TOBACCO LEAVES 



speaking, 170 miles long and 50 miles 

 wide. The tobacco districts comprising 

 the middle and middle-western sections of 

 the province are about 80 miles long and 

 30 wide. The heart of the Vuelta lies be- 

 tween the small mountain range which 

 fringes the northern shore of the province 

 and the southern coast. The centre of 

 the heart is the city of Pinar del Rio. 



The finest leaf is grown in the sections 

 skirted by the Guaniguanico Mountains. 

 There frequent rains down its slopes water 

 the way to numberless streams, feeding 

 and nourishing the earth. Here we find a 

 soil of peculiar richness, containing a com- 

 bination of mineral properties, which, 

 with the stimulation of strong suns, are the 

 chief contributors to the flavour of this 

 tobacco. 



The tobacco farms are generally lo- 

 cated in the lowlands on both sides of the 

 many rivers of the district, or in the val- 



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