24 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE CUBAN TOBACCO INDUSTRY 



BANNER YEAR FOR TOBACCO TROUBLES OF THE CIGAR MANUFAC- 

 TURER EXPORTS TO ENGLAND 



TOBACCO EXPORTS 



The total value of the tobacco sent to 

 the United Kingdom from Cuba during 

 1912 was £800,635, of which amount £791,- 

 286 represents cigars. 



DECREASE IN TOBACCO PLANTING 



The weekly El Guircno of Giiira de He- 

 lena, Havana Province, laments the fact 

 that in the present year there are a number 

 of tobacco plantations for sale. An excess 

 of production is the reason, in the opinion 

 of La Lucha, for the failure experienced 

 in the tobacco business. 



Our contemporary adds that there were 

 years in which the tobacco crop of the is- 

 land of Cuba did not go below 550,000 

 bales. At present perhaps it will not reach 

 450,000. 



At the time of such abundant production 

 it was divided among Vueltabaja and Semi- 

 vuelta, 300,000 bales; Vueltarriba, 175,000; 

 and Partido, 75,000. 



To-day these figures have changed ; the 

 Eastern and Western parts together will 

 produce 350,000 bales, and on the other 

 hand, Partido will certainly reach the 

 amount of 100,000. 



In Vueltabajo and Vueltarriba the sale 

 by weight was adopted. In Partido it goes 

 by quality. Because the production in the 

 places first named abounds in filling and 

 that of Partido in wrapper. 



This being so, there is no rule of propor- 

 tion as regards the respective crops. For 

 one leaf of wrapper six or eight of filling 

 are required. The amount of tobacco gath- 

 ered in the Western and Eastern parts, 

 with 75,000 bales in Partido, amply fill the 

 requirements of manufacture. 



For this reason El Giiireno thinks that 

 the planters of those districts if they used 

 to sow 100,000 plants without being able to 

 attend to them properly, should plant only 

 50,000, giving them the required attention, 

 this being based on the fact that one man 

 ought not, or better said, cannot take care 

 of at most more than about 12,000 or 14,000 

 plants. 



Experience shows the truth of this. It 

 has been proven that by not planting much 

 tobacco the results are better. It is perfer- 

 able to have 500 "matules" of real wrapper 

 than 4,000 filling; 550 of wrapper at 3 pesos 

 amount to 3,500, while 4,000 of filling at 25 

 centavos, amount to 1,000 pesos. 



Unfortunately, the crop just finishing 



has been, with very rare exceptions, nega- 

 tive in the extreme. The damage sufifered 

 is bound to result in forcing, although 

 against the wish of the planter, a decrease 

 in the planting. — La Lucha, October 18th. 



BANNER YEAR FOR TOBACCO 



The opinion is expressed in the Cigar 

 and Tobacco JVorld that the Cuban tobacco 

 crop is as good this year as it has been for 

 many years, that it will not be long before 

 prices go higher again, and that the year 

 will be remembered as one of the banner 

 years for good smoking and tasting to- 

 bacco. The tobacco was grown at its 

 proper season and under favorable con- 

 diticns, and is a good, aromatic, light to- 

 bacco, with great combustibility ; it is a 

 tobacco, too, that may be worked or may 

 be kept for a year or two, and will improve 

 all the time. This will not be realized till 

 about January, or until the cold weather 

 sets in, when the tobacco cures even better. 



CIGAR MANUFACTURER S TROUBLES 



Rainy days and humidity do much to 

 handicap the Havana cigar maker. When 

 the factories have not enough dry fillers 

 they must shut down. 



Dark, rainy clouds besides give so little 

 light in the afternoon that cigar selectors 

 stop work, as they are unable to distin- 

 guish the colors well. As even the old 

 cigars, which are perfectly dry, will ab- 

 sorb the humidity in the atmosphere and 

 become pliable again, packing cigars in 

 boxes is also a dangerous operation, and 

 none of our experienced cigar manufac- 

 turers will run the risk of doing that kind 

 of work when the humidity is excessive. 

 Under these circumstances cigar exports 

 at such a time are small. 



Cuban Consul R. M. Ybor of Tampa 

 protests against the proposed design for 

 the government guarantee stamp to be 

 vised upon cigars made under the manu- 

 factured in bond plan, as it contains an 

 objectionable phrase: "Made by Spanish 

 hand labor." 



This phrase he considers unfair, for in 

 Tampa two-thirds of the cigar makers em- 

 ployed are Cubans, Americans and Italians. 

 To employ a stamp bearing such a phrase 

 might lead to trouble between the manu- 

 facturers and the cigar makers, because it 

 would form a basis for agitation by un- 

 scrupulous persons. 



