The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-22
SNUFF TAKING INCREASING
THE MOST WIsTEFTB Way KNOWN
or USING TOBACCO.
ASsat 81 asa. 600 worth ThrowH Away
Genriy-Medas or ustng u-snuG In
China vslsed at a1.9oO,oeO n Pound-
rrba Zut., NN.Nhas .r NguNa-a.n A..N

Every ycar the SNUFF .takins citizens OF tho
United States deliberately pny for and throw
way 81, 900 worth of snuff. How Is this2
Well, In 1898 the total production OF snuff in
this country amounted to ii. 705,4l pounds,
valued at about 90 cents n pound. and when n
man takes u pinch Of snufr he wastes Mt the
very least one quarter OF II by splitting 10 down
his vest or leaving II adheting to his fingers.
IL Is the most cxtravagsnt,, wasteful way Of
using tobacco known.
About three ounces Of SNUFF per capita are
manufactured annually in this country.
Nearly all Of IL Is made by one company In
Now Jersey nud another in Pennsylvania sthe
two turning out about 800, 900 pounds n
month. Tho users are Catholic priests, Ital.
IAN and German music teachers. some OF
whom have u vest pocket lined with leather.
and carry the snufr loose In this with a tiny
horn spoon to convey 1t TO their nose; the
Swedes, Norwe9ians, and Scandinavians OF the
Michigan lumher forests and the West gen.
orally; planomakers to IL man, and women in
the large cities, who dip" II as Is done in the
South, where there Is a great demand for
snuff. In Arkansas about every native. with
his trousers In his boots. sleeves rolled UP, and
shirG bosom open, carries n hardwood stick
aud SNUFF loose IN n pocket. He vets the
stick, dips it into the snuff, rubs one gum,
dips again, and rubs the other. and goes
through life with a brown dusty halo ar ,und
his lips. The Nirginian mountainous origi.
mated this practice. II spread through the
South. struck Texas, and ~ reaching up
into the lumber districts among the Scandina.
vians.
The snu1 trade Is pushed in many curious
ways. In the South, and also wherever the
truck system hold out yet, there is q scarcity
of ready money. A firm OF snuff makers hit
upon the idea % selling their snuff at the reg
ular price, and. instcad OF putting 20 much cash
into general advertising, placing n dime or a
nickel inside each package. according to It's
size. The colored people and others soon dis
covered this, and TO get the'much.coveted cash
bought snuff instead Of necessaries. This was
stopped at last by the internal revenue author
tiles. but the brand Of SNUFF received such a
boom that 1t is the largest selling brand in that
territory to-day. In New York the bulk of the
snuff h sold along Avenue II, Avenue 4, and
East Houston street to factory girls and tene-
ment jewellers; Third avenue. where the GUS
toners are Germans. and especially piano
makers. and The Bowery. where the trade Ia
mainly with girls. So great Is the demand for
a favorite brand OF snuff that one large grocery
house makes u specially of importing Swedish
snuff for people of that nationality.
China Is the great snutf-taking country of
the world, and there Is snuff there worth the
p'hN ~ - go iiNih
is handed around at the great banquets. It's
high value comes In this way. The rich China
men buy the bulk Of their snuff from portu-
gal. where there are families owning private
old time recipes. who sell their snuff at from
5000 to $500 a pound to the Chinese. The late
Chinese millionaire. How wah, gave the latter
price for his. Then the Chinaman keeps it many
years. priding himself on its age. as in the early
part Of this century Englishmen, Frenchmen,
and Germans did upon the age of their wine,
and the legal rate Of interest being 32..per cent.
per annum. It's theoretical value sooa increases.
This Chinese carry 1t in beautiful bottles OF
porcelain. jade. and agate, miracles of art.
whish are worth from 81 to 81 900 each.
The first mention OF snuff Is In the Book OF
Flowers" date 1850. a Chinese work. where
1t Is stated 20 be IA neutralizer OF foul air"
1.-THE remedy OF head diseases" and it cost
$500 an ounce. In the second voyage OF Co
lumbus he discovered the natives in His
PAMELA, in 149+, inhaling tobacco powder
through their nostrils through "a cane half q
cubit long" After this the brazilian Indians
were found using snuff, and a remarkable
thing is that they made better snunf than any
made since, SO say snuff experts. who base
their opinion on the product made In one of
Sng H. d h Iax ! nv mali traJi Ace acS"rn nbicb 10 me rules les
purity and exceptional fragrance Il far ahead
of any made to-day. The Brazilian mill was
n blip VI -Iu' No'i WIZ I''NtN'"'iI 'ul
to resemble II rude frying pan. the handle
being about four inches long and the pan part
Of the hollow of the pan the whole was Gov
cred with rho mot sxanisItG Key raryinE and
ornament, The handle Represented a raptiis.
bird. or FISH. A. smooth stick OF rosewood.
nine inches long by three,quarters Of an inch
scum Of, Natural History The pan. was laid
placed In the hollow. and was triturated by the
pestle until made into a coarse powder. The
of the wood to the snuff. which was used be-
fore it had time t? cool. II was ,snutfed up
saS 9s'' isg' 1hrSifH ws srs nSIsSI i by cuy 2t 8
plated work and finished at the top by. a
curved pie"e Of WOOD to II. A. the nose and in,
slung at the hack. the tobacco being cartel
In a chnspd or bag, at the wearer's waist. This
the snuff. The roses for pertaining the early |
snuff in this, country wer, grown, by Mrs.
near their mill in the Bronx Park, Visitor.
To, Bronx Park who pick The, richly scented
old mill and look . little different from orii-
narT Wild roses; are re-, gIotherimg s8pi" of TIE oh}
found cheaper 10 uso it than, roses,
snuff WIS used early in England as 9 medi-
der the name OF hcrLr dc la rsine It's use spread:
lin" barrels to We laedcd" Win snafr and insert:
ed IN the %nostrlI. When the trigger vas pulled
the snuff was blnwn M the nose Tin sufficient
quantity To last the whole day" as the chrnn-
icle remarks. snuff figured in. p%nlltiCs. The
Dauphia Of France was poisoned with snuff be-
lievsd, TO come, from spain, and termed Jesuit
The daughters of Louis XIV. have
supplied the modern collector with many rare
SNUFF boxes used by their dainty fingers. Ma
poleon and DIR. johnson have done the same.
The greatest Of all snuff takers was Margaret
Thompson OF England, wh4 died in 1900. She
provided In her will that her coffin was to be
with good Scotch, snuff, and the floor
OF her vault strewn with It; that the pail.
bearers should be four old snuff taking Scotch
ladies; and that the proce ssion TO the grave
should be stopped every twenty steps and
snuff thrown in tho air. For this purpose she
left leRaCies Of SH5 and one pound of tobacco;
ana her wish was granted, tho services being
read amid u perfect chorus OF sneezing, and
there wasn't n dry eyo when they buried her."
Scented snuff was first introduced into Eng
land through the capture by sir George Rookie
and the English tlcet Of Spanish vessels con
veylnE the highly aromatic dust from Havana
10 the mother %couhtry, and under the name Of
Nigo snuf II was sold at the port towns, and SO
bred "a dehaud, The world famous LundyfoOt
snufr is a baked SNUFF, aud. was discovered by
accident. When the old lriah suuR faptDrv If