20 



After curing and fermenting the crop, samples were submitted to a 

 number of experts and cigar manufacturers and the quality of some 

 varieties was pronounced excellent. This was especiall}^ true of the 

 Cuban t3'pes, cigars made from this crop equaling man}' of the well- 

 known brands of Key West and Cuban cigars. A prominent Philadel- 

 phia manufacturer, reporting on samples submitted, sa3^s: "The burn- 

 ing (juality of your sample is exceptionally good. In our estimation 

 it makes a finer smoke to mix with Havana tobacco than any of our 

 ordinar\^ domestic tobaccos to-day on the market, and by all means the 

 pleasure and taste is ver}' much superior to tobacco grown in Florida, 

 which is now so successfully used by numerous manufacturers in 

 Tampa and Key West posing as clear Havana manufacturers." 



HAMAKTJA EXPERIMENTS, 1905. 



The results indicated at the close of the season of 1905 are that 

 wrapper tobaccos of line texture and body, and filler leaf of mild flavor 

 and good burning qualities, are a commercial possibility. The chief 

 fault to be overcome lies in the direction of the production of light 

 colors, the greater percentage which have been produced being of 

 shades darker than the present market fashions demand. In flav^or 

 the tiller types are intermediate between the Manila and the Cuban, so 

 that if producers undertake this industry on a practical scale, the indi- 

 cations are that the Hawaiian leaf can be marketed, to a certain extent, 

 on its own merits, rather than in competition with either the Cuban 

 or the Manila cigar tobaccos. As the color of the finished product 

 can be almost absolutely controlled by the method of cultivation and 

 of manipulation in curing and fermentation, that phase of production 

 need not be considered a serious drawback. While at the beginning 

 of the experiment artificial shade by the use of tenting cloths was 

 attempted, the 1905 crop was grown in the open, entirely without 

 shelter other than that due to the fact that the experimental plat is sur- 

 rounded on all sides by forest, and the indications are that tenting is 

 absolutel}^ unnecessary in Hawaii. It so happens that the districts 

 having tobacco soil in considerable area are mostly located at an eleva- 

 tion of from 800 to 2,000 feet, which zone constitutes the so-called 

 cloud belt of the islands. While it does not rain every day, the clouds 

 gather on this portion of the mountain slope almost invariabl}- during 

 each afternoon, while the mornings are bright with clear sunshine. 

 It is believed that the natural climatic conditions together with the 

 physical conditions of the soil are the causes which lead to the pro- 

 duction of filmy texture and silkiness, with elasticit}' — the characters 

 absolutel}' essential to wrapper leaf of high quality. In addition to 

 the wrapper and filler leaf, a crop has been grown of broad-leaf 

 tobacco of the binder t3^pe, in regard to the quality of which experts 

 have made extremely favorable reports. 



