CHAPTER V

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE TOBACCO PLANT

The tobacco plant when subjected to chemical analysis is found to contain all or most of the following substances:

The substances which differentiate tobacco from other plants and form its chief characteristics are Nicotianin, Nicotine and Malic Acid.

The percentage in which the important substances exist in tobacco is given below:

When tobacco is burned, chemical changes occur; the organic and other compounds are decomposed. The volatile matters pass off in the smoke if the combustion is complete, and the mineral ash remains. In ordinary pipe or other tobacco smoking, however, the combustion is not complete and many decomposition products remain with the mineral ash.

In tobacco smoke the following can usually be found: Furfurol, Marsh Gas, Hydrogen Sulphide, Hydrogen Cyanide, Organic Acids, Phenols, Empyreumatic Oils, Pyridine, Picoline Series and possibly some Nicotine.

The ash left after complete combustion is important, as much of the smoking qualities of the tobacco depends on its constituents. An average sample gives the following analysis (in 100 parts):

Average mineral contents of tobacco ash

Remarks on Some of the Substances Found in Tobacco

Nicotine

Of all the substances found in tobacco, nicotine is the most important.

Nicotine in the pure state is a colorless liquid having a specific gravity of 1.027. It is an organic base having the chemical formula C₁₀H₁₄N₂. It is extremely acid and burning to the taste, and is a virulent poison. It easily volatilizes; is inflammable, and is soluble in water, alcohol, ether and some fixed oils. Nicotine has the characteristic peculiar odor of tobacco.

The amount of nicotine in tobacco is said to depend on the nature of the soil in which it is grown; rich, heavy soils and strong nitrogenous manuring favor the production of a large nicotine content; and light, sandy soils the opposite.

Moreover the nicotine content depends on the age and development of the plant.

An investigation by Chuard and Mellet showed nicotine contents of leaves:

The longer the plant is permitted to grow the larger will be its nicotine content.

Schlössing has made a similar investigation and found that in the same plant the nicotine content varies from 0.79% when young to 4.32% when fully matured. Most nicotine is found in the ribs and veins.

H. B. Cox (American Druggist V. 24, 1894, p. 95) investigated the nicotine contents of various manufactured tobaccos. These were not “proprietary tobaccos” but samples obtained from different sources at random. His results are given here:

Nicotine Contents of Different Tobaccos

The average of a number of samples of Syrian tobacco showed 1 to 2% nicotine, Manila and Havana 1 to 3%, Virginia and Kentucky from 2 to 7%, and French tobaccos about 9%.

Most of the nicotine in tobacco becomes volatilized and decomposed during combustion; a small part, however, may form a solution with the water which is also one of the combustion products. One of the decomposition products of nicotine is

Pyridine

Pyridine is usually found in tobacco smoke. When condensed it is a colorless non-oily liquid and is considerably less toxic than nicotine.

Reference will be made later on to the effects of nicotine and pyridine on the human system.

Potash

Potash is important as on its amount depends the burning qualities of the tobacco. It is sometimes present in the ash to the extent of 30%, being converted into potassium carbonate by burning. Not only for free burning is the potash valuable, but also for the better volatilization of the nicotine and other substances. The more perfect the combustion, the fewer deleterious compounds are formed.

Chlorides, if present, retard the burning of the tobacco, and hence a tobacco which contains a high percentage of chloride, even if it is rich in potash salts, is a poor burning tobacco and therefore faulty. While it is important that the burning should be free and the volatilization as perfect as possible, yet the smoker does not want his tobacco to burn too rapidly. To meet this some manufacturers prepare “slow burning” tobaccos generally by the addition of some chemical which checks the potash.

The aroma and flavor of the tobacco depend to a great extent on the waxes, resins and oils, as well as on certain of the organic acids.

REFERENCES

U. S. Dispensatory. 1907 (19th Edition).

Kissling. The Chemistry of Tobacco. Scientific American (Supp.) 1905, Vol. 60, No. 1560.

