ERRORS IN CIGAR LORE.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 44, 12 June 1906, Page 2

ERRORS IN CIGAR LORE.

—* — WHITE ASH NO TEST OF QUALITY, NOR DARK WRAPPER OF STRENGTH. White ash upon a cigar has been popularly supposed to indicate the excellence of the weed ; but, as a matter of fact, its only indication is of the presence of potash in the leaf. Tobacco rich in chloride of sodium burns with perfect combustion and with a dark ash, As the value of a cigar is dependent upon the freedom with which it burns, a white ash

may be a rough test of excellence; but a cigar with a dark ash, properly rolled, may burn more evenly than one rich in potash but imperfectly made ; and at best, the "white ash” is but a rudimentary test. A cigar which burns freely is a better cigar, no matter what the grade of the leaf, than one which is rolled so tightly as to prevent free combustion ; but the question of fragrance is quite another matter. Another cigar fallacy is that a cigar in a black wrapper is necessarily a strong cigar. The wrapper weighs but one-tenth of the whole, and a cigar with a wrapper almost black may be a mild smoke, while one with" a pale wrapper filled with imperfectly cured tobacco is often