Cigar-holders

Cigar-holders
"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.