Chuard & Mellett. Variation de Nicotine dans les differents organes de la plante de Tabac. Comp. Rend. Acad. d. Sc. (Paris) 1912. Vol. 155, p. 293.

Pezzolato, A. Conferenza Sulla Chimica applicato alla technologia del Tabacco. (Rome. 1903.)

Wolf, Jacob. Der Tabak und die Tabak fabrikate. Chapter III. Leipzig, 1912.

Schlossing. Sur la production de la nicotine par la culture du Tabac. Compt. Rend. Acad. d. Sc. (Paris), 1910. Vol. 151, p. 23.

CHAPTER VI

THE CURING OF TOBACCO LEAF

The “curing” of tobacco leaf is the process of drying out which has for its object the following specific actions:

The first part of the curing is done by the grower in curing sheds on the farm immediately after the cutting of the crop; the final part, or the fermentation part is usually done by the leaf dealer or manufacturer in special buildings called leaf-houses.

There are three methods of curing in use by the growers, i. e., sun curing, air curing, and artificial heat curing. In the case of the tobacco known as Perique the curing process is more or less peculiar to itself. “Sun” and “air” curing are much slower processes than the curing by artificial heat.

All cigar leaf tobacco is sun-cured, and as a general rule pipe smoking and chewing tobacco are cured by artificial heat.

For the purpose of drying and curing by artificial heat, the leaf is hung up in specially constructed curing houses or sheds. It is found that after the exposure to the sun for the first process of “yellowing” tobacco leaf still contains 1 lb. of water approximately in each plant. The first part of the process of curing consists in drawing off this superfluous moisture. Dry heat is applied at a temperature of 90° F. to 120° F. for about 16 to 30 hours to effect this. A further exposure of about 48 hours at a temperature of 125° or so is necessary to complete the curing, and fix the color.

The stems and stalks being thicker take a longer time and generally require 9 to 10 hours further exposure and a temperature which may range as high as 175° F. before they are fully cured, the temperature being graded hourly until the maximum necessary is reached.

The process of curing varies considerably in different states. Some growers prefer to put the tobacco into the sheds immediately after cutting, and allow very little exposure in the fields. The temperature is usually kept steady at about 90° F. Again the process is different according to the quality of tobacco required. For the heavy type of leaf which is intended for the export trade, the curing in the sheds is done by an open fire, the fuel being usually hardwood logs. The smoky, creosotic flavor is absorbed by the leaf, and, although this flavor is not relished by the smokers of the U. S., it is much liked in Europe. The curing in such cases may last for 4 or even 5 days. The tobacco is suspended on poles by the stalks and the fires are built on the floor immediately under them so that the carbonaceous products are easily absorbed by the open pores of the leaf.

The chewing and pipe smoking tobacco, as well as cigarette tobaccos including all the bright yellow tobaccos used in the U. S. are usually cured by Flue curing. In this case the heat comes from pipes which run around the curing houses and are fed from a furnace in an adjoining chamber or in a cellar. The temperature can be easily regulated. “Flue” curing is generally completed in about 4 days. “Flue” curing does not clog up the pores of the leaf which therefore remain more absorbent than in the open fire cured tobacco. This is an important matter for the manufacturers because the flue cured leaf will absorb twice as much of the flavoring sauces (which are added to certain kinds of tobacco) than tobacco leaf cured by open fires.

Air exposure of 6 to 8 weeks (sometimes extended to 3 or 4 months) is necessary when tobacco is cured by exposure to the sun and air. It is claimed, however, that this method of curing preserves far better the natural flavor of the leaf; and, where flavor and aroma are highly important, this method is always preferred. Hence all cigar leaf tobaccos are cured by exposure to natural sunlight and not by artificial heat.

