.72 TOBACCO LEAF. 



for manufacturers' use into grades of leaf called wrap- 

 pers, binders and fillers. These three grades are each 

 again subdivided into long and short grades, or into A 

 and B grades, and sometimes even into C and D. Short 

 wrappers are not infrequently known as "lights." On 

 the growing tobacco plant, the top and bottom leaves 

 are of about the same size, the extremes of each being 

 worthless. On the other hand, the cream of the plant 

 is found in the leaves at the center of the plant. Be- 

 tween the center leaves, or wrappers, and the end, or 

 small, leaves, are the binders, while the end leaves, those 

 from the bud to the upper binders, and from the tap- 

 root to the lower binder leaves, are the fillers. 



The innermost tobacco in the cigar is the filler, the 

 next leaf used is the binder, to keep the filler in the form 

 or shape of a cigar, and the finishing or outside leaf is 

 the wrapper. 



In buying cigar leaf, the manufacturer looks for 

 the right burn, taste, texture, color, "feeling," general 

 appearance and "strength." The views of different 

 manufacturers on each of these points may vary widely. 

 No hard and fast rule can be laid down as to precisely 

 the degree of each of these qualities that the majority of 

 cigar manufacturers require. Moreover, the style, or 

 fashion, in cigars frequently changes, while the whims, 

 or demands of smokers are almost as varied as the num- 

 ber of these individuals. Formerly, dark, coarse and 

 strong-flavored cigars were the favorite, but now the 

 general preference is for light colors and sweeter flavors. 

 Still, many smokers want dark cigars of strong flavor. 

 No one can tell when the fashion will change. 



The old style of assorting cigars, as to color, was to 

 make them up without assortment of the wrapper leaf 

 before wrapping. After the cigars were made, they 

 were assorted to six colors. With improvement in all 

 lines of manufacturing, a finer ranging of colors was be- 



