
regard a cigar."

Hazard, in his admirable work on Cuba, devotes considerable space to cigars, their manufacture, varieties, and use, in which he speaks of the various brands as follows:--

"The brands known as '_Yara Mayau_,' and the '_Guisa_,' are
perhaps the most celebrated made upon the Island. Of the
'_Yara_,' which has some considerable reputation,
particularly in the London market, I confess I cannot speak
favorably. Cigars that I smoked made from this leaf, and
which are much smoked in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba, I
found had a peculiar saline taste which was very unpleasant,
as also a slight degree of bitterness; many smokers,
however, become very fond of this flavor. When I state that
in Havana alone there are over one hundred and twenty-five
manufacturers of cigars, it will readily be understood there
must be a great many inferior cigars made even in Cuba.
Havana may be called the 'City of cigars,' from its
reputation and the immense number of factories there are in
it for the manufacture of cigars, from the smallest shop
opening on the street, employing three or four hands to the
immense _fabricos_ erected expressly for this purpose, and
employing five or six hundred.

"Let not any one imagine, then, that because he is in Havana
he will get no poor cigars, for a greater mistake can not be
made, for just as vile trash can there be purchased as any
where; and it appeared to me that in buying, from time to
time in different _fabricos_, a few cigars it was rarely I
found a really good one. It behooves, then, every lover of a
good cigar to make himself familiar with the best makers and
brands, and to purchase those, and those only, that suit
his taste. To the traveler in Havana, this is easy enough,
as he can there buy sample boxes from any of the factories
and of any of the brands. There are, in addition to these
hundreds of other cigar factories, some of which, such as
_Cabargos_, _Figaros_, _Luetanos_, _Victorias_, etc., are
first-class, three or four at least in whose cigars every
smoker may have perfect confidence, the brands of which are
known all over the world. These are: _Cabaños_, _Uppmann_
and _Partagas_; for whose brands, perhaps, one pays
something more, but has always the satisfaction of finding
them good. To the kindness of the gentlemen connected with
some of these factories I am indebted for most of the
information in this article, and particularly to Señor Don
Avulmo G. del Valle, the present proprietor of the Cabaños
Factory, who was good enough to show me through his
establishment, carefully explaining to me its peculiarities.
As the process of manufacture and description of grades and
qualities are the same with all the best makers, I give here
a detailed history of this factory and its products.

"The factory for Cabaños cigars has been established
seventy-two years the founder of it being Don Francisco
Cabaños, his son, Don de P. Cabaños, succeeding him, to whom
has succeeded his son-in-law, Señor del Valle, the present
proprietor and director of the factory. When it was founded,
the cigars were sold to the public in bundles of twenty,
only amounting to a total number per year, of four or five
hundred thousand cigars, the sales of which kept constantly
increasing until 1826, when there were sold two millions. At
this period the demand for exportation commenced, increasing
each year until 1848, when the number sold amounted to three
and a half millions. At this time, the present director came
in charge, and increased the sale to eight millions per
year, until, in 1866, the total sales by this one house
only, amounted to the enormous number of sixteen million
cigars, which went to different parts of the world. The
tobacco manipulated in this factory is, with some few
exceptions, that grown upon plantations in the Vuelta Abojo,
with the proprietors of which Señor del Valle has a special
contract for their product. The most noted of these places
are known as '_La Lena_,' '_San Juan aj Martin_,' '_Los
Pilotos_,' '_Rio Hondo_.' The firm also own three _vegas_,
as do also Partagas, Uppmann, and others, in a greater or
less degree. The amount raised upon these _vegas_ in
connection with the Cabaños Factory, amounts to five
thousand bales, of from first to eighth quality, leaving
the most inferior qualities, which amount to about one
thousand bales, for exportation, the factory not using such
common grades. It is a custom of the manufacturers to keep a
supply of the best qualities always on hand from year to
year, in order that, should the tobacco crop, in any one
year, be bad, the reputation of the house can be maintained
by using the good tobacco in the store. The factory is a
large stone building, opposite the Canipo de Moste, in which
all the operations connected with cigar making are carried
on (excepting the manufacture of boxes) by over five hundred
operatives, all males. The following is the process of
manufacture:

