HAVANA CIGARS. 263 



" 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 Yictoria, Panetelos, Trabucos, 

 Embajadores, Especiales, Imperiales, Brevos, Prensados, 

 Cilindrados, Millar Yegueros. 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 Prensa- 

 dos (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 

 and tightly pressed. This makes them stick together some- 

 thing 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 