“Air” curing as distinct from sun curing is generally done in open sheds which are thoroughly ventilated and kept as far as possible at a temperature of about 75° F. The leaf is usually allowed to cure while attached to the stalk, but Florida curers generally prefer to strip the leaf and treat it separately. The finer classes of pipe smoking tobaccos are air cured.

After the curing is completed the color of the leaf is usually fixed. Generally speaking, the riper the leaf the lighter will be its color when cured. Thus the bottom leaves of the plant will be lighter in color than the upper leaves because they are more mature.

(For references see end of Chapter VIII)

CHAPTER VII

THE MARKETING AND SALE OF TOBACCO LEAF

When the tobacco leaf is fully cured it is at once prepared for the market. The first step is the planters’ classification of the leaf. In the case of pipe smoking and chewing tobacco the planter collects all the imperfect, injured leaves, or those inferior from any cause, and ties them in bundles. These are the planters lugs. All other grades are leaf. Slightly injured leaves are classed as low-leaf or seconds. The others are classed medium, good, fine and selected leaf, according to grade, color, quality, etc.

In the case of cigar leaf tobacco a similar classification is made, more care being taken owing to the very great difference in price between the better and poorer qualities. This difference may be as much as 20c in the lb., the finer and more suitable leaf being eagerly sought for.

Pipe smoking and chewing tobacco leaf is usually packed in hogsheads or cases each weighing from 1,000 to 1,400 lbs. The operation of packing the leaf is called “prizing.” Cigar leaf is usually put up in “hands.” A “hand” consists of from 25 to 75 leaves tied together. Four hands tied together make a “carrot” and 80 carrots go to the bale, but the size of the bale varies considerably. The tobacco is then ready for the buyer.

There are two systems of disposing of the planters’ product: (1) direct purchase by the manufacturer or by a middleman from the grower; and (2) what is known as the warehouse system. In the southern states the warehouse system prevails. Every important tobacco section in the south has its public warehouse which is under the control and supervision of state law. Many of these warehouses are long established, that at Richmond, Va., dating as far back as 1730, and those at Louisville and Clarksville about 1839.

On appointed days the planter brings his leaf to the warehouse. Here it is entered as “loose leaf” or “inspected leaf.” In the case of loose leaf, the tobacco is open to the inspection of prospective buyers, who examine it and afterwards bid on it. In the case of “inspected leaf” the warehouse officials first examine the consignments, grade them and mark them according to their judgment, taking samples. The samples are open to buyers’ inspection and form the basis of sale. Tobacco auctions are regularly held when the buyers assemble and bid on the “loose leaf” and “inspected” lots. Prices of the various grades are fixed and sales take place at the day’s price.

The principal tobacco markets are:

For Kentucky and Tennessee—At Louisville, Clarksville and Cincinnati.

For Maryland and Ohio—At Baltimore.

For North Carolina—At Durham and Winston.

For Virginia—At Richmond.

The warehouse system has the great advantage that the proceedings are open and the prices are recorded and published. Hence growers can know how the market fluctuates and judge the best time for sale. This is not the case when the sale is private between the buyer and seller as is customary in the eastern and northern states. Here the price actually received by the grower is often different from that given out as paid.

The price of tobacco leaf has had many vicissitudes during the past 25 years, the price often having reached so low a point as to discourage producers. Thus at Winston, N. C., the price has gradually fallen from 12.3c per lb. in 1889 to 6.3c in 1896. In the same period Burley leaf at Louisville and Cincinnati fell from 10c to 7½c. Prices similarly dropped in other centers. The price of cigar leaf has latterly increased. In 1900 prices ran from 6 to 15 cents; in 1905 from 8 to 17 cents. Many conditions at home and abroad affect the price, such as bad harvests or inferior grades of produce.

