Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/26

 A Leaf of Havana Tobacco Is Heir to More

���A typical West Indian drying shed. During the drying stage the tobacco grower is constantly on the anxious seat lest a drought shrivel up the leaves or a heavy rain cause them to sweat and become gummy. The shed has to be constructed so that it may be quickly opened or closed according to the changes in the weather, which is often uncertain

��Photos © Brown and Dawson

���The very best grade of cigars, the clear Hav- ana, is produced entire- ly by hand, just as it was two centuries ago. One man can make about one hundred and fifty cigars a day and he is paid by the piece. But no cigar- maker in Havana will work unless a man is employed whose duty it is to read aloud each edition of the daily papers. All the local and general news must be read, as well as the continued stories

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