"Arrived at the factory, the tobacco bales, carefully packed
and wrapped in palm leaves, are kept in a cool, dark, place
on the first floor, being divided off into classes according
to quality and value, which latter varies from twenty to
four hundred dollars per bale of two hundred pounds. When
wanted, the bales are opened, the _manojas_ and _gabillos_
are separated, and the latter carried in their dry state to
the moistening room. Here are a number of men whose business
it is to place the leaves, for the purpose of moistening and
softening them, into large barrels in which is a solution of
saltpetre in water; this done, the water is poured off, and
other workmen spread out the leaves with their hands upon
the edges of the barrels, ridding them as much as possible,
of any surplus water; after which, the leaves, from being
moistened, unfold very easily, and, with care, without
tearing. The stem is then taken out, the process being known
as _disbalillar_. These stems, with the refuse of other
tobacco, are sometime used as filling for the commonest kind
of cigars. The filling is known as _tripa_, the very best
being selected, like the leaf, for the best cigars. Now
comes the maker, and supplying himself with a handful of
leaf (_copa_) for wrappers, and a lot of the _tripa_ for
filling or really making the body of the cigar itself he
carries it to a little table, and spreading the wrapper upon
the table, cuts with a short knife the different portions of
the leaf. This is a very nice operation, requiring skill,
knowledge, and experience; for it is in this operation that
the different qualities of tobacco are separated, the
outside of the leaf being generally the best; next that,
another quality; and that portion adjoining the stem the
worst.

"The general sorting of the tobacco is done by hands of
great experience and judgment, who are the highest in
consideration in the factories, some of them receiving
large pay; thus for instance, the official _escojedor_, or
chooser, gets from five to seven dollars (gold) per day, and
the _torcedores_, or twisters, from two to four, the workmen
being paid so much per thousand cigars, generally from two
to four dollars. To show how very careful the maker must be
in cutting out the leaf to make the most of it: Mr. del
Valle was explaining to me the process of manufacture, and
directed the maker to cut the leaf. This the man did drawing
his knife in the manner denoted by the dotted lines in the
engraving. This it appears was not making the most of the
fine part of the leaf, for Mr. del Valle, annoyed, took the
knife himself, and after rating the maker soundly for his
carelessness, showed him how to cut it properly, as defined
by the black line, the difference being, as far as I could
judge, a slight inequality of color between the two parts.
The manufacture of the cigar is very simple. The cigar
maker, being seated before a low work table, which has
raised ledges on every side except that nearest him, takes a
leaf of tobacco, spreads it out smoothly before him, and
cuts it as in the drawing. He then lays a few fragments of
tobacco (_tripa_) in the centre or a leaf strip and rolls
the whole into the shape of a cigar, and taking then a
wrapper, rolls it spirally around the cigar. If the workman
is skillful, he makes it of just the right length and size,
without any trimming of the knife. The cigars are assorted,
counted, and done up in bundles of generally twenty-five
each, and then packed in the boxes, ready for market, under
their different names of _Londres_, _Regalias_, etc. These
names are generally understood to have the same meaning
throughout the trade, the '_Vegueros_,' for instance, being
the plantation cigars, made at the _regas_, and much
esteemed by smokers, though they are rarely to be met with
for sale, or, if so, at an exhorbitant price. The '_Regalia
Imperial_,' the finest and best, is nearly seven inches
long, the price varying from one hundred and fifty to three
hundred dollars per thousand (gold). The '_Regalia_' is not
so large but fine, the '_Trabuco_,' short and thick; the
'_Londres_,' the most convenient in shape, and most smoked
in this country and England; the '_Dama_' the small sized
one used by ladies(?) or by men between acts of the opera
(_entr' operas_). There are also other names which each
factory has for some particular kinds. Artificial flavors
are given to cigars, when some particular taste is to be
satisfied, by the use of flavoring extracts. Each of the
above names has different qualities, as:

_Londres_ '_superfine_' the very best of that size (delicious).
" '_fino_,' not quite so fine.
" '_flor_,' finest, or firsts.
" '_superior_,' next, or seconds.
" '_buenos_,' next, or thirds.

