Arizona silver belt., 1895-03-30
THE SNUFF HABIT.
It 1s Stin Indulged in by Great
 Many Americans,
A New York Tobacconist Gives Some tnl teresting Information About the Production and Consumption
 of tho Article

If the ghost of man pf fQuecn Anne's time could revisit this world in these days it is probable that he would not be more surprised hy his decendants' advance in material achievements than Crievcd at the general disappearance of the snuff box, that indispensable ar ticlG in the equipment of every gentle man of high fashion on which the bcauX of his age and of that succeeding lavished cNtravagant sums. An in quiry at any tobacconist'S of the old stylc--and there arc still few in New Nork-would reveal the fact thnt the community of the sneeze Still exists among not incousiderablc number 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 in this country is large enough to insure to each inhabitant n supply of at least two ounces, the total output averaging eight million pounds. And of snuff boxes, though those of his day Hre now to be found chiefly in collections of fantiquarians, he might yet find good store in little Sixth aTenuc shop writer for the New York Tribune knows of; not so elHbor- ate as his own, but offering him his choice of tortoise shell and papier mache, tastefully inlaid with mother of-pearl; of horn (reculliug Sandy's null and of beechwood, the latter carved ia quaint designs. He might even purchase the gold and silver re- cCptaclgs if he found the right silver smith, for some of them are still made.
 We don't sell as many boxes as we used to- said the dealer, because the snuff comes in such convenient pack ages, a 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, ter. mans French and Italians perhaps con. stituuaE the largest number. In the days ot the fashion there were as many brands of snuff aS there are now oi .obaccu, but all that is changed now. The varieties most in demand arc Mac. eoOoy, Lundyfoot, French, Scotch and Lotzbecl. They don't vary much in price, except that Lotzbecl5, the only importci one, is considerably higher priced The Irish seem Co prefer Mac cObOy perhaps from the idea that the name has an Irish origin, but 1t hasn't, it is corrupted from a West India word,
 Macabao. Another of their favorites is Lundyioot, known alsoa Irish High toast and Irish BlaclSEuard Luudy- foot, according to the sto-.y, was Dub- lin tO1acconiSt. Some of his snuff while being Gricd' in the kiln was scorched, and he set 8 tub of it outsidc his shop for the poor Co dip up a. they passed by. So many IUuud the nigh flavor pleasant thot the accidental high dry ing .naIC hia name famous, for it was applied Co the brand he aftcrward man ufacturSd by that process. Cautiously enough, the Germans are fpndest of French snuff known as Gambetta.
 My best customers are very reticent about their snuff-talling. Many of them say they are buying it for others, and they make all sorts of ridiculous excuses for buying. It seems to be habit people are ashamed of and dare say some persons indulge it with out the knowledge e their families. l have more women than men among my customers, and, yes some of them dip men as we'll as women. Has snutf-tak- ing any effect upon longevity? We'll, don't know l lost one customer by death the other day, an old woman, who bought snuff of me for Gfty-two years, have four or five customers of thirty or hirty-fve years standing, and at least twenty who have traded with me over twenty years"