Tobacco 



225 



MAKING CIGARS 



that for cigar manufacture 

 what is required is a " filler " 

 of Cuban tobaccos and a 

 wrapper of Sumatra leaf. 

 Cigarettes were originally en- 

 tirely prepared by the smoker 

 himself, but their consumption 

 has assumed such gigantic 

 proportions that all the vended 

 brands are made by machinery, 

 the structure of which essen- 

 tially resembles that of the 

 small hand-machines in com- 

 mon use. The machines cut 

 the paper and gum its edge, 

 measure out the right weight 

 of tobacco, wrap it up in the 



paper which is automatically sealed, trim the ends of the cigarettes, and pack them in boxes ! 

 Snuff is largely manufactured from the scraps and waste resulting from the preparation 

 of mixtures and cigars. The fragments are chopped very fine, placed in heaps in warm, damp 

 cellars, and then flavoured with certain substances such as liquorice, tonka beans, deer-tongue 

 leaves, and various perfumes, the nature of which are trade secrets. The mass is allowed 

 to ferment for several weeks, and then dried and finally ground to powder. 



TOBACCO IN CUBA 



In Cuba tobacco cultivation is second only in importance to the sugar industry, and no 

 fewer than 80,000 people are regularly employed. In the early part of the eighteenth century 

 the tobacco trade was a monopoly of the Spanish Crown, with a royal office and warehouse in 

 Havana, and branches in Santiago, Trinidad, Bayamo, and Remedios, where the planters could 

 store their tobacco, receiving such prices as might be established by the Crown for each parti- 

 cular crop. Later, the monopoly was sold to private individuals, but in 1760 it was again 

 taken over by the Crown, and it was not until 1817 that the trade and cultivation of 

 tobacco were declared free on payment of a tax by each planter, equivalent to one-twentieth 

 of the production. Since that date the taxes have varied according to circumstances, but 

 usually they have been very high. There is no reliable information as to the amount 

 of tobacco produced in Cuba in the early days, owing to the enormous smuggling which went 

 on. From such data as are available, however, it appears that during the eighteenth 

 century the annual export was probably not less than 20,000,000 lb., and it is certain that 

 during the periods of Crown monopoly the amount was less than during the period of private 

 monopoly ; when the monopoly was completely abolished, the production immediately 

 increased. Coming to more recent times, it appears that the approximate production in 

 1894-5 was over 62,000,000 lb. of leaf, or 560,000 bales valued at more than £4,000,000. In 

 1904 the production was 416,000 bales. 



More than half of the total amount raised is exported in the leaf, and the remainder, about 

 forty per cent., is used in the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes. Nearly one-half of the 

 export is to the United States. 



Tobacco is raised as an article of commerce in but four of the six provinces of Cuba, 

 though there is no reason why the crop should not be raised in the other two. To the trade 

 the tobacco of Pinar del Rio is known as " Vuelta Abajo," that of Havana as " Partido " 

 and " Semi Vuelta," that of Santa Clara as " Las Villas " or " Remedios " leaf, while the 

 leaf of Santiago is known as " Oriente." 



16-C.P 



