The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-07-06

onos, ard. doubtless, it gave untold de-
high, 10 each returned explorer 10 haunt
Ass s.JaraS. cut!andish comforter before
The gaia OF his less accomplished coul-
tryrnea. The pipe and pouch OF bShtlS-
twisted tobacco leaves suggested lands
whose names were barely known. and
derCors fully eeuaiing. il they did not
srrpasx those braved by heroes in the
,nins.rcis' songs The s!iallop shell and
palm liranoh that had marked the phi
ertrns from Tho Holy Land had been
regarded WITH no s. cater wonder and
renpoct than veTr the implements from
unknown larcs beyond the seas
TIE odor of sancGrv with which The
ttA1 ard sheu OF palmer. ware invested
was not conspicuous as Al atribots OF
the users Of tobacco. and II Is likely mat
r!ety was not q Characteristic OF many
CT the carly Cevotces. Il was due TO
Sir Waiter Raleigh that tho upper
classes began 10 Use totoa Geo. though It's
use had spread quite widely among the
lower ranks OF life ana al first Srlolsi.lg
MAS practiccd In strict I1rs"acS- RaieEa
had house in lSiington thai he az
voted to this purpose. Eis Aoa; o: arms
was blazoned en- tho sioe <iint FACED Inc
street and above the blazou 's'ns carved
a large tobacco plant. In this house
Sir Walter entertained his guests with
pines tall mugs Of ale and nutrncGs-
The clay ;spcs. fitted with long stems
OF reed were lad out on Il table, amt
as each guest arrived he selected q. pipe
and filled it from the famous tobacco
box that was set forth on such occa-
eions 1t was a cylinder OF gilt leather.
seven inches in diameter and thirteen
inches long, in which was a glass re-
ceiver capable of holding about a pound
of the tobacco. The case was secured
by collar. and was pierced by holes
through which the pipes We're pushed to
be filled Among the traditions of the
time is one that says that the Queen
besought Sir Walter to allow her TO try
the new luxury. She took a few whiffs
from a pipe and was smitten with
deathly nausea: on which Of Sir
Walters enemies whispered that the
Queen had been poisoned. The Queen
soon recovered. and then caused the
Countess of Nottingham and her other
ladies' of honor TO smoke q whole pipe
full among them,
THE COUNTERBLAST.
The death of the Queen in 1908 brought
TO the throne the wisest fool IN
Christendom. King James was vain
OF his literary abilities and had seen in
Raleigh rival that aroused his jeal-
ousy and spite. Tobacco was peculiarly
hSSOtldieu Will tlilS IiNfti lidIIltS. anu
by attacking it a blow would fall upon
its patron. The famous pamphlet ~
Counterblast TO Tobacco" abounds with
expressions of this hatred. nur aside
from such passages. 1t is a puerile, I'M
interesting production, utterly unworthy
the attention il has received. The King
renlained a bitter foe TO tobacco
throusout his life. although he at
tempted to draw what he called
''prerosative' revenue from it. in def
ance of English law; act for which
he was rehuked by Parliament. He
tried TO stop the use OF the ''perncious,
weed" as he called it, among the stu
dents at the universities, and in 1907
he sent a letter to the authorities of
St Mary's College. Cambridge. in which
he rigidlv forbake smoking, but no re-
suits seem TO have followed il.
Ely 1921 the consumption in England
was estimated TO have amounted to a
thousand pounds a Gay, and the duty
imposed on it was one of the main
sources of national income. The houses
where tobacco was sold and smoked were
numbered by thousands in London alone,
and in 1920 the Society of Tohacco-pipe
Makers of London was chartered. 1t
was given a coats Of arms bearing a, to-
eacco plant in full blossom on the shield.
II II not strange that plant THAT
had become of such Importance in the
mother country should be all potent in
the colony from which it came. and il is
not surprising that the whole colonial
organization was based on the Droduc
ton of the weed.
The systematic cultivation of Tobacco
3n Virginia must have begun very early,
though the exact date cannot be de-
1er1nined. In l6lG Sir George Yeardley,
then the deputy governor. directed the
attention Of the colonists TO tobacco as
The most valuable production OF the soil
md four years later the amount eN-
J,ortcd had risen to twenty thousand
pounds. The money value Of the crop
ANS so great and il was so readily Gis-
posed of. that the planters We're prone
(, neglect everything else. Il was 10 the
cclnnists what gold mining was TO the
early settlers in California. when trades
s,:.u left their shops and sailors deserted
fheir veSsels 10 jcin With All sorts and
conditions OF men in the mad rush
60 tho d:ggings. In the instructions given
Governor Wyatt il 1921. he was charged
ITO put preutices TO trades. and not let
them forsale the,. trades for planting
tcbacco. CT any such useless commodity"
and lie was further told that ''as TO
raising staple commodities, the chief
officers ought to set examples and 70
ain, at the establishment Of the colony"
FAMINE THREATENED.
The experience OF The first few years
VIXEN famine had threatened the Very
existence OF the colony. taught wisdom.
sad among the earliest acts of the AS
xen,hly was one establishing lin every
parist, q public granarv unto which there
shall be contributed for every planter eN-
ceeding the adge CT is years alive at the
crop after he hath been Eeerc a year a
busheli Of corne. the which shall be dis
posed for the publiQuc uses OF every par
ish by tho major part of the freemen.
the remainder: yearly TO be taken out
t,y the owners at St Tho's his day and
the new bushe1i to be put: IN the roome.
1t vas also ordered that every man
should plant and till sufficient corn for
the needs Of his own family. and in
every parish three men were appointed
Es inspectors. who were sworn 10 see
that this was done, In case anyone neg
Iectcd 10 make provision. the inspectors
were 10 report the offender TO the Gov
etIaor ana council for "centurc."
ks it was the main dependence of the
colonists and the most valuable product
CT their soil. tobacco became the meas
IRE Of value and was used as currency,
,,,,,,,o,iors gsSne6 by the King and