388 TOBACCO LEAF. 



the most promising condition, will come out of it in a 

 very disappointing condition for cigar-making purposes. 

 Should this prove true of any considerable proportion of 

 the crop, it would increase the demand and prices for 

 good crops the succeeding year. Hence, it is quite a 

 difficult matter to follow the tobacco market closely in 

 all its intricacies. Of course the grower should do this 

 as well as he can, but the first and essential thing is to 

 produce a crop of the finest possible quality. 



Now this matter of quality in tobacco for cigar 

 wrappers and binders is an undetermined thing. There 

 are almost as many ideas about what constitutes quality 

 as there are dealers of leaf, manufacturers of cigars, or 

 smokers. At the present time, and for several years 

 past, qualities upon which all are agreed as desirable are : 

 A leaf of light color, free from spots, light in weight, 

 fine in texture, containing few and small veins and mid- 

 ribs so that it will cut into wrappers with as little waste 

 as possible. The leaf must also have good burning 

 qualities, holding fire a reasonable length of time and 

 burning with a white ash, and so that the ash will hold 

 the form of the cigar until knocked off by the smoker. 

 All manufacturers and cigar makers want a leaf that is 

 not brittle, that is smooth, elastic and supple, yet not 

 tough. With all these qualities, some insist upon hav- 

 ing a fine gloss, or shiny appearance, on the wrapped 

 cigar. Others don't want that at all. Some prefer leaf 

 with a considerable amount of gummy or oily matter, 

 and a reasonable amount of it is essential to the proper 

 curing and handling of cigar leaf, but too much gum, 

 or oil, usually accompanies a leaf of coarse texture and 

 other inferiorities. If the leaf has large size, in addi- 

 tion to the foregoing qualities, it is also desirable. 



The greater the proportion of fine wrappers in a 

 crop, the larger its value. Sometimes a fine crop will 

 yield 60 per cent, or more, of prime to good wrappers, 



