No. I. 42 to 45 Spanish piasters (£6 15s. to £7 5s.) per 1000.
II. 32 " " (£5) "
III. 28 " " (£4 10s.) "
The number of cigars annually exported from the Havanna averages from 200,000,000 to 250,000,000, without including the ramos, or tobacco exported in the leaf. The cedar-tree (Cedrela odorata), of which the cigar-boxes are chiefly made, is occasionally prejudicial to the contents, in consequence of the slight dampness still remaining in the wood bringing out white spots of decay upon the tips of the cigars."
[97] The United States of North America produce above 200,000 cwt., or more than one half the whole supply. The annual consumption of tobacco by the individual is in the United States 3 1⁄2 lbs., in England 1 lb. and 1⁄2 oz., in France 1 lb. 1 1⁄2 oz., and in Germany 2 lbs.
[98] The experiments made at Fort St. George near Madras in July, 1850, with lines and rigging made of abáca and European hemp, with the view of testing their respective availability, gave the following interesting results: a rope of Manila hemp, 12 feet long, 3 1⁄4 inches in circumference, and weighing 28 11⁄16 oz., required a strain of 4460 lbs. to break it: on the other hand a rope of English hemp of similar dimensions, weighing 39 oz., broke with a strain of only 3885 lbs. A second smaller rope of Manila hemp, 1 3⁄4 inches thick, and 9 1⁄2 oz. weight, also 12 feet in length, required 1490 lbs. to break it, while an exactly similar cord of English and Russian hemp, weighing 13 oz. per fathom, broke with 1184 lbs., so that in the first instance the abáca line was 13 per cent., and in the second nearly 22 per cent. stronger than ropes of similar size of European hemp.
[99] Compare with Forbes Royle's valuable treatise upon Manila hemp, entitled "The Fibrous Plants of India fitted for cordage, clothing, and paper." London, 1855.
[100] The best Manila hemp is worth from 4 1⁄2 to 6 dollars per Spanish picul=140 lbs. Cordage made by steam power of the various dimensions, from half to one inch thick, sells at 25, and from one to five inches thick, at 10, piasters per picul.
[101] The fabrics known by the name of Sinamay are on the other hand made of the fibres of the Musa textilis. They are of less gossamer tissue, but almost transparent, and far more durable than the fabrics made from the Piña.
[102] According to Buzeta the Lagoon is 36 Spanish leagues in circumference, by an average depth of 15 to 16 brazos (fathoms). While thirteen rivers of various dimensions flow into the lake, the Pasig alone issues from it, to carry off its waters to the sea.
[103] Pronounce Mahayhay.
[104] The size attained by the alligator or cayman in the Laguna de Bay borders on the incredible. Baron Von Hügel, in his work already referred to, tells of a French settler in Jalla-Jalla (pronounce Halla-Halla), who assured him that he had once killed an alligator, whose head alone weighed 250 lbs., while the body was 10 feet in circumference! It lay buried in the sluice at the mouth of a river, and it proved so difficult to get it brought to land and cut up, that only the head was severed by way of trophy, and brought home to his house.