THE CUBA REVIEW ._ 15 
Frequently the passer-by, unaware of the presence near him of one of these ware 
houses, will suddenly find his nostrils filled with an odor, not perfume, yet sweet, 
with the faint trace of ammonia that characterizes tobacco im this stage of the curing 
process, and on investigating will find himself near a masonry wall pierced with some 
small windows, one or two of which will be open, and he will discover that from 
these is coming the odor that attracted his attention. If his curiosity leads him to 
investigate further, he will find himself in the darkness just referred to, and after he 
has penetrated this darkness, ameliorated by the light. from the electric lights with 
which all these warehouses are provided, he will see in the dimness long rows of 
tobacco bales extending down the sides of the aisles which provide communication 
from one department of the warehouse to the others. As we indicated in the last 
paragraph of our other article, these bales will be found on their sides or ends, piled 
two, three or more deep, depending on the stage of their curing, and the number 
of windows open in the yarious departments of the warehouse will depend also on 
the extent to which the tobacco in that particular department has reached its final 
condition. A great deal depends on the intelligence of the man in charge of these 
warehouses, for ignorance or delay in changing the position and location of tobacco in 
accordance with its condition as received and just after reception from the country 
has been the cause of serious loss. 
These warehouses may form part of the plant of one of the large cigar-making 
establishments in Havana, or may belong te one of the many important leaf tobacco 
dealers so numerous in this city. If the former is the case, the tobacco will be held 
till ready for use, and till orders are received for cigars for the making of which the 
grade of tobacco in storage is required. If the latter is the case, the tobacco after 
thorough curing will be placed in some part of the warehouse where good but con- 
trolled ventilation exists, there to be held till some buyer from abroad presents 
himself, or till some one from the city purchases it for home requirements. 
The reader who has followed us in our first article will know that these tobaccos 
consist of three principal classes, wrapper, filler, and the lowest grade and small leaf 
used solely for cutting up into cigarette making material. He will also know that 
the material in the bales consists of the entire tobacco leaf. From this, in the case 
of filler and wrapper, the mid-rib has to be removed before the leaf can be used in 
the making of cigars. This has given rise to an industry separate from that con- 
nected with warehousing tobacco or making it up into its finished products, viz., that 
of stripping tobacco, as it is called. Im various places in Havana, and in some places 
in the country, stripping factories devote themselves to taking the leaf as it comes 
from the bales, removing the mid-rib, and packing the product in one of several ways 
for consumption here or abroad. The process through which the leaf is put is the 
same whether done in the cigar factory for consumption therein, or for exportation. 
Some of our stripping factories operate for their own account; that is, purchase the 
leaf in the bale, strip it, and then sell it at a price permitting profit: or in other 
instances, they operate for the account of firms who send them the raw material, they 
stripping it for a certain price per hundred pounds or other unit. Of late, nearly all 
such operations have been based upon weight, though before the organization of the 
tobacco workers was perfected during the period of the late war, the work was largely 
paid for at so much per “carrot” or “manojo.” 
A stripping factory or the department of a cigar factory where this work is done 
usually consists of a long roomy hall, in which the strippers are arranged in rows 
extending the length and breadth of the room. These strippers are for the most 
part women, men being used almost exclusively for those duties where strength or 
particular skill is required. The tobacco in the “carrot” is first taken from the bale, 
enough being taken out at one time to fill the requirements of the following day. 
These carrots are then broken up by cutting the bands holding the “hands” of which 
they are composed together, and these are then taken by men and immersed quickly 
in a tank containing water, shaken out till nearly-all the surplus water is removed, 
