AMERICAN TOBACCO TYPES, USES, AND MARKETS 39 
binder purposes; tobacco from binder and wrapper types may be 
used for all three purposes; and some of the lower grade tobacco 
from all types finds its way into scrap chewing. The terms ‘“‘filler,”’ 
‘‘binder,’’ and ‘‘wrapper”’ are defined as follows: 
Filler: Tobacco used in forming the core of a cigar. It predominates in the 
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: Binier: Tobacco used to bind the filler and to shape it into the “bunch.” The 
binder also acts as a protection for the wrapper during the manufacturing process. 
It is of a fine and elastic texture and is rolled around the coarser filler. The use 
of a binder makes possible the use of a very thin and attractive wrapper on the 
cigar. Otherwise, the core of filler tobacco would present irregularities and 
probably puncture the wrapper, thus requiring replacement and causing a loss. 
Wrapper: Tobacco used for covering the ‘“‘bunch’’ formed by inclosing the filler 
in the binder and to make the finished cigar attractive. 
The scrap-chewing industry is a valuable adjunct to the cigar 
industry, for it provides the grower with an outlet for large volumes 
of leaf not needed or not suited for cigar-manufacturing purposes. 
This is an important consideration, for even in the most favorable 
season some tobacco, because of the position of its growth on the 
stalk or because of injury, will lack the quality requisite for manu- 
facture into cigars; and in years of unfavorable growing conditions 
and at times of hail injury the quantity of such lower quality tobacco 
may be great. Low as the prices for this so-called stemming tobacco 
sometimes are, they save the growers from partial or total loss, insofar 
as the tobacco retains sufficient quality for scrap-chewing purposes. 
The prices paid for stemming tobacco are not always low. In 
years of scant supplies they may be high enough to afford active 
competition for some grades usable in cigars. 
There are physical differences between the three classes of cigar 
tobacco. Filler types are relatively coarse in texture and heavy in 
body. The important considerations are the aroma and_ burn. 
Color is of importance only as it indicates qualities sought by the 
manufacturers; so far as the cigar consumer is concerned, the color 
of the filler is not important. 
With respect to the binder, color is a factor only to the extent that 
it indicates other qualities. But binder leaf must be thinner and of 
finer texture than filler and more elastic. Its purpose is to hold the 
bunched filler in shape; this calls for a degree of elasticity not required 
in fillers. Although the binder constitutes a very small percentage 
of the total bulk of the cigar, its effect on the aroma is important. 
In selecting a binder the manufacturer is guided by aroma and the 
physical qualities needed. Good burn, meaning complete and even 
combustion, is generally required of binder tobacco. Poor-burning 
binders will affect the burn of the wrapper, and in charring will impair 
the even burn desired in a cigar. Likewise, good-burning binders 
will help the burn of a poor-burning wrapper. Poor or uneven burn 
of a cigar makes it disagreeable to the smoker as well as unsightly. 
Binder tobacco, therefore, commands a higher price than filler. A 
consideration of prime importance to buyers of binder tobacco is the 
quality of the tobacco in relation to the class of cigars in which it is 
to be used. Necessarily the standard of quality is higher for 10-cent 
cigars or better than for 5-cent cigars; it is higher for the latter class 
than for the two-for-5-cent cigars. 
The peak of quality of cigar tobacco is reached in wrapper types. 
Not only is the question of aroma and burn as important as in the 