Again, these different qualities have different colors,
known as: '_maduro_,' strongest; '_oscuro_,' strong (dark);
'_colorado_,' medium; '_claro_,' mild; '_Brevors_,' means
pressed. Thus, supposing one wanted a good cigar to suit his
taste, he would perhaps order: 'Partagas' (maker), 'londres'
(size), 'flor' (quality), 'Colorado' or 'oscuro' (strength),
and he would get a good cigar, nice size, best quality, not
too strong, or too mild.

"I must confess to a weakness for the Uppmann cigars, which
I have found, without exception, to be good, and which have
a fine reputation throughout the West Indies. A millionaire
need not want a better cigar to smoke than their '_Londres
superfine_,' at sixty dollars (gold) per thousand, in
Havana, or their '_Cazadores_,' at fifty dollars. Partagas
cigars of course, every one knows are good; and he keeps
generally pretty well sold up, but fills orders as they come
in. For a new experience, one of his '_Regalio Reyno flor_,'
is something to try, even if they do cost out there
eighty-five dollars, gold.

"In all the factories they make about the following rates:
For every order of ten thousand, costing fifty dollars per
thousand, five per cent. discount is allowed. Less than five
thousand will pay five dollars extra. I should, perhaps,
mention that no distinction is made to dealers, the only
advantage they have over the private buyer is, that they are
enabled to get the discount for large lots. The absurd
notion so prevalent with us, that the Cubans only smoke
their cigars green, is an error, since the leaf is entirely
dried in the sun before being touched by the manufacturer.
The Cubans are very particular indeed to preserve the aroma
and fragrance of the cigars, by keeping them in wrappers of
oiled and soft silks; it is, in fact, quite a sight to see
with what ceremony some of these are produced at gentlemen's
tables, with much unction, like the ushering in of old wine.
My chapter on cigars would be incomplete did I fail to note
the beautiful and courteous way in which all Cubans no
matter of what position, whether the exquisite at the club,
or the _portero_ at the door, ask you for a light. 'Do me
the favor Señor?' and you present your cigar, the lighted
end towards the speaker. He takes the cigar delicately
between his thumb and fore-finger, lights his own, and then,
with a quick, graceful motion, turns yours in his fingers,
presenting you, with another wave, the mouth end, makes you
a hand salute, utters his _gracios_, and leaves you studying
out the 'motions' and thinking what a charming thing is
national politeness."

In the selection of leaves for the manufacture of cigars in the factories only the large fine ones are used for _Regalias_, _Imperiales_, or _Medios Regalias_; and also for _Cazadores_, _Panetelos_, _Imperiales_, _Caballeros_, and so on; the smaller fine leaves for _Panetelos_ and _Londres_; the dark inferior leaves for _Canones_. The commonest tobacco goes to form the _Milores Communes_; the worst is converted into cigars which are generally pressed flat, and known as _Prinsados_. For the smallest kind of _Londres_ and for _Damos_, a proportionally small leaf is employed.

In Cuba and Luzon, one of the Philippine Islands, is found one of the largest factories for cigars in the world. In Manilla there are three factories where 7,000 families and 1,200 males are employed: one in Cavite, in which 5,000 operatives, mostly females, are engaged; and one in Malabar, which gives employment to about 2,000 more, also females. The tobacco is worked into both cigars and cheroots both of which have a variety of shapes. In both Manilla and Havana the custom of smoking is universal and one rarely meets with any of the male sex without a cigar between his lips.

