The mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1863-1943, 1865-01-21
Chemistrx OF the Weed.

DR.. Richardson recently submitted to
the British Association for the Advance.
meut Of Science. a novel ">A 'rAc-"-N;-4'.
paper on Cne use or tooxcco. IRE nrsC con-
trived an automaton smoker, into whose
mouth, pipes, cigars and meerschAums
were placed, and the smoke from them
being caught and collected, enabled him
to determine the products Of the combus-
ton. These he determined as /, water;
2, free carbon; 8, ammonia; 4, carbonic
acid; 3, nicotine; 6, an empyrhematic
substance of rcsinous bitter extract. lie
says: THE water is in the form Of va
por. the carbon minute particles suspend.
ed in the water vapor, and giving the ed
dies of smoke their blue color; the am.
monia is in the form ofgas combined with
canbonic acid, is partly free and partly in
combination with ammonia. The nicotine,
he says, being n non.vOlatile body remains
in the pipe the cmpyrhematic substance
is volatile body Of an ammOniacal ma
ture, Of the COMPOSITION of which the DR..
confeSsts he is unacquainted, but which
We have vcuturcd to consider aS resin.
Whatever it is, il is that which gives the
smoke its peculiar odOr, and determines
the nature of the cigar. 1t adhtres pow.
rriully to wooden matrrialS,and when con-
centratcd has most obnoxious and in
tolerabe smell. The bitter substance is
rrsinous and of dark color, probably
having an alkaloid as it's base. Ii is not
volatile, and only leaves the pipe or cigar
by being carried along in fluid form"
The varieties Of tobacco, that has not un-
dcrgOne fermentation, yields very little
free carbon, much ammonia, ,carbonic acid,
little water. and a small quantity Of bitter
extract. The Latakia yields the same
products uniformly, the Turkish general
ly more ammonia, and the Havana all
these products. Cavendish varies con.
siderably in its constituents; pigtail yields
all very abundantly; the little Swiss CT
gars yield enormous quantities Of ammo
MIA, and so dry the mouth; Mannillas
give very little. The Connecticut tobac-
co is comparatively mild in taste, from the
absence of the bitter extract.
The water vapor OF smoke is not iniuri
Gus, but the carbon in it settles on the
mucous membrane and irritates the throat
The nacOtic effect Of tobacco smoke If re-
ceivcd into the lungs, resides in the car
bonic acid the ammonia causes dryness,
n biting of the mucous membrane Of the
throat, and an increased flow of saliva !;
experience familiar TO smokers. Absorb,
ed into the blood, says DR.. Richardson,
| it rendered the fluid too thin, causing an
angularity of the blood corpusGes, sup
preston of the hillary secretion and yel-
lowness of the skin, quickening and then
reducing the system of the heart In
young smokers it produces nausea. 1t is
doubtful whether all these effects are to be
traced to the carb0nic acid. If so. most
oi our mineral waters, so freely drank are
dreadful poiSOns. instead Of being the
remedial agents they are generally said tc
he. The cnpyrhematic substance seem,
to be of little effect except in giving the
peculiar taste to tobacco smoke, and after
while of making the breath Of smokers
unhcarable. "Nicotinc j. rarely ever i'm
bbed by the clcanIy smoker" says DR..
Richardson. 1t affects only those who
smoke cigars by holding them in their
mouths, or dirty pipes saturated with oily
matter. When absorbed, its effects are
injurious, such as palptation Of the heart,
tremor and unstcadiness Of muscles and
great prostration. 1t will not of itself
produce vomiting it is the bitter extract
which is the cause of this, imperccptibly
swallowed and taken into the stomach.
The method of smoking makes all the
difference in the world. Those who use
the long, clean pipes of clay-as did our
old kinckerbockers-fecl only the effects
of the gaseous bodies and free carbon -
! Wooden pipes with glass stems are inuri-
Gus. Cigars should not be smoked to the
end; otherwise, they are more injurious
than all. DIR. Richardson says they shoul
be cast aside as soon as one.half is smok-
ed, and always smoked in a porous alb
sorbent tube. Pipes are much less hurt
full than cigars. The best pipe is a long
clay one next to this the meerschaum is
the most to be preferred. All attempts
at pipes to c0ndense the oil have thus far
failed. Every smoker should be careful
of the manner in which he smokes. A
short, foul pipe is very unhealthy. The
fashion Of the meerSchaum has largely
prevailed in this country oflate years. The
material is now imported in blocks and
manufactured here into various forms,
some very handsome and costly. The
prices range as high as thirty five dollars.
The proprietor Of good mcerSchaum
| thinks almost as much Of it as oi himself.
If it is well coloreh, which is the result of
absorbing. The oil oG the tobacco. it not on
" becomes beautiful in his eyes, but the
smoke is said to be much sweeter to his
taste.
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