did provide one considerable advantage for consumers. 

 The wrapper was properly rolled and a slight twist made 

 a kink at the mouth end which prevented it from un- 

 raveling. 



Most of the cigars were composed of all-Connecticut 

 leaf, or Connecticut filler and Cuban or Maryland wrap- 

 per. After factory operations were well established, 

 Havana fillers with a Connecticut wrapper began to be 

 used. This "half Spanish" cigar, a luxurious substitute for 

 all "shoestring" leaf, had a favorable effect on local mar- 

 kets. A considerable business still continued, however, 

 in the cheaper, cruder varieties. 



"Long nines," for instance, were sold from farm homes 

 for 75 cents to $1.25 per thousand. Bound with three 

 bands in bundles of 25 or 50 and packed 5,000 to a barrel 

 by purchasers, they were shipped to Boston and from 

 there distributed to Atlantic seaport markets. They also 

 went into the export trade. A New Haven firm sent con- 

 siderable quantities to the West Indies where they were 

 bought for use by slaves. 



The manufacturing of cigars in Connecticut increased 

 tobacco agriculture in the state. It had become profitable 

 for farmers to expand their small plots, formerly just 

 sufficient for a supply to a local factory and to provide 

 for their own needs. The methods of curing were, of 

 necessity, being improved though not much could be 

 done to better leaf quality. 



What has been called a "new era" in Connecticut's 

 tobacco commerce occurred when a packing house was 

 first established, around 1825, at Warehouse Point on 

 the Connecticut River above East W^indsor. Tobacco leaf 

 had been haphazardly shipped out before this date. 



31 