A writer speaking of the universality of the custom says:

"In Havana, the custom of smoking is a universal one. There,
young and old indulge freely in the use of the weed,
dividing their attention pretty equally between the cigar
and the cigarette. Even the ladies of the better class in
many instances indulge; though not to so great an extent as
is commonly reported."

"Smoking in Cuba" says an American writer, "is like the
habit of making shoes in Lynn, Massachusetts, everybody
smokes!--in the house, and by the way; in the cars, and on
horseback; everywhere, and at all times. You meet whole
regiments of youngsters, from six to eight years of age,
with black beaver hats, tail-coats, and canes, each with a
cigar, nearly his own size, in his mouth. You feel like
putting the miniature dandies into the water of the next
fountain basin, which shallow as it is, would fully, suffice
to drown the largest of them."

You have a right to accost any one smoking in the street, however much may be his superiority or inferiority to yourself, and to ask a light for your cigar; even negroes hatless and shirtless, thus address well-dickied gentlemen, and _vice versa_. Refuse to take a cigar with a Cuban, and you refuse his friendship. The negroes cannot work at all without their quota of cigars; "and looking out of the windows of a room in that magnificent hotel '_El Telegrafo_,' the writer remembers to have caught a glimpse more than once of the negro women at work in the laundry, every one of whom held a long cigar in her mouth, and puffed incessantly as the clothes were manipulated upon the washboards." In Havana, as throughout Cuba, there is a cigar etiquette, to infringe any of the rules of which is construed as an insult. It is, for instance considered a breach of etiquette when you are asked for a light to hand your cigar without first knocking off the ashes. A greater breach, however, is to pass the cigar handed for you to obtain a light from, to a third party for a similar purpose; the rule is to hand back the cigar with as graceful a wave as you can command, and then if necessary, pass your own cigar to the third party.

The insult direct in cigar etiquette is for the party to whom you apply for a light, to pass on and leave you with the remains of his cigar, or to intimate to you, by word or action, that he has no further use for it, and that you can throw it away. In Cuba, where cigars are plentiful, the usual custom is, when you ask for a light, even if the party be a stranger, to pull out your case and offer him a cigar, by way of recognizing the civility in stopping to accommodate you. The Spaniards are naturally a polite people, and the stranger stepping into the Louvre and other public places of resort in Havana, is struck at once with the marked contrast in this respect to familiar gatherings elsewhere. In no place is a cigar more enjoyable than in Havana. Seated upon the roof of one of the large hotels in that city in a bright moonlight night, within hearing of the dreamy roll on the beach: the regular throb of the sea, lulling one into quietness; the sigh of the summer breeze a lullaby to the senses; while a high-flavored prime cigar, as it wastes and floats away in air, is the fairy wand which opens the enchanted gates of Reverie and Imagination.

What need of a friend under such soothing circumstances? What need of the jolly _camarade_ of former days to sigh back sigh for sigh, puff for puff, and wander in gentle reminiscences over the Lesbian labyrinth of the past, when Julia was most kind, or Cynthia, darling girl, delighted in the perfume of a capital havana? Here, in this quaint old city by the sea, is the place for dreams and reveries and the utter rendering of one's self up--to a good cigar. Is it not a place for reverie? Has not one with this most respectable weed, this prime _havana_, the concomitants of a thousand reveries? Will not one puff of that narcotic breath drowse deep all watching dragons, and make for him the sleeping beauties of his will? And, _presto_, there they are! and, oh! ye houris of the South, with what a smile and glance between the azure puffs! Well let me not forget myself. With a sterner morality he sees how the bending Bedouin fashions his pipe in the moistened ground; he sees the slender Indian reed with the flat bowls of Lahore and Oude, the pipe of the Anglo-eyed celestial, the red clay of Bengal, and the glittering gilded cups in which the dark-skinned races of Siam, the Malacca Isles, and the Philippines, love to enshrine their dreamy opium-haunted spirits of the weed. He sees how in the squatter's hut the old squaw sits by her hunter lord, and puffs at the corn-cob sweetness, and how by lonely ways the traveler rests and thinks of home, and in the blue smoke greets once more the faces of the loved, perhaps forever gone. He sees how the Esquimaux, with his hollow Walrus-tooth, makes bearable the stifling squalor of his den; or, sterner and graver still, some item of historic lore mingles rudely with his dreams, and elbows sharply the airy spirits of his smoke-engendered thoughts. Softly tremble in the delicate blue mist and the azure spirals from his old Virginia clay--the domes of a sea-bathed city. Loftily pierce the tall white minarets into the quivering heavens, while the solemn cypress throws its shade below. Before him, silent-paced as in a dream, files the weird array of Arab camels, bowing their long necks tufted with crimson braids, and measuring the brown sands of the desert with ghost-like tread. 'Tis the moon of Egypt and the waters of the Nile; 'tis the palm-bough waves for him; and women, free-limbed, with flashing eyes, and antique water-vases on their heads, move past him from the low-rimmed shadowy wells. And he sees them there and smiles.