The tobacco trust has been very unjustly blamed by many for the falling price of tobacco. As a matter of fact and record, however, the concentration of buying power by eliminating the middleman and the small dealers has not only placed the grower in a better position by giving him a better price, as recent records show, but it has benefited the consumer also who can obtain the superior grades at a lower price. It is the middleman’s profit that has been cut. Moreover, the concentrated buying power of the large interests here has been an effective force in keeping up tobacco leaf prices against the foreign buyers. It must be remembered that about half of our crop is exported. The buyers of this portion, who are principally the agents of foreign governments (in the cases where tobacco is a government monopoly as in France, Italy, etc.) assemble at the auctions and bid in the usual way. As this competition is very limited there is always an opportunity for such buyers to agree among themselves as to the limit of prices. This has been one of the important factors which has kept the prices of tobacco leaf down. The concentration of American buying power has, however, been a formidable check on it, the prices received by the growers being now fair and reasonable, and such as are the result of a healthy market, where the factors of supply and demand have their full share of effect.

The government statistics show that for 1914 the prices of leaf varied from 5.5c to 20c for common to good varieties.

(For references see end of Chapter VIII)

CHAPTER VIII

REHANDLING AND FERMENTATION OF TOBACCO LEAF PRIOR TO MANUFACTURE

We have seen how the tobacco passes from the grower to the manufacturer or leaf dealer. Before it is fitted, however, for manufacture into cigars or other finished products the leaf must go through many processes, the most important of which is fermentation. These processes, which are usually known as rehandling, are carried out in special buildings which are called leaf houses and stemmeries. The procedures in different leaf houses may vary somewhat, but the general principles and objects in view are the same in all. Moreover, the treatment is different, according to the ulterior disposition of the leaf, i. e. whether intended for cigars, pipe smoking or other product.

The general treatment as carried out in large establishments is about as follows:

The leaf as soon as it is received whether in casks, cases, bales, or otherwise is opened up and inspected in the casing room. Large concerns which manufacture or deal in cigar and other kinds of leaf, sort out the different kinds suitable for each class of product, i. e. wrappers, fillers, binders, cigarette leaf, plug leaf, etc. These are distributed to either special houses or departments. The tobacco leaf when first received is usually dry and brittle. The bundles are carefully opened up and the leaves loosened and spread out on large trucks where they are sprayed with water. When the leaf has soaked the water and is pliable it undergoes a sorting which is done by selecting leaves from different cases or even bundles of leaves and in a general way arranging them so that each truckfull represents a blend of the different kinds of leaf which are suitable for the purpose in view. These sorted packages are then roughly fastened together and after being again sprinkled thoroughly are sent to the “sweating” room to undergo fermentation which may last several weeks. The temperature of this room must be carefully regulated and is usually kept at about 90° F.

The selection and blending of the different kinds of leaf is most important. It requires accurate and expert knowledge in choosing leaves and kinds possessing different strengths and other qualities and in combining them in such proportions that the final effect of the blend gives just what is required.

It is particularly in this expert treatment of the leaf before manufacture that the greatest advance has been made in the tobacco industry. The smoker has the advantage and satisfaction of knowing that not only does he get the benefit of improved scientific knowledge and sanitary conditions by which anything that might be harmful or undesirable is removed, but that handling the leaf in large quantities effects great economics and procures for him the benefit of choicest selected grades at a reduced cost.

It may be said here incidentally that leaves of the very best tobaccos which are defective merely in size, or color, etc., are put through exactly the same processes as the choicer quality leaves, and are used in the manufacture of the popular priced machine-made “little cigars” and “cheroots.”

It will be necessary now to digress for a short time and consider what happens during the process of fermentation.

Fermentation of Tobacco

The fermenting of tobacco leaf has for its principal objects, (1) the removal of acrid matters, (2) the fixing of the color, and (3) the production of flavor. Fermentation can only take place under suitable conditions of heat and moisture, and is essentially a chemical process during which certain organic compounds stored in the plant are split up and others formed.

A certain amount of fermentation takes place in the curing houses during the “yellowing” of the leaf after it has been harvested, but as we have seen the main process of fermentation does not occur until it is “rehandled” by the manufacturers.

