, 1886-02-06
WHAT WE SMOKE AND CHEW.
Not Always Pure Tobacco, but Sometimes
sweetened and M~edicated Preparations

Not Always Pure Tobacco, but Sometimes
sweetened and Medicated Preparations
1t is rather late in the day to enter n
protest against the use Of tobacco. What
ever the faculty may say on the point of
its injurious qualities, however much the
clergy may point out the possibility Of
its leading to intemperance, the fact re-
mains that a large proportion of the
world uses tobacco in some form or
other. In spite of all that has been said
against it by fervid anti-tobacconists,
pure tobacco is an excellent remedial
agent; but il must be absolutely pure.
No poisonous decoctions must eat into its
substance or change its nature. Used in
a proper way, TO eliev neuralgia pains,
or applied in various affections, under
the advice of n skilled physician, it is a
valuable medicine.
The adulteration of tobacco, very com
mon both in this country and abroad,
arises from two considerations. The
pure, natural leaf, in its yellow hue, is
undoubtedly the finest tobacco in the
market. But so many accidents con-
spire TO render the finest leaves scarce
that even the natural leaf itself is inn
itated. Coarse leaves are bleached by
the use of chlorine to the bright yellow
color of the natural leaf, and sulphuric
acid, properly diluted, is used to make
the little -freckles," which are supposed
by connoisseurs to indicate a superior
quality of leaf.
But the natural leaf somehow,
doesn't seem to suit the taste of the aver
age chewer of tobacco. He asks n GER
tain degree Of sweetness in his plug. To
fill this bill and create a special flavor
which shall give a kind of identity to a
particular brand. and cause it to be
eagerly sought for is the object of the
manufacturer.
When the bundles of steamed leaves
are fully dried they are ready for h APP
plication of the syrup N ~icorice, which
imparts to the chewing tobacco of com
merce its sweetness and flavor. The
leaves must be as dry as a bone when
subjected TO this licorice bath, for the
least dampness will render them white
with mould in a few hours. This mould
is removed lone of the adulterations) by
a dip into diluted muriatic acid, and in
too many cases forms part Of the solid
cake of n better quality. The heat of the
mixture causes the pores Of the leaf to
expand, and the sweet syrup, penetrat-
ing every fiber, i%mpregnates it thor
oughly. From the vat the dripping bun
dies are carried out on the fiat root of
the factory and exposed TO the sun, for
one days sunshine is worth more than
can be told in the manufacture. After
this the eaves are taken into a drying
room, where the thermometer during the
day is at 30 degrees. At night the whole
power of the furnace is turned on, and
the heat is so intense that in the morning
the room has to be cooled off before the
operators can enter it. When the
tobacco has, under this powerful heat,
become perfectly dry, the adulterator
gets in his work.
One factory sprinkles it with New
England rum, another uses Jamaica
rum, a third moistens it with the rankest
corn whisky he can find, and each
brand has its own peculiar essential oil.
Some use fennel, others ginseng, while
the acrid sumach, Astounding in tannin,
cheap and plenty, gives that peculiar
burning of the tongue which character
ICES much fine cut" Astringent banks,
NORWOOD, the refuse of the cinchona,
and others, give the bitter taste which
some consumers like, and the twist or
NEGRO heads, which is largely exported
to tropical climates, gets a special alb
sorption.
A true tobacco cigar is fine in grain
and free from stems. The wrapper is
nothing in a cigar; the filling is every
thing.
No leaf is worthless for the manufac-
ture of one or another of the innumer-
able brands between the golden chaff
with which the millionaire fills his meer-
schaum and the laborer his cuddy. AL
most the only chemically pure tobacco is
that which the planter dries for himself,
spreads on the cotton sheet in the gar
ret, and sends little Tommy to bring him
a bunch o~f-crumbling it between his
fingers to fill his pipe. But this sim
plicity doesn't please. The public would
rather be poisoned--Health and Home,