Tobacco was grown at that time in nearly all parts of the Island. Rumor soon circulated, however, that the best weed was grown only in the extreme western end of Cuba, known today as the Vuelta Abajo, or down turn, and the report proved true, since only in Pinar del Rio is grown the superior quality of leaf that has made that section famous throughout the world. Neither has careful study or analysis of soils betrayed the secret of this superiority over tobacco grown in other parts of the Island. The choice tobaccos of the Vuelta Abajo are grown in a restricted section of which the City of Pinar del Rio is the approximate center. The whole area of the Vuelta will not exceed thirty miles from east to west, nor is it more than ten miles from north to south. And even in this favored district, the really choice tobacco is grown in little “vegas,” or fields, comprising usually a small oasis from three to fifteen acres in extent, in which a very high grade of tobacco may be grown, while adjoining lands, similar in appearance, but lacking in the one magic quality which produces the desired aroma and flavor, are largely wanting. The prices obtained for the tobacco grown on these favored “vegas” seem almost incredible. A bale of this tobacco, weighing between 80 and 90 pounds, will readily sell at from $100 to $500. When one considers that with the use of cheese cloth as a protection from cut worms, from eight to twelve bales are taken from an acre, valued at $200 each, which means a return of approximately $2,000 per acre for each crop, the importance of the tobacco crop in Vuelta Abajo may be appreciated. The value of an acre of any land that will return $2,000 annually to the grower, at 10% interest on invested capital, would be $20,000. It is needless to state that this price for tobacco lands, even in Vuelta Abajo, does not prevail. It is nevertheless true, that many first-class vegas of tobacco are held at prices that place them practically beyond the reach of purchase. In spite of the undoubted profits of tobacco growing in Cuba, the condition of the “veguero,” as far as financial prosperity is concerned, is far from enviable. As a rule, while knowing how to grow tobacco, he does not know, nor does he care to learn, how to grow anything else. All of his energy and time are devoted to the seed bed, the transplanting, the cultivation, cutting, and curing of the leaf. He seldom owns the soil on which the crop is grown, and usually prefers to be a “Partidario” or grower of tobacco on shares with the owner.