Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1906 — A TALK ABOUT CIGARS. [ARTICLE]

A TALK ABOUT CIGARS.

Mon Think They Are Experts When They Know Nothing. . an 0 "Nino men out of ten when you hand them a cigar will roll It tenderly between the fingers and smell U. knowingly before attempting to smoke it," said an avenue cigar man recently. "After puffing on it a minute or two. If you aak Me ouiaJoo. Ifce —O' you about the cigar, its mage, grade and price, and inform you ia a confidential way that he knows all about tobacco, and cigars in particular. In ninety-nine cases out of one hflnared 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 cigar* 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 please. 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 ‘puritanoe,’ the ‘breva’ and ‘panatella’ having a distinct shape of their own. The ‘panateila’ 1s a long, thin cigar, with tapering ends, whereas the ‘breva’ is finished off short at both ends and has ao even thickness throughout, except a slight narrownesa at the end which ~la 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 thta 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 ts wrapped in Connecticutwrapper, 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 %re genuine the wrapper will be a good tobacco of Its grade, but whether it is acid main or not the expert will be able to determine.’*—Washington 9-ar.