He sees on beach by the sea the summer idler sitting beneath the jutting rock, gazing far out upon the sea, yet ignoring the white sails that pass up and down before him, as well as the open volume upon his knee, while his thoughts float outward and upward with the graceful wreaths of smoke that encircle his head; and if of a practical turn, he listlessly wonders why, if his own delightful land furnishes some twentieth of the whole Tobacco produce of the world, and does honor to her native weed by being its mightiest consumer, why, in the name of all disasters, the product is so dear--ay, doubly dear? And thus as his pipe burns low, a hundred other statistics; then, knocking out his whitened ashes on the floor, he reads sedately (his pipe being out) that the "Tobacco plant furnishes ashes to the amount of one-fourth of its bulk, being a much greater proportion than that of any other vegetable product," and, moreover, that "Tobacco exhausts the soil at the ratio of fourteen tons of wheat to one of Tobacco!" Oh, base insinuation! But, as he relights his pipe, and the graceful vapor circles in fresh buoyancy and grace before him, he only, in his contented mind, retains that one supreme expression--"_One ton of Tobacco!_" Ah,

"Think of it, picture it
Now, if you can!"

From "A Paper of Tobacco,"[63] we extract the following humorous description of Yankee cigar smokers, which to a certain extent is true to life, but like most of the articles descriptive of American life by English Authors, who travel in America and write _a book_ afterwards, it is exaggerated or overdrawn:

[Footnote 63: London, 1839.]