The general opinion held at present as the result of investigation is that the transformations which are effected in the leaf are purely the result of chemical processes. As the plant slowly dies and decomposes special ferments are produced. These ferments set up an oxidization process which splits up the complex organic compounds which still exist in the leaf cells. The starch in the plant is changed into sugar which is slowly consumed. There is a decrease in the fats and gummy substances, also in nicotine and nitrogenous compounds, and there is a formation of certain organic acids such as malic, citric and oxalic which are essential in the production of flavor. Briefly it may be said that the process is an attempt by the plant to prolong its existence by feeding on its own substance, by drawing on its own reserves and on its own structure for the food which its cells no longer receive through the natural growing process. When the struggle is over the “fermentation” is complete. The necessity for maturing tobacco has long been known but the exact nature of the changes that take place during the process were not understood. Since the discoveries of Louis Pasteur regarding the part played by bacteria in general fermentative processes it has been generally claimed by bacteriologists that the changes wrought in the leaf and the production of flavor are solely the work of bacteria. Although this view has not been proved it has never been fully disproved, and there appears to be no doubt that the microbes known to exist in the leaf during the fermentation process play an important part in the process. Fermentation can only take place as stated under suitable conditions of heat and moisture and these are the conditions which favor the development of microbes and enable them to work. The results obtained are probably partially due to chemical action and partly to bacterial action, the two being complementary to each other.

In 1899 Suchsland, a German scientist, startled the tobacco world by asserting that the flavor of tobacco was in no way due to the effects of the soil and climate where it was grown, but was solely due to microbic action, and that the specific flavor and aroma of any given tobacco could be artificially produced by the cultivation of selected bacteria and allowing the tobacco to cure and ferment under their action. He conducted a series of experimental investigations in which he searched for and isolated the specific microbes found in the best West Indian tobacco. From these he made artificial cultures and introduced them into heaps of inferior, coarse German tobacco which was undergoing curing. His results were such that the smoking quality of the leaf was entirely changed. It could scarcely be distinguished from the best Cuban tobacco and experts and connoisseurs failed to identify the product as German tobacco. A company was formed to exploit the new ideas commercially, but it does not appear to have met with success. Other investigations failed to obtain Suchsland’s results and extensive investigation in the Agricultural Experimental Station in the United States have not up to now produced any results confirmatory of the theory.

We can now proceed to follow the course of the tobacco in its peregrinations through the leaf house.

On their return from the first fermentation the bundles go to the picking department. Leaves which are damaged or unsuitable in any way are here picked out and put aside to be used in the cheaper grades. The leaves are then subjected to a thorough cleaning to remove particles of sand, clay, etc., packed tightly in bundles and returned to the sweating department to undergo further fermentation and to allow for a thorough interchange of the aroma of the different blends. In due course the bundles pass to the stemming department for the removal of the midribs which usually form nearly one-third of the entire weight. The resulting half leaves are then arranged in piles of 50, each pile forming a “book.”

From the stemming department the books pass to the drying room where any superfluous moisture is removed by hot air currents.

From the drying room the books pass to the ordering room where they undergo inspection for color, size, etc., and subjected to further treatment if necessary. Here they are finally packed in cases and stored for several months to allow perfect and uniform blending after which they are ready for shipment to the factory. Filler leaf for the finest cigars may stand in these cases for two or three years.

Leaf which is intended for chewing or pipe smoking is not subjected to so great an elaboration of processes as cigar leaf, as the matters of uniformity of color, and delicacy as well as individuality of aroma are not of such great importance. Usually such tobacco leaf is fermented in bulk, and the removal of the stems is done before the principal fermentation.

After the preliminary selection of varieties, sorting, stemming and cleaning, the leaf is dipped into large vats containing flavors; and after drying are subjected to steaming. They are then packed away in bulk in the sweating department where they slowly ferment until required for use. These “bulks” or stacks may contain many tons of leaf. They require constant turning over, etc. Indeed it may be said that every step in these processes requires constant care. Temperature, moisture, length of exposure, etc., must all be carefully seen to. Otherwise the tobacco will spoil.

