The cigar is made up usually of two parts: the filler and the wrapper. In some makes there is also an intermediate strip placed around the filler, known as the binder. In the cigars made in Cuba (so-called Havana cigars), the filler and wrapper are of the same tobacco. In the cigars made in the United States, the filler is generally of one kind of tobacco, and the wrapper of another. About one-sixth of the tobacco used in cigar making in the United States is imported. The imported filler tobacco comes chiefly from Cuba, Porto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines, and the wrapper tobacco from the Dutch East Indies and Cuba. The best tobacco for wrappers is grown in Sumatra. Connecticut wrappers are also much used, being supple and tough. The best cigars made within the limits of the United States are undoubtedly those manufactured in Key West, of Cuban tobacco with a Connecticut wrapper. Those with Virginia, Carolina, Pennsylvania and other tobaccos as the filler, with the Con necticut wrapper, are of inferior quality, but sell in large quantities, because of their cheap ness. Tobacco for the °little cigars," cheroots and all cheaper brands is grown in Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.
Tobacco comes to the cigar manufactory in bundles, or bales, that suitable for wrappers being in separate packages. When the leaf is received the bales are opened, and the leaf spread out and sprayed with water. It is then piled for some hours until it has become moist throughout and pliant. It is then graded, and placed in bins for further curing of from one to six weeks. Tobacco leaf is highly absorbent and readily takes up odors from the air. If these are foul, the effect on the tobacco will utterly ruin the cigars made from it. The best temperature in which to keep the tobacco leaf is F., and the moisture content of the air should be about 70 per cent. As it becomes gripe it is taken to the cigar-makers. The operative spreads the filler leaf on his bench, with a small quantity of the wrapper beside him. He rolls the filler into the proper shape and firmness, then deftly cuts a portion of leaf to form a wrapper, winds the wrapper about the filler and secures the ends with paste. This is the standard method. Some popular grades are made by machinery, but hand made cigars are generally considered the best. The cigars are passed upon critically by a fore man who rejects those not up to the standard of the factory. The passed cigars are placed in large cedar bins for seasoning. Finally they are sorted according to color, and packed into boxes. In general there are five distinct color grades: (1) Claro or Clara, a very light brown; (2) Colorado Clara, light brown; (3) Colorado, medium brown; (4) Colorado Maduro, dark brown; and (5) Maduro, very dark, almost black As a fact, however, in large factories up to 32 shades of brown are recognized. The color, while usually considered an indication of the strength of the cigar, has in reality nothing to do with it, the wrapper giving no perceptible flavor to the cigar, consti tuting but about two per cent of it. And actually
the flavor depends mostly upon the age at which the leaf was cut, and the time and skill bestowed upon its curing. The dark tobacco is the more likely to be ripe, and therefore superior in quality, and likely to be much milder than the very light cigars. In 1914 there were 16,754 manufacturers of cigars and 381 manufacturers of cigarettes operating in the United States. The total output for that year was 16,869,520,463 — an increase in the year of 1,298,722,016. In 1917 the output was 8,266,770,593 cigars, an increase of 876,587,423 over the previous year and the largest output on record. In the same year 35,377,751 pounds of snuff were manufactured and 445,763,206 pounds of smoking and chewing tobacco. The average quantity of unstemmed tobacco required to make 1,000 of the cigars weighing more than three pounds was 21.45 pounds. The average quantity used to make 1,000 little cigars was 6.46 pounds; the aver age for cigarettes was 3.68 pounds. The total quantity of leaf tobacco used in mak ing the 1914 output was 157,967,457 pounds for cigars, and 62,209,366 pounds for cigarettes a total of 220,176,823 pounds. In that year the United States imported 7,863.130 pounds of wrapper tobacco (valued at $9,992,276) and 49, 543,392 pounds of other leaf tobacco (valued at $24,779,771). Of the latter, a considerable amount was used by cigarette-makers — the figures for cigar tobacco are not kept separate by the Department of Commerce. Of the wrapper tobacco, 7,688,514 pounds was °Su matra" leaf, from the Dutch East Indies, and 117,315 pounds Cuban leaf. Of the other leaf tobacco, Cuba supplied 25,601,021 pounds (valued at $14,504,856), Turkey, 21,141,402 pounds (valued at $9,014,612), and Porto Rico, 6,353,528 pounds (valued at $2,805,532). The influence of the European War upon the tobacco imports of the United States may be seen by comparing the following figures for the fiscal year ended 30 June 1916 with those of the calendar year 1914 given above. Of wrapper tobacco there was imported in the 'year ended 30 June 1916, 5,070,308 pounds, valued at $7, 246,933. Of this, 4,963,961 pounds came from the Dutch East Indies. Of other leaf tobacco there were imported 42,943,027 pounds, valued at $17,372,126. Of this, 23,920,859 pounds came from Cuba, and 6,705,823 pounds from Porto Rico. The usual importation of Turkish to bacco was entirely lacking.
The importation of cigars was: from the Philippines, 1,081,840 pounds, valued at $1, 369,836 (in 1914, 798,744 pounds, valued at $1,238,306) • all others, 564,116 pounds, valued at $3,373,042 (in 1914, 552,251 pounds, valued at $3,232,390). In addition Porto Rico sup plied 156,996,000 cigars and cheroots, valued at $5,528,406. Of cigarettes, there were imported 52,780 pounds, valued at $72,325 (in 1914, 40,777 pounds, valued at $63,219). Of cigars exported, there were 1,394 pounds, valued at $24,439; of cigarettes, 2612,389 pounds, valued at $4,325,513.
For further details, including the culture and preparation of tobacco-leaf, see TOBACCO. Con sult also Brennan, W. A., (Tobacco (Menasha, Wis., 1915).