Greece and the Balkan States produce tobacco which partakes of the qualities of Hungarian and Turkish, the Grecian leaf being used a good deal as a substitute for genuine Turkish tobacco.
Tobacco produced in the New World other than in United States
The government of Canada has given a lot of attention to experiments in connection with the growth of tobacco in the Dominion, but only with indifferent success. The leaf is raised principally from Virginian seed, but is large and coarse and is only fit for inferior plug and snuff making.
Cuban Tobacco. The tobacco raised in the Island of Cuba is the most celebrated in the world for cigar making. The leaf is of a rich, brown color; narrow and small in size, varying from 8 to 18 inches in length. Its richness of flavor and the peculiar aroma are its chief characteristics. Cuba produces annually about 300,000 to 500,000 bales of tobacco varying in weight from 80 to 150 lbs. per bale, nearly one-half of which is exported to the United States alone.
The importation of Cuban leaf into the United States over a series of years is shown below:
Cuban leaf imports into the U. S. (lbs.)
| 1855-1860 | == | 7,014,485 | ||
| 1871-1875 | == | 8,985,465 | Average | |
| 1886-1890 | == | 15,532,075 | Yearly | |
| 1896-1900 | == | 10,811,173 | Imports. | |
| 1901-1905 | == | 24,048,837 | ||
| Year 1914 | == | 26,617,545 | ||
| The value in 1900 was $ 8,478,251 | ||||
| The value in 1905 was $13,348,000 | ||||
The Province of Pinar del Rio produces about 70 per cent of the entire Cuban crop. In this is the District of Vuelto Abajo which is celebrated the world over for the very finest cigar tobacco. The District of Habana or Havana produces about 13 per cent and Santa Clara about 13 per cent. The Cubans themselves favor the dark “Maduro” fully ripened leaves. At present a good deal of Cuban cigar leaf is grown under shade with the result that although when fully mature they are light in color, they are rich in flavor.
The value of the cigar leaf imported by the U. S. from Cuba averages at present about 14 or 15 million dollars annually.
Porto Rican leaf possesses many of the qualities of good Havana leaf, and like the latter is used in cigar manufacture. The annual production is about 120,000 bales. The U. S. imports from 4 to 5 million lbs. annually. Further particulars regarding Cuban and Porto Rican leaf will be given in the chapters concerning cigars.