In the case of tobacco leaf intended for export trade rehandling consists mainly of stemming and removal of moisture. This is done before shipment in order to reduce the weight as customs duty is levied in accordance with the weight of the imported packages in the countries importing.

Boekhout und de Vries. Uber Tabacfermentation. “Centralbl. f. Bakter,” 1909. 2 Abteil. Vol. 24, p. 496.

Loew, O. Sind Bakterien die Ursache der Tabakfermentation? “Centralbl. f. Bakter,” 1909. Vol. 6, p. 108.

Killebrew and Myrick. Tobacco Leaf. Part I. New York, 1897.

Suchsland, E. Bobachtungen über die Selbsterwärmung des fermentierenden Tabaks. In “Festschrift 200-Jahr Jubel. d. Verein. Friedrichs Universit.” Halle-Wittenberg, 1894.

Wolf, Jakob. Der Tabak und die Tabakfabrikate. Chapter IV. Leipzig, 1912.

Hoagland, J. G. The Tobacco Industry. In Quarterly of the Nat. Fire Protec. Assn., 1907. Vol. 1, Nos. 2 and 4.

Jacobstein, M. The Tobacco Industry in the U. S. Chapter II. New York, 1907.

CHAPTER IX

MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF TOBACCO. GENERAL REMARKS

The importance and magnitude of the tobacco manufacturing industry in the United States will be best understood from a consideration of the following statistics taken from the latest available government records:

(For all Manufactured Products)

The figures are given in round numbers. The total capital invested in this industry is between $300,000,000 and $400,000,000.

There are more than one and a quarter millions acres in the U. S. under cultivation of tobacco which yields a crop at present approximating to 1,000 million lbs. of leaf annually.

The industry shows an absolutely increasing condition in every particular at each census. During the past 45 years the value of the product has increased more than $300,000,000.

In addition to the trade in manufacturing in the U. S. there is the export trade principally in unmanufactured leaf. This amounts at present to about $54,000,000 annually. The price of export leaf has been continuously increasing despite of the fact that the production of leaf abroad is increasing. Thus in 1886 the average export price of leaf from the U. S. was 8½c per lb. In 1914 it was more than 12c.

The following statement shows at a glance the marvelous increase in the tobacco industry:

Comparative Statement of Manufactured Tobacco in the U. S. (all products)

In addition to the number of persons employed in manufacturing we must take into account those employed (as well as the capital invested) in the agricultural and distributing ends.

The export manufacturing trade is not important, being only valued at about 3 million dollars annually.

The value of the home manufactured products which in 1905 was shown at $330,000,000 is distributed as follows.

For the increase in the present value of the product these figures would be proportionately increased.

In the year 1913 the United States exported about 350 million lbs. of unmanufactured tobacco leaf, and in 1914, 449 million lbs. This was distributed as follows:

The largest export manufacturing trade was to Asia, the cigarettes exported there having a value of 2½ million dollars.

The consumption of manufacturing products of tobacco in the U. S. has increased continuously since 1863 when it was 1.6 lbs. per head to the present time when it is 5½ lbs. per head of the total population. This works out at about 16 lbs. per head for each male over 16 years. The consumption of tobacco in the U. S. is higher than in any other country and has increased more rapidly. For the past 40 years the consumption per head in U. S. has increased 240%; in England 56%; in France 24%; in Germany 23%. From this fact different deductions might be made. It may be that the Americans smoke more because they are fonder of tobacco than Europeans; or because they get better and cheaper tobacco; or because they can better afford to buy tobacco. The greatest percentage of increase in the United States is in the consumption of cigars.

The manufactured products are classed as (1) cigars, (2) pipe smoking and chewing tobaccos, (3) cigarettes, (4) snuff. To each of these separate chapters will be devoted.

