h it is
taken; then the part of the leaf from which it is taken, the
tobacco being best which is furthest away from the root or
middle of the leaf. One elaborate process follows another
for the perfection of a work of art--for as such we must
regard a cigar."

Hazard, in his admirable work on Cuba, devotes considerable space to
cigars, their manufacture, varieties, and use, in which he speaks of
the various brands as follows:--

"The brands known as '_Yara Mayau_,' and the '_Guisa_,' are
perhaps the most celebrated made upon the Island. Of the
'_Yara_,' which has some considerable reputation,
particularly in the London market, I confess I cannot speak
favorably. Cigars that I smoked made from this leaf, and
which are much smoked in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba, I
found had a peculiar saline taste which was very unpleasant,
as also a slight degree of bitterness; many smokers,
however, become very fond of this flavor. When I state that
in Havana alone there are over one hundred and twenty-five
manufacturers of cigars, it will readily be understood there
must be a great many inferior cigars made even in Cuba.
Havana may be called the 'City of cigars,' from its
reputation and the immense number of factories there are in
it for the manufacture of cigars, from the smallest shop
opening on the street, employing three or four hands to the
immense _fabricos_ erected expressly for this purpose, and
employing five or six hundred.

[Illustration: Cuban cigar shop.]

"Let not any one imagine, then, that because he is in Havana
he will get no poor cigars, for a greater mistake can not be
made, for just as vile trash can there be purchased as any
where; and it appeared to me that in buying, from time to
time in different _fabricos_, a few cigars it was rarely I
found a really good one. It behooves, then, every lover of a
good cigar to make himself familiar with the best makers and
brands, and to purchase those, and those only, that suit
his taste. To the traveler in Havana, this is easy enough,
as he can there buy sample boxes from any of the factories
and of any of the brands. There are, in addition to these
hundreds of other cigar factories, some of which, such as
_Cabargos_, _Figaros_, _Luetanos_, _Victorias_, etc., are
first-class, three