Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/591

 CIEZA CIGAR 579 in 1798; and on the occupation of Madrid by the French in 1808 he so offended Murat that he was condemned to death for trying to incite an insurrection. The sentence was commuted to banishment to France, but he survived only a few days after reaching the place of his im- prisonment. CIEZA, a town of Spain, on the Segura, in the province and 24 m. N. W. of Murcia ; pop. about 8,000. It has a workhouse, a public granary, and manufactures of coarse linen. CIGAR (Span, cigarro), a cylindrical roll of tobacco for smoking, usually pointed at one end and truncated at the other, made of the leaf divested of stems and enveloped tightly in a single leaf. A diminutive cigar (cigarrito) is made of chopped tobacco wrapped in unsized paper. In the East Indies a cigar called che- root is made, having the form of the frustum of a slender cone. The best tobacco for ma- king cigars grows in the western end of the isl- and of Cuba, and is known as the vuelta abajo, the plant most in vogue there being the nico- tium repanda. That which is raised east of Havana is called vuelta arriba, and is of an in- ferior quality. The most noted vega or planta- tion is situated near the town of Santiago de Cuba, and is called Yara. The vuelta abajo is divided into five classes: 1, calidad or libra, noted for its good color, flavor, elasticity, and perfection of the leaves, rendering it desirable for wrappers ; 2, ynjuriado principal, or firsts, which has less flavor and is usually of a lighter color ; this also is suitable for wrappers ; 3, segundas, or seconds, a shade poorer in every particular, but good for fillings and inferior wrappers; 4, terceras, or thirds, which are generally employed for fillings ; 5, quartas, or fourths, also employed for fillings. The choicest tobacco is that raised on the banks of the riv- ers which are periodically overflowed. The varieties are called Lo Rio, Rio Hondo, and Pinar del Rio, and the tobacco is distinguished from all others by a fine sand which is found in the creases of the leaves. The island of Trinidad also produces a very superior article of the same sort. In Mexico a large quantity is raised, but entirely for home consumption, its exportation being forbidden. The tobacco used for manufacturing the Manila cheroots is the produce of the island of Luzon, and is con- sidered nearly equal to that of Cuba. A very superior quality is also raised in the province of Kadoe in Java, in a naturally rich soil, alter- nately with crops of rice, and without ma- nure. In western Asia, that produced at Lata- kieh in Syria, and that of Shiraz in Persia, are most highly prized. In the province of Gel- derland, Holland, about 2,000,000 Ibs. are pro- duced, the larger portion of which is purchased by the French government. In Connecticut also a very superior article for the exterior wrap- per is grown, and much of it shipped to Cuba, the remainder being employed mostly in New York for the same purpose. These peculiar varieties are valuable on account of the fineness of the leaf and its freedom from thick fibres. Many experiments have been made in trans- planting the seed of the Spanish tobacco to va- rious parts of the world, particularly to the middle states of the American Union, and in some cases with marked success. It has been found necessary, however, to renew the seed every two years, as after that period the plant loses its original odor and flavor. Although cigars are of very ancient origin in the West Indies, they were not generally known in Eu- rope until the beginning of the 19th century. In fact, of all the various works on gastronomy and the pleasures of the table, written and published from 1800 to 1815, not one speaks of this adjunct of a good dinner. Even Brillat- Savarin, in his Physiologic du goAt, entirely ignores tobacco and all its distractions and charms. As the best tobacco grows in Cuba, so also the best cigars are made there. Previf ous to 1820 the manufacture was a government monopoly, and since that period the trade has been open ; but so great is the demand that very little competition exists among the manu- facturers. The brands affixed to Havana cigars are entirely arbitrary, and are rarely continued for any great length of time. In the Philip- pines, the tobacco and its manufacture are a close government monopoly. The best quality is produced in the northern parts of the island of Luzon. It is raised under the supervision of government officials, and is taken from the growers directly, a liberal price being paid for it. That produced in the southern group known as the Visayas is of an inferior quality, and is sold to merchants holding a permit " to purchase at the shipping ports, and transport to Manila for sale to the government." The Lu- zon tobacco is classed and paid for by the gov- ernment at the ports whence it is shipped to Manila ; but the merchants buying in the south- ern islands transport it to Manila at their own risk, and then take the chances of its being classified much lower than they have pur- chased it. Being under heavy bonds to deliver all they purchase at the government store- houses, but little smuggling is carried on, the risk being greater than the gain. There are three factories for manufacturing cigars one in Manila, where 7,000 females and 1,200 males are employed ; one in Cavite, in which 5,000 operatives, mostly females, are engaged ; and one in Malabon, which gives employment to about 2,000 more, also females. These opera- tives are paid by the piece. It is supposed by many, in consequence of the soporific effect pro- duced by using cheroots, that opium is employ- ed in preparing the tobacco in these factories, which is an error, no admixture of any kind being permitted. A very large amount of to- bacco of an inferior quality is consumed on the islands, the better kinds being generally ex- ported. In every large city throughout the United States immense numbers of persons are engaged in this manufacture. Great skill has been attained in the American factories in ma-