New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-29


pipe on which | read the German words Gatea
Morgs8 meaning good morning Well, that
pipe had been manufactured at the very place where
we are now. The whole population Of several
villages is almost exclusively employed IN the man
uiacture Of porcelain ware. Continuing our jour
ney through the green valleys and over the pine
covered mountains of this country, We alight from
our carriage at rise Of the road, and We a
beyy of children eagerly filing their baskets
with certain flowers growing in abundance III the
blooming meadows, or collecting the leaves of GER
tain plants on the mountain side. We ask them
hat they are about, aud they tell us that their
scnool-teacher pays them so many kreu.ers pound
for the flowers and many kreu-ers for the leaves.
We look into their baskets, and, being Oh of us
most excellent botanists, We recognize that these
ere medical herbs collected to be sold TO the drug
pist That yellow flower of the family Of the
posifS and So much resembling some Of the smaller
kinds Of sunhowers covering the praires Of Kansas
or Nebraska with gold, and filing the pure air ofthe
western wilderness with aromatic perfumes that
yellow flower Of the Thuringan mountains is the
Arnio0 montana, well known to doctors aud apOthe-
carries: and these leaves somewhat resembling
the leaves of the tobacco-plant are OF the Diguas
purpured a well-knOwn aud most effective narcotic:
the thmble-shaped pink flowers Of the latter plant
standing along an erect stalk of several feet IN
hight, form one Of the finest ornaments OF the
m0untain-f fora If Germany. But the narcotic
then is oil the world doing with the fifty thousand
pounds of dried leaves Of digita li-, annually ex-
ported from the small principally Of SchWarzburg
Rud0lstadt alone, while from other part- Of Ger
many. as from the Bohemian and Bayarian forest,
a corresponding expectation Of the same article IL
going on providing the world at large with some
hundred thousand pounds of poison In Bavaria
the plant begins to be rare from the growing
amount of the expectation. ] have made inquiries
and / have learned that the article is sent to
America.
TO America? you ask To America indeed
but you need moi be- afraid Of being narcotized by
digtaline. The article is not sent to the United
States, but to the Havana. And then-an editor of
TIE TRIBUNE is no tObaccO.smoker, though one
or the ether Of youI correspondents may occa
siOnally indulge in the consumption Of genuine
Havana. So much the worse for him, for all the
several hundred thousand pounds of digatas leaves
snnnai,, exported from Germany to Cuba are
mixed with tue celebrated tobacr" "' ~ - sand
o,,, ,uus enter into the material Of the iamoQs
cigars
1t might be an interesting item Of statistics, to
add here the quantity of German tobacco exported
10 Havana manufactured there into cigars, and
smoked in the United States, with some other
data of similar character. Those, however,
are facts that lie beyond the horizon of my
Investigations though from the scanty information
1
tion touched here, have gained the conviction
that much greater proportion Of the German eX-
ports to the United States than is generally sup
posed, remain unknown, from the circumstance Of
their passing through the commerce of some inter-
mediate nation. and being sold under false pre-
tense of origin. Thus, very considerable portion
of the goods known IN commerce as SWISS cmbrol-
deries are manufactured on the German side Of
Like Constance, and those connected with THIS
branch Of indl stry will tell YOU that the United
States are their principal market, without which
they could not exist A great many articles of
commerce imported into the United States as
French and English goods, are of German
manufacture, and in many cases they are of
tine better and more valuable class Oi German
articles. Even Of the German toys, "A more
considerable article of commerce than might
be expected OF which l am soon going to entertain
YOUR readers the more elegant and costly are sold
under pretense of being manufactured at Paris.
To look more deeply into thu general question
would touch essential interests OF the United
States.
Bnt to continue our excursion across the Thur.
ingan forest The export of drugs and medical
prcparatons is OF old standing IN this country. A
century ago several villages of this region lived
almost exclusively by the preparation and sale OF
medical substances and compositions of periumery
and of other articles ofWhat might be called chem
istry. AT still earlier period this neighborhood
had its adopts in alchemy. In modern times the
progress of government regulations concerning the
preparation and sale of drugs has much restricted
the trade and profession of those village-chemiss
of old who called themselves LdbOrdRttH, and many
of whom had become wealthy men III the country,
AZ TO have left nothing but shadow of their remark
able industry Still, however, the Thuringian for
est continues to be the home of naturats and nat
ura philosophers, as am gong to show.
We have now reached the summit of the noun
tsin chain which separates the waters flowing to
the Elbe from those running toward the Rhine.
The country, in whatever direction Ayou look is
covered with majestic pine trece, resembling the
hemlock in appearance tee forest alternating with
beautiful meadows, kept green throughout the
Summer by numerous springs, and adorned with
variety of gay flowers. Several villages situ-
ated Just on the line dividing the waters, the high
est ridge of the mountain chain. Through one of
these called Igelsheb, are led by our road.
! And here, So distant from any city or town where
science could be cultivated by more refined So
cety-here in yagc OF the forests the traditional
and almost hereditary seat OF body Unnatural pho-
solhcrs who have provided and are still continuing
TO provide the world with barometers, thermome-
ters, and such other philosophical instruments as
can be- made of glass. Glass is manufactured at
many places IA the forest, and this especially is
| the country where those glass tubes are made
| which form an essential part of baroine-
/ ters and thermometers, and for many other
purposes are ot Indispensable necessity to
! the practical chemist. From those tubes many
, smaller articles cf glass are made by the glass
/ blowers of this village, such as tunnels, siphons,
I arcometers small retorts, Car;esian deyia, and
/ an immense quantity and variety OF glass beads of
all coiors. shapes aud sizes. For all these articles
/ there is market in America and if you buy ii
| thermometer or similar article in Broadway. | am
sure that II was manufactured by Mr.. Greiner of
this little village i'll the Ihurugian forest though il
may be- sold Us having come from Berlin.
i