(For references see Chapter XV)

CHAPTER X

CIGARS. HISTORICAL AND GENERAL FACTS

When the Spaniards landed for the first time on American soil they found the natives smoking the rolled-up tobacco leaves, that is a cigar. For a cigar is nothing more, four centuries having made little change in the Cuban cigar. The word cigar is most probably derived from the Spanish word cigarer—to roll. Other derivations are given, but this seems etymologically the correct one; and we will rest content with it. In Spanish America to the present day the custom of smoking tobacco in the rolled form, either as cigars or cigarettes, prevails, rather than the custom of smoking in pipes which was the method of the northern aborigines from whom the English colonists adopted it. Smoking was introduced into Spain in the cigar form and into England in the pipe form. Cigars, however, at the present time, both in North and South America, form the principal item in the tobacco account of the people; we shall therefore enter somewhat fully into matters concerning their manufacture, etc.

Although, as stated, it is in the cigar form that smoking was introduced into Spain, it was not till about 1790 that cigars were used generally in Europe. A factory for the manufacture of cigars was established at Hamburg in 1796. The custom did not spread rapidly and did not reach any considerable proportion in England till about 1830 when the high duties were considerably reduced.

Cigar making has always been a staple industry in Cuba. It was there when the Europeans landed and it is there still. Its record is unbroken. There was always a greater or lesser exportation to Europe and elsewhere.

The cigar business of the U. S.

Of the various manufactured products of tobacco leaf, the cigar trade is the most important in the U. S., its value being greater than that of all other tobacco products combined.

The magnitude of this branch of the tobacco business may be gauged when we state that at the present time there are made annually in the U. S. cigars of all kinds to the amount of about 8½ billions. The Census Bureau Report for 1912 shows that for that year the number of full-sized cigars made and on which tax was paid was in round numbers 7,500,000,000, and of “little cigars,” that is under the regular size, about 1,000,000,000. These figures are certainly stupendous, particularly when we consider that, in addition, at least several hundred more were imported and that only about 2,000,000 were exported. Uncle Sam evidently likes to smoke cigars.

To make these cigars requires a consumption of 136 million lbs. of cigar leaf. Nearly 50 million lbs. of this is imported at a gross cost (exclusive of duties) of about 35 million dollars, the rest of the leaf is home grown. The principal imports are from Cuba. In 1912 we imported cigar leaf from Cuba in amount nearly 23 million lbs. and in 1913 this increased to over 27 million lbs. valued at more than 16 million dollars. The imports of East Indian (Sumatran) leaf varies from 6 to 8 million lbs. and costs from 7 to 8 million dollars.

Although the amount of imported leaf used in cigar making shows a steady increase, being now more than 50% greater than a decade ago, yet the proportion of foreign leaf to home-grown leaf in the whole manufacture shows a steady decrease. This speaks well for the improving quality of American grown leaf.

There are in the United States about 26,000 cigar factories, both large and small. The large number of establishments is due to the fact that cigar making is still to a large extent a hand-making industry. About 135,000 persons are directly employed in the manufacture, nearly half of whom are women. The capital engaged in the business is reported as 150 millions and the value of the product 200 million dollars annually. The actual consumer pays about 300 million dollars for the cigars smoked, the difference between the cost of the product and the latter figure being the expense and profit of the retail handlers. The enormous growth of the cigar trade is seen when it is compared with 1860. In that year the annual value of this product was only 9 million dollars. The two states of New York and Pennsylvania are the centers of cigar manufacture. Between them they make nearly half of the entire product, Pennsylvania leading with about two thousand million cigars annually. Florida makes about 300 million. The price paid by the consumer works out to an average of about 4c for each cigar.

CHAPTER XI

CIGAR MAKING

It was inevitable that modern progress should invade and revolutionize the old and slow methods of cigar making; and so it has. Smoking is a sentimental occupation and lends itself easily to romantic associations. A good deal of romance and sentiment still hangs around the hand-made cigar and cigarette. In an up-to-date cigar factory, however, the whir of machinery and the precise, regular movements of automatic contrivances give little scope for sentiment.

