Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1874-10-31
SNUFF DIPPING, III

d:Uhe various modes of using tobacco
ara AN snufipa, chewing, Smoking and
dipping, It has Leel seperally com
sidered that the practice belongs alto
gether to The extreme Southern and
Southwestern States, but it is not so;
it extends toni certain degree throngh-
ont thelentre length and breadth Of the
land. nuff-dipping is, SO, called, per-
laps. from the reason that it is, used in
Small quantities obtained from the bot
tie ori box, hs the easeh may. be, by dip
ping 1t out with a stick orisnlall SPOON;
The practice, prevails to- a slight extent
in the State of New Yolk, and, to O.
much greater extent in. the cities than
in the country. It originated among
de,ni monde, and from them gradually
made its way to other classes Of society.
Two kinds of snuff are used by the dip
pcrs, both of which, however, are known
as Scotch. The difference between
them is that one has certain amount
of common table salt mixed with it, and
the other has none. They are known
They are known at salt Scotch and
fresh Scotch. Fresh Scotch is pre-
pared more in New York city than in
any other part of the State. The fol-
lowing is the manner of dipping in New
York: The dipper is provided with a
small spoon, about half the size of a
common teaspoon, with which she dips
a sufficient quantity of snuff from her
bottle. Then seiziny her lower lip with
the thumb and forefnger of her left
( hon nj chn 4 ~
fills the cavity with the bonue bouche con-
tained in the spoon. There she lets it
remain until it gradually diffused
through her mouth; expectorating the
while, in a manner that would do credit
to a veteran, Sometimes the delicacy
is daintily enveloped in fine piece of
tissue paper and deposited in the same
place. In the Eastern States the salt
Scotch is preferred, but it is not used
in the, same way as in New York.
There the dippers use small stick of
some very, fbrous wood, the end of
which is chewed until it assumes mop
like appearance, owing to the sepafa-
ton Of the fbres. This is dipped into
the snuff and then rubbed. on the gums
and teeth. A large quantity, Of snuff is,
used by the faleto5rry1 girls IA all TIE,
Eastern States,l and it may readily be
iniagined how easily a habit of that
kind may extend among people, -u,l
In the Southwest, that is, in Tennes-
see, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Texas, Scotch snuff is used almost
exclusively with a stick, as in the East
efn States. The habit is induised oinl
by all classes, in secret by the higher,
and, openly by the. lower. In North
and South Carolina high toast" snuff
is the kind in delnand.' It is peculiarly
strong and pungent, as it is made by
very near the same process aathe Irish
Blackguard, being dried on heated
screens before being ground. In Geor-
gia and Alabama Maccaboy snuff is the
favorite. 1t is strong, black snuff, SAL
ted and scented with altar of roses. In
all the last mentioned States the stick
or /" brush, as they call it, is employed.
In Pennsylvania, Delaware, New, Jer-,
sey,, Maryland and Che Western States,
there is but little snuff-dipping, but
there, as in all the other States, the
habit is steadily increasing. The
Scotch snuffs above alluded to are of al
light coffee brown, and are perfectly
dry and ground as fine as -four. The
Maccaboy, which is almost black, is
coarse and quite moist. So far as ex-
pectoration is concerned the spoon-dip-
pers are not excelled by their sisters
who prefer the stick, either Of them be-
ing able to compete with the celebrated
Mr.. Hannibal Chollop, the gentleman
whom Mr. Martin Chuzzlewit met at
Eden during his travels in America,
who &c required two foot in circ-lar
direction" and who had "gone ten
foot in circ-lar direction" on a wager.
Dipping is apparently very beneficial
to the teeth, and it may be that the
habit is often acquired from using snuff
as dentifrice. The writer Of this arti-
Gle has travelled extensively through the
South and Southwest, and his experience
has been that wherever the practice
prevailed the teeth of the woman were
beautifully white and sinsularly free
from decay. Tobacco possesses highly
antiseptic and detergent properties, and
must exercise beneficial influence in
purifying the mouth. p'.
In order to show to what extent the
habit has obtained, it will only be
necessary to say that in the year 1873,
one New York firm alone, Messrs, p.
Lorillard & Co., sold in round numbers
161 900 pounds, of snuff, all OF which
was Of the kind used for dipping, be-
sides more than 15O, 900 pounds OF the
regular mixtures for the old-fashionsd
shutters. Add to this enormous quantity
the large amounts manufactured IN
other cities, and some idea may be
formed of the extent to which dipping
is carried in the United States. .-. /
T. Josh Billings says: " Success
don't konsist in never making blunders,
but. in never making the same one the |