THE TOBACCO PLANTER, AND THE TOBACCONIST

THE TOBACCO PLANTER.

1. Tobacco is a native production of America, which was in common use among nearly all of the Indian tribes, when this continent was discovered by Europeans. Its original name among the nations of the islands, was yoli; whilst, with those of the continent, it was termed petum. The Spaniards, however, chose to call it tobacco, a term in the Haytian language, which designated the instrument in which the herb was smoked.

2. This plant was first introduced into Spain, then into Portugal and France, and, at length, into other countries of the Eastern continent. Sir Walter Raleigh carried it from Virginia to England, and taught his countrymen the various methods of consuming it among the natives.

3. The introduction of this nauseous plant into Europe, was everywhere attended with ridicule and opposition. Hundreds of pamphlets were published, in various languages, dissuading from its use in the strongest terms. Even James the First, king of Great Britain, did not regard it as inconsistent with the royal dignity to take up his pen on the subject. In his "Counterblast to Tobacco," published in 1603, occurs the following remarkable passage: "It is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain; and, in the black fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

4. Pope Urban VIII. excommunicated those who took tobacco in churches; and Queen Elizabeth also prohibited its use in houses of public worship. In 1689, an ordinance was published in Transylvania, threatening those who should plant tobacco with the confiscation of their estates. The grand-duke of Moscow, and the king of Persia, prohibited its use under the penalty of the loss of the nose, and even of life. At present, however, the consumption of tobacco is looked upon with so much greater indulgence, that all the sovereigns of Europe, and most of those of other nations, derive a considerable revenue from the trade in this article.

5. But it is truly astonishing, that a nauseous weed, of an acrid taste, disagreeable odour, and deleterious qualities, should have had so great an influence on the social condition of nations; that its culture should have spread more rapidly than that of the most useful plants; and that it should, consequently, have become an article of extensive commerce.

6. Of this plant there are several species, which differ from each other, in size, strength, and flavour. Some one or more of these varieties, are cultivated in various parts of the world: but especially in North and South America, and in the West Indies. It is one of the staple productions of Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The whole value of the tobacco, exported annually from the United States, amounts to about five millions of dollars.

7. The following description of the mode of cultivating this plant, and preparing it for the tobacconist, is applicable to the state of Maryland. A little variation in some of the details, would render it applicable to other parts of the world.

8. A small piece of ground, say one-sixteenth of an acre, is prepared by burning a large quantity of brush upon it. The surface is rendered light and even, by means of a hoe and rake; and the seeds, mixed with ashes, are sown as equally as possible. After they have been covered with earth, the ground is trodden down with the bare feet. The tobacco beds are made in March, and the plants become fit for the field in eight or ten weeks.

9. The field, in which the cultivation of the crop is to be continued, is ploughed two or three times, and then cross-ploughed into equal checks, in each of which is made a hill. Immediately after a rain, the plants are transferred to these hills, in the same manner in which cabbages are transplanted. While the tobacco is growing, the ground is ploughed several times, in order to keep it light, and to aid in destroying the weeds. When the plants are nearly grown, the tops are lopped or cut off, to prevent them from running to seed, and to cause the leaves to grow larger and thicker.

10. In July or August, the tobacco-worms begin to make their appearance, and to threaten the whole crop with destruction. To arrest the ravages of these insidious enemies, all hands, both great and small, together with all the turkeys that can be mustered, are brought into the field. These worms are produced from the eggs of a large insect, called the horn-bug.

11. The tobacco, when ripe, is cut near the ground, and hung on small sticks about five feet in length, generally by pegs driven into the stalks. These sticks are then laid upon poles, arranged at proper distances from each other in the tobacco-house, shed, or hovel, as the case may be. It is then suffered to dry gradually in the atmosphere; or a large fire is made in the tobacco-house, to effect the drying more rapidly.

12. The leaves are next stripped from the stalks, and tied in small bunches according to their quality. This can only be done when in order, or rather, when the leaves are rendered tough by the absorption of moisture from the atmosphere. These bunches, when the leaves are so damp that they will not break, and so dry that they will not heat, are packed in hogs-heads by the aid of a large lever press. The tobacco is inspected in public warehouses, by men who have been appointed for the purpose by the public authorities.

THE TOBACCONIST.

1. It is the business of the tobacconist to convert the leaves of the tobacco plant into snuff, cigars, and smoking and chewing tobacco.

