The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-18

Substitutes for the Weed Are More
Harmful Than Nicotine.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
Ever since Understanding became
general throughout the world the
practice has been roundly denounced as
both unhealthful and filthy. Perhaps
1t is both. but it certainly is no more
in these respects than some of the sub
stitutes for the weed that have been
proposed. How would you enjoy a pipe
full of wood shavings, saturated with
strong solution of pepper, as an aft
er-dinner smoke? Strange as this may
seem as a substitute for tobacco, it
is nevertheless used as such by In
dams along the Alaskan coast. Their
mouths are often raw by the practice
and the eyesight of many is affected
by the strong fumes. 1t is no uncom-
mon practice among farmers to smoke
the leaves of the tomato and potato
plants. While these plants both con-
tain narcotic poison the smoking of
leaves in moderation is harmless. Elk
cessive use, though, produces a heavy
stupor, from which the smoker awakes
with terrific headache and a feeling
of utter exhaustion. Insanity and
suicide have often been caused by the
immoderate use of these two weeds
Rhubarb, beet and even garden sage
leaves a-e all smoked by farmers, but
are perhaps the least harmful of sub
stitutes for tobacco.
In Jamaica "ganjah,' a variety of
Indian hemp, is smoked by all classes
with terrible results. II is stated that
it was this weed that was used by the
leaders of the Indian mutiny to drive
the Sepoys into the passions of raging
mania which they exhibited during
that campaign. Notwithstanding af-
fects the beginner in a peculiar way.
While under it's influence his senses
of time, sound and distance are OBJ
liberated. A single minute may seem a
month, a child's voice sound like the
rattle of a machine gun and little
finger may seem a mile long. Con
tinued USE" says the Spatula, causes
| cataleptic fits and eventually idiocy or
| raving homicidal Madness" Colts
| foot tobacco" is smoked by the rus
| tics in small country places in Eng
land and is called by them 1.-The fin
| est remedy on earth for catarrh." 1t
is simply a powdered form of the
leaves of the common coltsfoot, a plant
found growing wild in chalky soil The
smoke causes no terrible after effects,
| although some say that it is injurious
to the eyes, and it certainly does re-
lieve difficult breathing.
In Switzerland weed found growing
in the Alps called mountain tobacco is
smoked in great quantities. Like
"coltSfoot tobacco" it is powered before
using and causes the smoker to be-
| come a mental and physical wreck
Dried holly leaves, the bark of the
willow tree and leaves of the stages
horn sumach are all smoked by the
American Indians and are the least
harmful of the substitutes for tobacco.
Indian tobacco" or the leaf of kind
of lobelia, is smoked eXtentively and
is extremely poisonous. "Tombeki," an
other species of the lobelia, largely used
in Asia, is smoked in a water pipe
and produces a decidedly unpleasant
Odor. Those who smoke it regularly be-
come intensely nervous and are SUBJ
ject to curious Authorizations. In the
Bahamas cascarilla bark is another
narcotic that destroys the health and
mind of the smoker. Natives of Cen
trail America are inveterate users of
pimento tobacco, which they make from
dried pimento berries or allspice. 1t
invariably gives the smoker a sore
throat and often causes cancer of the
tongue. The natives of South Africa
are affected in a peculiar manner by
the smoke from the dried leaves of the
camphor plant. The smoker trembles
with fright at nothing, weeps bitterly
and uses all sorts of words which dc
not in the least express his meaning
The wild dagga, another South African
plant, poisons slowly any who use it.