The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-03-24
THE SNUFF HABIT.
1t Ts Still Indulged in by Great
Many Americans.
"A New York Tohncconist Gives Some In
tcrcstinG Information About tho
Production and Consumption
of the Article.

If the ghost of man ofQuccn Anne's
time could revisit this world in these
days it is probable that he would not
be moro surprised by his defendants
advance in material achievements than
grieved at the general disappearance Of
the snuff box, that indispensable ar
ticle in the equipment Of every gentle
man of high fashion on which tho
beaux of his age and of that succeeding
lavished eXtravagant sums. An in
quiry ut any tobacconist's of the old
style-and there are still few in New
Yorl1-would reveal tho fact that tho
community of the sncczc still exists
among Il not inconsdcrablc number of
the moderns. If he chose to dip into the
United States internal revenue statis-
tics he would find that the yearly pro-
duction of snuff in this country is large
enough to insure to each inhabitant q
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 DO found
chiefly in collections ofantiquarians, he
might yet find good store in little
Sixth avenue shop writer for the New
York Tribune knows of; not so elnbor-
ute as his own, but Offering him his
choice of tortoise shell and papicr
machc, tastefully inlaid with mother
Qf-pcarl; of horn (rccalling Sandy's
''mull') and of bccchwood, the latter
carved in quaint designs Ho might
even purchase the gold and silver ro-
ccptacles if he found tho right silver
smith, for somo OF them are still mado.
I'VE don't sell as many boxes as wo
used to-" said tho dealer, because tho
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 q matter of factx
the principal consumers, In this city, ut
least, are foreigners, tho Irish, Ger
mans, French and Italians perhaps con-
stltutlng the largest number. In the
days OF the fashion there were us many
brands of snuff rs there are now Of
tobacco, but oil that is changed now.
The varieties most in demand are Mno-
coboy, Lundyfoot, French, Scotch and
iLotzbecl They don't vary much in
price, except that Lotzbeck, the only
imported one, is considerably higher
priced. The Irish soem TO prefer Maca
coboy, perhaps from the idea that the
namo has an Irish origin, but 1t hasn't.
II Is corrupted from West India word,
'Macabao. Another of their favoritcs
is Lundyfoot, known also as Irish High
toast and Irish BlaclSguard Lundy-
foot, according to the sto-y, was Dub
lin tobacconist. Some of his snuff whilc
being dried in the kiln was scorched.
and he set q 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 aftcrward man
nfacturcd by that process. Curiously
enough, the Germans are fondcst of a
French snuff known as Gambetta.
My best customers are very reticcnt
about their snutf-taking. Many of
them say they arc buying 1t for others,
and they mako all sorts of ridiculous
excuses for buying. 1t seems to be o
habit people are ashamed of, and
dare say some persons indulge it with
out the knowledge of their families T
have more women than men among nv
customers, and, yes, some of them dip
men as well as women. Has snuff tax
ing any effect upon longevityp Well, I
don't know. 1 lost one customer by
death the other day, an old woman,
who bought snuff Of me for flfty-two
years. have four or five customers Of
thirty or thirty-hve years standing,
and at least twenty who have traded
With me over twenty years"