Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 137, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 December 1904 — A TALK ABOUT CIGARS. [ARTICLE]

A TALK ABOUT CIGARS.

Men Think They Are Experts When They Know Nothing. ‘ Nine men out of ten when you hand them a cigar will roll it tenderly between the fingers and smell it know- ' ingly before attempting to smoke it,” said an avenue cigar man recently. “After puffing on it a minute or two, If you ask his opinion, he will tell you about the cigar, its make, grade and price, and inform you in a confidential way that he knows all about tobacco, and cigars in particular. In ninety-nine cases out of one hundred his information will be wrong, a= only the tobacco expert can quickly judge of the intrinsic merits of a cigar, and frequently he will be at fault. ‘‘For commercial purposes all cigars are divided into three grades of tobacco, known as dark, medium and light, but these are grouped into subheadings. “The grade of (tobacco used in a cigar has nothing whatsoever to do with its size, and there is practically no limit to the number of sizes. Any cigar manufacturer may bring out a cigar of special size and give it whatever name he pleases. The best known and most frequently used sizes however, in the cigar trade are the ‘conchas,’ which are divided into ‘bouquet’ and ‘especial,’ ‘regalia bouquets’ and ‘purltanoe,’ the ‘breva’ and; ‘panatella’ having a distinct shape of their own. The ‘panatella’ Is a long, thin cigar, with tapering ends, whereas the ‘breva’ is finished oft short at both ends and has am even thickness throughout, except a slight narrowness at the end which is held in the mouth. “Undoubtedly the best tobacco smoked in cigars in this country is the native grown Cuban tobacco, and the cigar is further improved if it is made in Cuba, particularly in the Province of Havana. For this reason many socalled Havana cigars are in reality cigars made in this country and shipped to the island, whence they are shipped to the United States, and the revenue stamp is duly pasted on the boxes to deceive the uninitiated. “Many smokers who prefer a light wrapper enjoy the flavor of the Manila wrapper with the Havana filler. To satisfy this taste the Havana tobacco frequently is wrapped in Connecticut wrapper, which is colored to look like a Manila wrapper. Inferior grades of cigars frequently are made of doctored tobacco, acid being used to stain wrappers a light straw color in spots. The best leaf of the tobacco plant is that which grows nearest to the ground, and when the rain splashes mud on the leaf these little straw colored spots appear when the tobacco is cured. When these spots are genuine the wrapper will be a good tobacco of its grade, but whether it is acid stain or not the expert will be able to determine.”—Washington S-ar.