Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1858-08-25
APAPER ON TOBACCO.

We find lively passage on tobacco in the
pleasant new book by Alphonse Karr. 1t must
be borne in mind that, in France, tobacco is a
monopoly-and very productive one-in the
hands OF government.
s'Therc is a family of poisonous plants, a
mong which we may notice the henbane, the
datura StramonIum, and the tobacco plant
The tobacco plant is perhaps little less poi
sonous than the datura, but it is more SO than
the henbane, which is a violent poison. Here
is tobacco piant-as fine plant as you can
wish to see. 1t grows to the height of six feet !;
and from the centre of tuft of leaves, of a
beautiful green, shoot out elegant and grace
fnl clusters of pink flowers.
s.For long while the tobacco plant grew
unknown and solitary in the wilds of America.
The savages to whom We had given brandy,
gave us in exchange tobacco, with the smoke
of which they used to intoxcate themselves
on grand occasions. The intercourse between
the two worlds began with this interchange of
poisons.
ssThose who first thought of putting tobacco
dust up their noses were first laughed at, and
then prosecuted more or less. James l., of
England, wrote against snuff takers book en-.
titled s.MisoeapHes.' Some years later, Pope
Urban VIII, excommunicated all persons who
took snuff in churches. The Empress Eliza
beth thought it necessary to add something to
the penalty of communication pronounced
against those who used the black dust during
divine service, and authorized the beadles to
confScate the snuff-boxes to their own use.
Amurath ~ forbade the use of snuff, under
pain OF having the nose cut off.
tsNo useful plant could have withstood such
attacks. If before this invention a man had
been found to say, ssLet us seek the means of
filling the Golfers of the State by voluntary
tax; let us set about selling something which
everybody will like to do without. In Ameri-
ca there is plant essentially poisonous if
from its leaves you extract an empyreumatc
oil, single drop of it will cause an animal to
die in horrible commissions. Suppose we offer
this plant for sale, chopped up or reduced to a
powder. We will sell it very dear, and tell the
people to stuff the powder up their noses
s.That is to say, | suppose, you will force
them to do SO by law p
ssNot bit of it. l spoke of voluntary
tax. AS to the portion we chop up, We will
tell them to inhale it, and to swallow little
smoke from it besideS.'
ssBut it will kill them.'
ono they will become rather pale perhaps,
feel giddy, spit blood, and suffer from cholic,
or have pains in the chest-that's all. Besides,
you know, although it has often been said that
habit is second nature, people are not yet a
ware how completely man resembles the knife,
of which the blade first and then the handle
had been changed two or three times. In man
there is no nature left-nothig but habit re-
mains. People will become like Mithridates,
who learned to live on poisons.'
"The first time that man will smoke, he
will feel sickness, Dausea, giddiness, and col
les; but that will go off by degrees, and in
time he will get so accustomed to it, that he
will only feel such symptoms now and then
when he smokes tobacco that is bad or too
stronger when he is not well, and in five or
six other cases. Those who take it in powder
will sneeze, have disagreeable smell, lose the
sense of smelling, and establish in their nose
a sort of perpetual blister
ssThen, L suppose, it smells very nice.'
ssQuite the reverse. 1t has a very unpleasant
smell but, as l said, We'll sell it very dear,
and reserve to ourselves the monopoly of it,
ssMy good FRIEND" one would have said to
any one absurd enough to hold similar Ian
guage, ssnobody will envy You the privilege of
selling weed that no one will care to buy.
You might well open shop and write on it
Kicks sold here or, Such-a-one sells blows,
wholesale and retail. You will find many
customers as for your poisonous weed
Swell who would have believed that the
first speaker right, and that the tobacco
speculation would answer perfectly? The
Kings of France have written no satreS against
snuff, have had no noses cut off, no snuff-boxes
confscated. Far from it. They have sold to-
bacco, laid an impost on noses, and given snuff
boxes to poets, with their portraits on the lid,
and diamonds all round. This little trade has
brought them in L don't know how many mil
lions year. The potato was far more difficult
to popularize, and has still some adversaries."
Kiss or Fight