Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-06
TOBACCO" SMOKED BY BOYS
ROLL CIGARS" AND FILL PIPES
WITH QUEER PLANTS.
A Scientists Review of Juvenile
Substitutes for the Soothing
Weed-Corn Silk Popular.

Prof W. A. Setclel University of California
in the American Naturalist.
Nearly every boy has desire to smoke
and while many perhaps begin with to-
bacco itself, many more probably expert
ment with other substances of vegetable
origin which burn well and yield readily
the desired smoke. SO that the appear
ances, at least, of the act of smoking
are produced. The knowledge of such
substitutes in a particular locality Is
usually extensive and widespread. being
the subject of serious conference and de-
bate among the youthful inhabitants
Very little. If any, of this tradition Is
recorded, and 1t seems perhaps matter
OF some botanic interest that 1t should
be. In some ways the practice Of boys
in thus providing a substitute bears a
singular resemblance to that of the less
civilized peoples or communities more or
less isolated from tobacco-producins GEN.
tiers.
My own juvenile knowledge was obtain
ed In eastern Connecticut between thirty
and forty years ago. In those days there
were still many umbrellas with rattan
lcalamus rotans0 ribs. Short pieces OF
these, being porous, on being set afire at
one end, matter of some difficulty al
lowed the smoke to be drawn through in
sufficient quantities to be blown out
through the mouth. but the smoke was
| nut 3, anu tllp Rattan was Kept
alight with difficult. Later I learned the
virtues of the more generally used sub
stitutes. hayseed. sweetfern and mullen.
The hayseed was usually procured from
the floors OF the hay barns and consisted
OF the more less ripened fiorets of
timothy (phleum pratense) and redtop
(Agr0StlS sp). 1t was usually more or less
carefully sifted and smoked in a clay pipe
or packed in paper shells to initiate Gig
arettes. This was before the DAYS of the
no Il rNlla "a oi~v.
and no such papers We're available. so
we used a fairly stiff white paper, rolled
it about a cylindrical piece of wood of
desired length and diameter, fastening
the free edge by means of homemade
starch paste. When these were dry they
were carefully stuffed with the hayseeds
and the ends carefully. if not skillfulIy,
folded. Very commonly. however the
ends came undone during the smoking
and the fine hayseed made a disagreeab BILE
mouthful.
Sweet Pea Leaves.
A more popular filing consisted of the
leaves Of the sweetfern (Myrica asplenifo-
lia). The leaves We're selected when green
and fragrant, carefully dried in the sun or
in the oven. until brittle then Thoroughly
pulverized by rubbing between the hands.
and finally sifted through a coarse sieve
This was then packed tight in cigarette
shells, and sweetfern cigarettes required
some skill. The making of high-grade
cigarettes OF this kind was one of my spe-
cialties. and one summer I drove a thirty
ing trade in them, diSpoSing OF a consider
able number at the remunerative price of
ten for one cent. The lower leaves of the
common MULLEN Verbascum Thapsus)
We're gathered chiefly as they were found
dried on the plant, roughly pulverized and
smoked in a clay pipe. They were suppos-
ed to resemble closely real tobacco and
were the preparatory stage to genuine
smoking. Often some small boy was in
weighed into smoking fine-cut tobacco I'M
der the impression that he was simply in
dulgirg in pipe of mullen. The result
ing sickness, Is rule, undeceived him.
and he realized too late that he had been
made a victim Of a joke more practical
than pleasant
For the lonG-cut tobacco we found a
fair substitute, a least in appearance in
the brown and dried ends OF corn silk
but 1t was never so very popular with us
| Rave found on questioning that these
same substitutes We're known to the gen
Grafton preceding mine, and that they are
equally well known to the generations
coming to fill our places I have also
learned OF other substitutes not known to
US. as we'll as widespread knowledge
of some Of those mentioned.
Grapevine and Punk.
| find that there is a Widespread use
of tea and ground coffee for pipe smok-
ing. and some use even ground cinnamon
The older youth often take to cubebs,
following the official use OF the same A
use seems also to be made of the porous
internodes Of the grapevine as we used
rattan. and even of tightly rolled tubes
of cinnamon stick. l have also been told
that some boys roll paper about the sticks
OF punk used to touch off frecrackers
on the Fourth of July and light and
smoke them
Inquiring of the boys in California, l
find that they use corn silk and various
leaves for pipe smoking. The leaves OF
maple. grape. fig rose and willow are
commonly employed. Perhaps the most
popular Of all are the leaves of the worm
wood tArtemisia heterophylla). which is
common on most h!llsides and gives 4
pleasing aromatic smoke. IN many places
the old fallen leaves of the blue gum
Eucalyptus globulus) are a favorite The
leaves OF the yerba santa tEr.odicty on
caiiforH.cum) are smoked to cure colds.
and also by the boys for the pure joy of
smoking. Tie leaves OF the California
bay Cmpellularia cal4fornica) are often
used n. the Same way. I am informed by
DR.. H. NJ. Hall That the composite Arr-
choseris pistyphylla is called tobacco
weed" by the boys of Palo Verde, iii the