2. Although there may seem to be a great variety of snuffs, yet they may be all reduced to three kinds, viz., Scotch, rappee, and maccouba. These are variously modified by the quality of the tobacco, by some little variation in the manufacture, and by the articles employed in communicating the desired flavour.

3. In manufacturing snuff, the tobacco is ground in a mill of a peculiar construction. Before the weed is submitted to this operation, it is reduced to a certain degree of fineness, by means of a cutting machine; and then spread in a heap, one or two feet thick, and sprinkled with water, that it may heat and sweat. The time required in this preparation depends upon the state of the weather, and the kind of snuff for which the tobacco is designed.

4. Scotch snuff is made of the strongest sort of tobacco, and is put up in bladders and bottles without being scented. Rappee and maccouba are put up in jars and bottles; and the former is generally scented with bergamot, and the latter with the ottar of roses. Sometimes, several ingredients, agreeable to the olfactory nerves, are employed.

5. Cigars are composed of two parts, called the wrapper and the filling. The former is made of pieces of thin leaves, cut to a proper shape, and the latter of those which are more broken. In all cases, the leaves used in the manufacture of cigars are deprived of the stems, which are reserved, either to be converted into inferior kinds of snuff, or for exportation to Holland, where they are usually flattened between rollers, and afterwards cut fine for smoking tobacco, to be sold to the poorer class of people.

6. The value of cigars depends chiefly on the quality of the tobacco. The best kind for this purpose, grows on the island of Cuba, near Havana. Tobacco from this seed is raised in many other places; and such, among tobacconists, is called seed; but it passes, among smokers of limited experience, for the real Havana. A very fine silky tobacco of this sort, is cultivated in Connecticut, which is much esteemed.

7. An expert hand will make five or six hundred Spanish cigars in a day, or from one thousand to fifteen hundred of those composed of Maryland or Kentucky tobacco. Making cigars, being light work, is well adapted to females, of whom great numbers are regularly employed in this branch of business. Tobacco intended for the pipe, is cut in a machine; and, after having been properly dried, it is put up in papers of different sizes.

8. Chewing tobacco is almost exclusively prepared from the species of this plant which is cultivated in Virginia, chiefly in the vicinity of James river. It is better adapted to this purpose than any other, on account of its superior strength, and the great amount of resinous matter which it contains.

9. The first operation in preparing chewing tobacco, is that of depriving the leaves of the stems. The former are then twisted by hand into plugs of different sizes, or spun into a continued thread by the aid of the tobacco-wheel, which is a simple machine moved by a crank. The thread thus produced is formed into bunches, or twists, containing a definite amount of tobacco.

10. The tobacco, having been put into the form desired, is moistened with water, packed in strong kegs, and then pressed with powerful screw-presses. The whole process is completed by heating the kegs, with their contents, for several days, in an oven or a tight room made for the purpose. The same change in the quality of the tobacco is also produced by suffering it to stand nine or twelve months, before it is disposed of to the consumers.

11. Snuff is very commonly used in the Southern states, as a dentifrice; or, at least, it is applied to the teeth with this ostensible object. The application is made by means of a small stick, having the fibres minutely divided at one end. Although the tobacco seems to have the desired effect upon the teeth, so far as respects their appearance, yet its stimulating and narcotic powers are more to be dreaded in this mode of using it than in any other. Many females ruin their complexion and constitution, by rubbing snuff; and the deleterious effects of the practice are so well known, that few are willing to avow it.

12. Tobacco is used, in some one of its various forms, by a great majority of mankind; and, although it is generally acknowledged to be, in most cases, injurious to the constitution, and often destructive of health, yet its consumption seems to be on the increase. It is one of the objects of trade, even in the most obscure parts of the world; and its devotees must and will have a supply, even though they stint themselves in food and clothing.

13. As regards the influence which this plant assumes over its votaries, it may be classed with alcohol and opium; although its effects are not so destructive; nor is the expense so considerable; yet this is an item by no means unworthy of attention, as the aggregate sum annually expended for this useless narcotic in the United States, would be sufficient for the support of common schools in every part of the country.

14. The general use of tobacco is perpetuated from generation to generation, by the desire, common to children and young people, to act and appear like older persons. Few ever begin the use of this nauseous weed, because it is agreeable to the senses to which it is applied; but because they fancy, in their childish simplicity, that it confers upon them some additional importance.