The denominations of cheroots were changed in January, 1848; when the description formerly known as Thirds was and still is called Seconds, and the manufacture of a new sort known as Firsts was begun.
The weights of new cigars when sent out of the factory are as follow:—Firsts 1500, Seconds 3000, Thirds 4000 to the arroba; the weight of the arroba when issued by Government from the factory being actually 1 pound 9 ounces over the current weight,—this allowance being made to meet the loss of weight which cigars always experience during a long sea-voyage, which, although it diminishes their bulk, is said materially to improve their flavour. All cigars for the use of the country-people are made in the Havana shape, and are prohibited being exported, probably from their desire to keep the name of Manilla cheroots up to its proper status, as the Havana-shaped cigars are seldom equal in flavour to those made for exportation.
A large quantity of the Havana-shaped are made and used in the country by smugglers, who sell them at one-half the price charged by the Government, and some of these are occasionally sent from Manilla by stealth. But they are seldom so good as those of the Government make, although that occasionally deteriorates to an alarming degree, so that every now and then very bad cheroots are exported. Of course, when they are smoked and disliked no one uses them, and they become unsaleable, so that when Government finds that there are few or no purchasers, and that their stock is accumulating, they are obliged to use a better class tobacco in their manufacture, upon which people begin to buy from them again. However, this uncertainty as to their at all times producing good cigars, has a most detrimental effect upon themselves, and this alone prevents their consumption from being very much greater than it now is, if one uniformly good quality of tobacco were always used and the bad descriptions sold.
The rates at which Government sell cigars are fixed, being 14 dollars per 1000 for Firsts, 8 dollars for Seconds, and 6¾ dollars for Thirds; although, if the purchasers will take off more than the stocks existing in their warehouses, the prices may be regulated by the eagerness of the buyers, from the cigars being sold at public auction, which, however, very seldom happens. Purchasers have no power to secure the good quality of the cigars they buy, as on an application being made to the director of the renta for a quantity, he merely fills up a printed order for their delivery, and after the money has been paid for them, but not till then, they are delivered by the warehouse-keepers at random, as it is not allowed to select for delivery any of the cigars under their charge, which are consequently never seen by the purchaser until after the completion of the bargain, when if the quality is bad he has no remedy for it, as they will not be received back again by the Government or the money for them returned.
Indigo.—The quantity produced is very small; that exported to the United States being the bulk of the crop, although large quantities of liquid indigo are also annually sent to China in casks; but I have not been able to ascertain its amount with any degree of precision. It is of an inferior quality to the solid dye, and sells for considerably less money.
The dye coming from the provinces of Laguna and Pangasinan is generally of superior quality to that produced in Ylocos and elsewhere, their relative prices being about forty-five dollars per quintal for the first two descriptions, and twenty-eight dollars for the other sorts of first, second, and third qualities in proportions.
The cultivation of the plant is very precarious, as it is liable to damage from a variety of causes; it will die if too much water collects round it, or if too little is given to it. It generally is grown on a dry soil, having a slight decline, to carry off the rain. To extract the dye from the plant, the usual process is to place it in large vessels containing lime and water, and then to bruise it with a wooden pestle; after which, when the water becomes still, the colouring matter will sink to the bottom of the vessel, when the water and the plants are drained off, and the matter, which by that time has acquired the consistency of paste, is exposed to the air to dry upon mats: as it becomes more dry it is divided by lines into small quadrangular pieces, and is broken up.
To secure a good quality of indigo, great attention must be paid to the clearness of the water, and the proper mixture and quantity of the lime, as too much or too little is equally pernicious; also the time during which the bruising takes place, which, it appears, is a matter of very nice judgment, as it is usual to explain or account for the cause of the bad quality of a lot by saying that the planter has beat it for too long or too short a time, and that he did not know exactly when to stop.
This article is very liable to adulteration, at which both native and Chinese dealers are so peculiarly expert, that purchasers trusting solely to their own knowledge are very liable to be deceived by them.
The blues of the country are much brighter than any of the British or continental dyes, and are in consequence much preferred by the natives.