38 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY 



SEAL FOR TOBACCO 



The growers of the famous Vuelta Abajo 

 tobacco have formed an association and have 

 adopte 1 a seal for same which will in future 

 appear upon every bale of leaf that is grown 

 in that district as a protection for the tobacco. 

 This seal has been registered with the Cuban 

 Patent Office, and will serve as a guarantee 

 for their product in future. The new associa- 

 tion has been formed with a view to getting 

 the buyers for the factories and the leaf 

 dealers to buy direct from the growers and 

 save the middleman's profit. The seal will 

 be a guarantee that they will get what they 

 are looking for. 



The seal has a distinctive design, showing 

 a typical Cuban tobacco farm, with a number 

 of palm trees, and a tobacco barn in the 

 center. Across this design appears the words 

 "Pinar del Rio," while encircling the whole 

 are the words "As.sociacion de Cosecheros de 

 Tabaco Vuelta Abajo." 



It is a matter of common knowledge, says 

 Tobacco of New York, in the trade that there 

 is not enough tobacco produced in the entire 

 Vuelta Abajo district to furnish even a 

 sprig for more than a fraction of the hundreds 

 of millions of cigars that are annually sent 

 out with the words Vuelta Abajo adorning 

 the boxes. 



It has also happened that as there are 

 occasionally to be found cigar manufacturers 

 who are not expert judges of raw material, 

 there has been leaf tobacco palmed off as 

 genuine Vuelta Abajo, when as a matter of 

 fact it never saw the famous Pinar del Rio 

 section. 



CIENFUEGOS DISTRICT TOBACCO 



Owing to the lack of rain at the proper time, 

 last year's tobacco crop in the Cienfuegos 

 district was very short, but of excellent 

 quality. The famous Manicaragua fields 

 yielded about 9,000 bales and Cumanayagua 

 1,500 bales. A large portion of the tobacco 

 grown in Province comes from these places, 

 and the greater part is shipped to Habana as 

 the exporting port, due to the fact that in that 

 city facilities for advance loans are given to 

 those handling the product, which enables 

 them to hold and await a rising market. 



The actual selling prices prevaihng last 

 year were $50 to $54 per quintal (100 pounds) 

 for the class called "quinta de primera," and 

 $40 to .$42 per quintal for "quintadesegunda." 



Last year leaf tobacco on poles, i.e., cut 

 and hung out to dry, sold at $20 to $22 per 

 100 pounds. This year, due to rains at the 

 proper time, the crop has been more abundant 

 than in any previous year, although the 

 quality may not be quite as good as last year. 

 The total will reach about 30,000 bales of the 

 better class. Selling prices will be lower. 

 The cutting was in operation the beginning 



of March and the price on the poles was $8 

 to $10 per quintal. Although the prices will 

 not be very high the enormous crop and good 

 quality wiU give satisfactory results to the 

 planters. 



Cigar manufacturers of this city are of 

 little importance, as they produce only 

 enough to meet local consumption. — Report 

 of U. S. Consul Ma.v Baehr. 



CUBA TOBACCO DECADENCE 



Since 1907, Cuban tobacco had not re- 

 covered from the injury inflicted upon the 

 industry by the unfortunate strike of the 

 cigar makers in that year, neither recovered 

 its popularity, nor its supremacy in the 

 markets ot the world. All this is discernable 

 in the figures of Cuban cigar exports for the 

 last decade. These are as follows: 



Years. Cigars. Value. 



1904 217,645,082 14,146,930-33 



1905 227,028,521 14,756,853-86 



1906 256,738,029 16,687,971-88 



1907 186,428,607 13,112,226-00 



1908 188,486,784 12,275,040-96 



1909 181,294,502 12,471,911-00 



1910 171,428,724 11,917,653-00 



1911 188,129,188 12,947,861-00 



1912 178,981,472 12,696,749-00 



1913 183,234,330 12,868,623-00 



— Editorial in the Diario de la Marina, 

 Havana. 



DEATH OF AN OLD MERCHANT 



Joaquin Lopez, one of the most successful 

 men in the clear Havana cigar industry, and 

 one of the founders of the firm of Arguelles 

 Lopez & Bro., more than a quarter of a 

 century ago, died June 29th after a serious 

 surgical operation at the Centro Asturano 

 hospital in Havana. 



Mr. Lopez, who was 56 years of age, suf- 

 fered much during the past year or two from 

 Bright's disease and diabetes. He elected 

 to undergo electric treatment at the famous 

 institution at Havana, in the hope that in 

 this way an amputation of a foot might be 

 averted. The latter operation, however, 

 became necessary, and it was not long after 

 undergoing the painful ordeal that Mr. 

 Lopez breathed his last, in the presence of 

 his wife, his brother partner, Celestino Lopez, 

 and other relatives. 



SANITARY CIGAR PASTE 



That the cigar mold which, under some 

 conditions, proves so troublesome to manu- 

 facturers, is caused by the kind of paste in 

 common use, and that it can be prevented by 

 preparing this paste with a solution of 

 boric acid has now been demonstrated to 