"The Americans, who pride themselves on being the
fastest-going people on the 'versal globe'--who build
steamers that can out-paddle the sea-serpent and breed
horses that can trot faster than an ostrich can run--are,
undoubtedly, entitled to take precedence of all nations as
consumers of the weed. The sedentary Turk, who smokes from
morn to night, does not, on an average, get through so much
tobacco per annum, as a right slick, active, go-ahead
Yankee, who thinks nothing, 'upon his own relation,' of
felling a wagon-load of timber before breakfast, or of
cutting down a couple of acres corn before dinner. The
Americans, it is to be observed, generally smoke cigars; and
tobacco in this form burns very fast away in the open air,
more especially when the consumer is rapidly locomotive,
whether upon his own legs, the back of a horse, the top of a
coach, the deck of a steamboat, or in an open railway
carriage. The habit of chewing tobacco is also prevalent
in 'the States,' nor is it, as in Great Britain and Ireland,
almost entirely confined to the poorer classes. Members of
the House of Representatives and of the Senate, doctors,
judges, barristers, and attorneys chew tobacco almost as
generally as the laboring classes in the old country. Even
in a court of justice, more especially in the Western
States, it is no unusual thing to see judge, jury, and the
gentlemen of the bar, all chewing and spitting as liberally
as the crew of a homeward-bound West Indiaman. It must
indeed be confessed that Brother Jonathan loves tobacco 'not
wisely but too well,' and that the habits which are induced
by his manner of using it are far from 'elegant.' The truth
is, he neither smokes nor chews like a gentleman; he lives
in a land of liberty, and takes his tobacco when and where
he pleases. He spits as freely as he smokes and chews--upon
the carpet or in the fire-place--for he is not particular as
to where he squirts his copious saliva, and does not think
with the late Dr. Samuel Parr, that a spitting-box is a
necessary article of household furniture. The free-born
citizen of the States laughs at the aristocratic
restrictions imposed on smoking in England, where, on board
of the numerous steamboats that ply on the Thames,
conveying the pride of the city to Gravesend and Margate, no
smoking is allowed abaft the funnel, and where, in
public-houses ashore, no gentleman is permitted to smoke in
the parlor before two o'clock in the afternoon. A pipe of
tobacco, or a cigar, after a day's hard exercise, whether
mental or bodily, and after the cravings of hunger and
thirst are appeased, may be fairly ranked amongst the most
delightful and most harmless of all earthly luxuries. It
fills the mind with pleasing visions, and the heart with
kindly feelings. A hard-working laborer, smoking by the side
of his hearth at night, presents a perfect picture of quiet
enjoyment. I see him now in my mind's eye. He is seated in
an old high-backed, cushionless arm-chair, but an easy one,
nevertheless, to him, who from dawn till sunset, has been
engaged in ploughing, thrashing, ditching, or mowing. With
one leg thrown over the other, he quietly reclines backward,
and with an expression of perfect mental composure, he gazes
on the smoke that ascends from his pipe. There is a
sentiment-exciting power[64] in the smoke of tobacco when
perceived by the eye, as well as a pleasing sedative effect
when inhaled; and those smokers who have any doubt of the
fact should take a pipe with their eyes closed. A person who
smokes with his eyes shut cannot very well tell whether his
cigar is lighted or not. How soothing is a pipe or a cigar
to a wearied sportsman, on his return to his inn from the
moors! As he sits quietly smoking, he thinks of the absent
friends whom he will gratify with presents of grouse; and,
in a state of perfect contentment with himself and all the
world, he determines to give all his game away. Full of such
kindly feelings, he retires to bed; but, alas, with
day-light, when the effect of the tobacco has subsided, the
old leaven of selfishness prevails, and his good intentions
are abandoned. 'Mary,' said an old Cumberland farmer to his
daughter, when she was once asking him to buy her a new
beaver, 'why dost thou always tease me about such things
when I'm quietly smoking my pipe?' 'Because ye are always
best-tempered then, feyther,' was the reply. 'I believe,
lass, thou's reet,' rejoined the farmer; 'for when I was a
lad, I remember that my poor feyther was just the same;
after he had smoked a pipe or twee he wad ha' gi'en his head
away if it had been loose.'"

[Footnote 64: The smoke ascending from the snuff of a
candle could excite a sentimental feeling in the minds
of Wordsworth and Sir George Beaumont, though it seems
to have had no such effect on the mind of
Crabbe.--_Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott._]

The following ode to a Cigar is no doubt familiar to many, yet will pay a re-perusal:

"And oft, mild friend, to me thou art
A monitor, though still;
Thou speak'st a lesson to my heart
Beyond the preacher's skill.

"Thou'rt like the man of worth, who gives
To goodness every day,
The odor of whose virtues lives
When he has passed away.

"When in the lonely evening hour,
Attended but by thee,
O'er history's varied page I pore,
Man's fate in thine I see.

"Oft, as thy snowy column grows,
Then breaks and falls away,
I trace how mighty realms thus rose,
Thus trembled to decay.

"Awhile, like thee, earth's masters burn,
And smoke and fume around,
And then like thee to ashes turn,
And mingle with the ground.

"Life's but a leaf adroitly rolled,
And time's the wasting breath,
That, late or early, we behold
Gives all to dusty death.

"From beggar's frieze to monarch's robe
One common doom is passed;
Sweet nature's work, the swelling globe,
Must all burn out at last.

