Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-03-28
rn.. sou,herp Habit af snuff Dipping.

The Southern Habit ol snuh DAppihe'
smoking and chewing BY mdn aud boys,
and occasionally SNUFF taking by women in the
North, are habits iiltiy aud disgusting enough
in all conscience, but they are cleanliness and
dsceney compared with the habit Of ''snuf
dipping" as practiced by women quite general
ly in the South. A quarter Of century ago
the practice prevailed extensively on the plan
tatons, aud snuff dippers were occasionally met
with among the fashiOnablss in towns and
cities. The disgusting habit, like tobacco
chewing and smoking, has grown with use )
and the extent to which snlff dipping is car
ried even among the ifst families, is scarcely
credible to Northern females not familiar with
the nanseatiug habit Of the sex io some Ofthe
Slave ststes. The excessive use of tobacco by
the snuff eaters often injuries health, AMI recent
ly Hiss Gibson, a Southern lady, died from
leaving a snuff mop in her mouth during sleep,
being poisoned by the nicotine Of tobacco.
The New York journal Of Commerce says
that no other of the many forms in which to-
baccO s used is half so disgusting as snuff
dipping no appetite so unnatural, and no taste
so repuFnant TO that natural refinement which
graces female character Yet it is t-ue that
the practice prevails to greater or less extent
/ among ali classes Of females throughout the
State of North Carolina, and in portions OF
| Virginia, Alabama, and several other Southern
States,-in the parloT, on the public convey
ances, on the promenade, st social gatherings,
and in daily domestic duties On all occasions
the indispensable box and mop, or bottle and
swab, are present, and constantly active, drawn
from the pocket for private use, or passed to
present company by way Of etiquette. The
habit is most common among the uneducated
OF poorer classes, yet the moistoned mop Is
often dipped into the snuff by white and jeweled
fingers, and thence dripping with the filthy
mixture, passed to dainty mouths and vlgor
ously applied to the gums and lips, until, all
daubed and stained, they would rePel with in
stinctve disgust the approach OF other hPs
that before would have thought them lOveable
And, frequently one mop suthces for many
different mouths This mop or swab is sOme'
times q simple brush, but usually a pine sticl
softened at the end; and it is a fact no lesi
true than what else is herein stated, that the
negresses drive profitable business by the
manufacture of these articles, which they fit fol
use by chewing the ends Of the sticks into
proper consistency, and selling them to custO
mers.
There are genteel tobacco chewers, that is
as neat as a filthy practice will permit; no
using the weed slcvsnly, splitting at random
and driveling at the lips, but BY careful dis
position of the quid, almost Disgusting its pres
ence and their habit. So also there are ladie
who dip snuff genteelly-who BY practice have
acquired dexterity in their manipulation OF
the swab, which renders the operation leas
offensive to the eye. But expectoration is ab
sOlutely necessary in both cases, and this !
the most disgusting feature in dipping. Spi
they must, and frequently; and thus, alter
nately splitting and dipping, the victims of a
Ioathsome habit spend their agreeable pastime