Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-01-25
-- THE SNUFF HABIT. It Is Still Indulged in by a Great
 Many Americans
4 New York Tobacconlst Gives Some In. tsreating Information About the Production and Consumption
 of the Article.

If the ghost of man of fQueen Anne.s time could revisit this world in these days it is probable that he would not be more surprised by his deeendants' advance in material achievements than grieYed at the general disappearance of the snuff box, that indispensable ar ticle in the equipment of every gentle man of high fashion On which the beaux of his age and of that succeeding lavished extravagant sums. An in- quiry at any tobaeeonist's of the old style-and there are still few in New York-weuld reveal the fact that the community of the sneeze still exists among not inconsiderable nun Der of the moderns. If he chose to dip into the United States internal revenue statis- ties he would find that the yearly pro- duction of snuff h this country is large enough to insure to each inhabitant a. supply of at least two ounces the total output averaging eight million pounds And of snuff boxes, though those of his day are now to be found chiefly in collections of antiquarians, he might yet find good store in little Sixth avenue shop writer for the New York Tribune knows of; not so elabor-. ate as his own, but offering him hist choice of tortoise shell and papier. mache, tastefu1ly in1aid with mother of-pearli of horn (recalling Sandy's ''mulp9 and of beechwood, the latter carved in quaint designs. He might even purchase the gold and silver re- eeptacles if he found the right silver $'(,4.r ~ 14sI l. !
 "We don't sell as many boxes as we used to-" said the dealer, "because ths snuff comes in such convenient pack ages" fact which would again shock our eighteenth century ghost and con vince him that he had indeed fallen upon evil days. As matter of fact; the principal consumers, in this city, at least, are foreigners, the Irish, Ger mans, French and Italians perhaps con- stituting the largest number. In the days of the fashion there were as many brands of snuff as there are now of tobacco, but all that is changed now. The varieties most in demand are Mac coboy, Lundyfoot, French, Scotch and Lotzbeck. They don't vary much in price, except that Lotzbeck, the only imported one, is considerably higher priced. The Irish seem to prefer Mac coboy, perhaps from the idea that the name has an Irish origin, but 1t hasn't, 1t is corrupted from West India word, 'Macabao. Another of their favorites Is Lundyfoot. known also as Irish High toast and Irish B1aeagaard. Lundy- foot, according to the story, was Dub, lin tobaeconist. Some of his snuff while being dried in the kiln was scorched, and he set a tub of it outside his shop for the poor to dip up as they passed by. So many found the high flavor pleasant that the accidental high dry ing made his name famous, for it was applied to the brand he afterward man. ufaetured by that process Curiously enough, the Germans are fondest of a French snuff known as Gambetta.
 My best customers are very reticent about their snuff taking. Many of them say they are buying it for others, and they make all sorts of ridiculous excuses for buying It seems to be a habit people are ashamed of, and dare say some persons indulge it with out the knowledge of their families. have more women than men among my customers, and, yes, some of them dip men as well as women. Has snuff-tak- ing any effect upon longevity? We'll, don't know. lost one customer by death the other day, an old woman, who bought snuff of me for fifty-two years. I have four or five customers of thirty or thirty-dve years standing, and at least twenty who have traded with me over twenty years"