"And what is he who smokes thee now?
A little moving heap,
That soon, like thee, to fate must bow,
With thee in dust must sleep.

"But though thy ashes downward go,
Thy essence rolls on high;
Thus, when my body must lie low,
My soul shall cleave the sky."

In Charles Butler's "Story of Count Bismarck's Life," a good anecdote is told of the Count and his last cigar:--

"'The value of a good cigar,' said Bismarck, as he proceeded
to light an excellent Havana, 'is best understood when it is
the last you possess, and there is no chance of getting
another. At Königgrätz I had only one cigar left in my
pocket, which I carefully guarded during the whole of the
battle as a miser does his treasure. I did not feel
justified in using it. I painted in glowing colors in my
mind the happy hour when I should enjoy it after the
victory. But I had miscalculated my chances.' 'And what was
the cause of your miscalculation?' 'A poor dragoon. He lay
helpless, with both arms crushed, murmuring for something to
refresh him. I felt in my pockets and found I had only gold,
and that would be of no use to him. But, stay, I had still
my treasured cigar! I lighted this for him, and placed it
between his teeth. You should have seen the poor fellow's
grateful smile! I never enjoyed a cigar so much as that one
which I did not smoke.'"

In European cities juveniles offer the smoker, at every street corner, a "pipe" or a "cigar light." The following description, entitled "Light, Sir," is from an English journal, and contains much interesting information on the various modes of lighting pipes and cigars.

"''Ere y'are, sir--pipe-light, cigar-light, on'y 'ap'ny a
box--'ave a light, sir.' Every smoker of the larger cities
knows the cry. Every tender-hearted smoker is familiar with
the appeal, by day and by night, and remembers pangs of
regret he has felt when the want of ha'pence or the
repletion of his match-box has prevented his much-besought
response. There is no need now to enlarge upon the
sufferings, the adventures, the dangers of these peripatetic
juvenile trades folk, sparse of clothes and food, and full
of the material which may make or mar a nation; for all
this was done, and even overdone, by the graphic
sensationalists of the London penny dailies when Chancellor
Lowe proposed a tax on matches. We may, upon occasion, feel
for the manufacturers and venders of 'lights,' but more
generally we find ourselves constrained to sympathize with
the purchasers of such contrivances for the ignition of
pipes and cigars. The smoking of tobacco is an art; an art
which, in its proper exercise, requires much care, much
prudence, and not a little skill. This is a proposition
which must, from its very nature, be startling to
non-smokers, and surprising to many smokers. The tobacco
hater (invariably an illogical creature, who hates that
which he knows not) will hold up hands in amazement, and
sniff with the nose in contempt, to whom reply would be
superfluous.

"With the smoker the case is otherwise. A German writer
recently said that the English were better smokers than the
Germans; because, whereas the German smoked incessantly,
without rule, system, or moderation, the English smoked with
care, with slow and appreciative lovingness, and the
determination not to overstep the bounds of rational
enjoyment. Had he known more of English smokers, he would
not have made so wild a statement; and had he known English
women better, he would never have attributed to their sweet
influence the fancied superiority he describes in English as
compared with German smoking. In truth, the art of tobacco
using is nowhere more ignored, nowhere more contemptuously
neglected than in these 'favored isles.' For one man who
smokes with a reason, for a purpose, or by system, you shall
find a thousand who smoke without either; and the result is
that those who smoke have little defense, in the general
way, for their practice, while those who condemn the habit
have far better grounds for their opposition than they have
ever yet been able to explain. To those who do know why they
use tobacco, it is well-nigh incredible that so many of
their fellow-smokers should be ignorant of the properties,
the uses, the abuses, of the weed they burn and the fumes in
which they delight. Yet, even this is not so surprising as
the fact that so few of those who smoke--smoke much, often
and constantly--should be ignorant of, or indifferent to,
the conditions which are necessary to their own adequate
enjoyment of the weed.