Up to 1870 cigars were hand-made. All that was necessary was an inexpensive board, a cutting knife, and a block of wood with a stationary knife, known as a “tuck,” for measuring and cutting the finished cigar.

About the time stated the “mold” was introduced. The mold is a wooden block about 18″ x 6″ x 3″, a tool which facilitates the shaping of the “bunch” or filler part of the cigar and presses it into shape. This mold is now used in most “hand-made” cigar factories where the labor is subdivided into “bunch-makers” and “rollers,” the latter putting on the binder and wrapper and finishing the cigar.

It is the introduction of practically automatic machinery, however, which is revolutionizing the cigar-making business, and slowly but surely driving the “hand-made” cigar into the position occupied by the “hand-made” cigarette. And the writer cannot see why this should not be so. As it has been said, there is much sentiment about hand-made cigars. But common sense seems to be on the side of the machine. We quite understand the difficulty of killing old prejudices and time honored customs; but it is difficult to understand how the flavor or quality of a cigar filler can be different whether it is pressed into the shape by a machine or by the hand of a workman; or what the precise improvement is when a wrapper leaf is put on and licked by a workman rather than by a clean machine under perfect sanitary conditions. However, sentiment still persists. Imaginary, or perhaps real, charms are ascribed to the hand-made goods and the smoker is willing and even wishful to pay a higher price for his fancy. The result is that the small factory is still predominant. It depends more on labor than on capital. But the large factories have an immense production. The condition will be best shown by stating that in less than 1 per cent of the cigar making establishments of the U. S. nearly 50 per cent of the entire output is made, or, putting it another way, nearly three-fourths of all the licensed cigar factories produced less than one-tenth of the product. Of the 26,000 establishments in the U. S. only in 2 is the annual output more than 50 million and in 27 the output runs from 25 to 50 million. Pennsylvania establishments, principally in Philadelphia, produce 28% of the entire U. S. cigar output; New York State, principally New York City, comes next with about 20%; and Ohio, principally Cincinnati, third with about 8%.

For machine-made goods the principal machines used are the bunch rollers and the suction table. The former rolls the bunch of filler leaves and presses them into shape. The suction table is used for wrapping the cigar. The operator places the wrapper leaf on a perforated plate. By pressing a foot lever a vacuum is created beneath this plate which holds the leaf smooth and snug against the table. The perforated plate is exactly the form which the wrapper must be to properly fit the cigar. It is easily cut around and trimmed to shape. The bunch from the bunch roller is then quickly encased in the wrapper. Human labor is necessary only to feed the machines and to spread the wrappers. 25,000 bunches can easily be wrapped in a week at a cost of $6 to $9 for labor (principally female) and the upkeep of the machine. This in labor alone would formerly cost as much as $75.00. In the smaller “hand-made” factories, the method of procedure is about as follows: The leaf on receipt is opened and moistened. The “filler” leaf is separated from the wrapper. The filler leaf is made up into “books,” a “book” being a bunch of leaves suitable for one cigar. The loose books are then allowed to ferment for a week or so when they are ready for use. The bunchmaker selects and arranges his leaves from each book, selects his binder and rolls the whole into cigar form. If a mold is used he puts the bunch in a matrix of the mold and fastens down the cover until the leaves are pressed into shape. They then go to the wrapper man and are wrapped either by machine or by hand, according to the class of goods. The wrapping is begun at the lighting end and finished at the point which is called the head. After trimming to gauge, the cigar is ready for inspection and classification according to color, etc., and for banding.

Cigars according to their manufacture are classed for trade purposes in various ways. The trade nomenclature embraces the following descriptions: Cigars, little cigars, all-tobacco cigars, stogies and cheroots.

Cigars proper have many subdivisions: