Tobacco Leaves_ Being a Book of Facts for Smokers William Augustine Brennan 816 downloads.pdf

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tobacco Leaves: Being a Book
of Facts for Smokers
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will
have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
this eBook.

Title: Tobacco Leaves: Being a Book of Facts for Smokers

Author: William Augustine Brennan

Release date: September 11, 2011 [eBook #37388]
Most recently updated: January 8, 2021

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37388

Credits: Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
generously made available by The Internet Archive.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOBACCO
LEAVES: BEING A BOOK OF FACTS FOR SMOKERS ***

PLANT OF KENTUCKY TOBACCO
From a Sketch by W. A. Brennan

Tobacco
Leaves
Being
A Book of Facts
For Smokers

BY
W. A. BRENNAN
Department of Medical
Sciences
The John Crerar Library

PUBLISHED FOR
Index Office, Inc.
BY
The Collegiate Press
George Banta Publishing
Company
Menasha, Wisconsin
1915

First issue
December, 1915

Copyright 1915
by
W. A. BRENNAN

CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 7

Chapter I 11
Historical, Botanical.

Chapter II 19
The Cultivation of the Tobacco Plant.
Climatic and soil conditions—Treatment of
the growing plant—Shade grown tobacco—
Harvesting.

Chapter III 29
Production of Tobacco.
Countries which produce tobacco and amount
—Production in the New World other than in
the United States—Varieties.

Chapter IV 39
Production of Tobacco in the United States.
Total production—Amount produced by the
different States—Varieties raised—
Description of the different varieties.

Chapter V 53
The Chemical Composition of the Tobacco Plant.
Organic and inorganic matters contained in
tobacco and the part they play—Analysis of
various tobaccos—Nicotine.

Chapter VI 61
The Curing of Tobacco Leaf.
Objects of curing—Methods.

Chapter VII 67
The Marketing and Sale of Tobacco Leaf.
Methods of disposal by the grower—The
warehouse system—Direct purchase—
Principal markets in the United States—
Prices.

Chapter VIII 75
Rehandling and Fermentation of Tobacco Leaf
Prior to Manufacture.
Selection of leaf—Treatment and blending—
Objects and methods of manufacturers
fermentation—Action of microbes.

Chapter IX 88
Manufactured Products of Tobacco in the United
States.
Statistics of production and consumption—
Amount of capital invested—Number of
plants, etc.

Chapter X 93
Cigars: Historical and General Facts.
History—Statistical information regarding
the cigar business in the United States.

Chapter XI 99
Cigars and Their Qualities.
Qualities of cigars and cigar leaf—Imported
cigars—Havanas—Domestic cigars.

Chapter XII 111
Cigar Making.
Hand-made cigars—Machine-made cigars—
Classification of cigars—Terms used in the
cigar trade.

Chapter XIII 121
Pipe Smoking and Chewing Tobacco.
Qualities required—Description of kinds—
Perique tobacco—Statistics.

Chapter XIV 131
Cigarettes.
Statistics—Kinds and where made—
Imported cigarettes—Domestic cigarettes—
Cigarette papers.

Chapter XV 143
Snuff.
How made—Qualities—Description of kinds.

Chapter XVI 149
Tobacco Smoking Pipes.
History—How made and materials used in
making—Meerschaum—Briar root—Amber
—Special kinds of pipes—Care of pipes.

Chapter XVII 171
Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Human System.
Physical and other effects—Opinions of
medical men quoted and discussed.

Chapter XVIII 195
The Beneficial Effects of Tobacco.

Its disinfecting action—A protection against
infectious disease—Psychological effects of
smoking.

Chapter XIX 207
Miscellaneous.
Revenue, taxation, etc., in connection with
tobacco—Free imports—The insect pests
which attack tobacco—Tobacco flavoring
fluids, etc.—Formulae.

INTRODUCTION
This little book is intended for the man who uses tobacco. While there is a
very extensive literature concerning tobacco, yet it is surprising how few
books there are written expressly for the smoker. Much has been written
concerning culture, production and manufacture; the historical and
anecdotal aspects have been catered for; pamphlets and books abusing and
denouncing the use of tobacco are plentiful; but the smoker will find it
difficult to get a book just giving him the facts concerning tobacco and
smoking, which he ought to know, and omitting matters, which, although
interesting, are not necessary. This little book is an attempt to fulfil that
purpose; and it is felt that no apology is needed for its appearance. If the
average user of tobacco is questioned concerning the matters treated in the
following pages, he will be found ignorant of them. This ought not be so.
The custom of tobacco smoking is so general and so intimate a part of the
daily life of the great majority of men, that a better acquaintance with the
plant, its qualities, uses and effects, should be cultivated and welcomed.
No claim is made for originality. The facts here stated have been gathered
from various sources and the only credit claimed is for putting them
together in a concise and consecutive form. The object aimed at is to give
information. Whether the custom of tobacco smoking is desirable, whether
in any individual case it would be beneficial or otherwise to smoke—these
and similar questions are left to the reader’s own judgment from the facts
and opinions presented, as well as from his own observations. The man who
uses tobacco daily should know what he is doing. If statements are made
either verbally or in print concerning the custom he should be able to verify
them or show that they are incorrect. It is trusted that the information given
in these pages will enable him to form a clear judgment whatever the
judgment may be.
It may be felt that many aspects of the use of tobacco and matters connected
with it have either not been touched on, or only referred to very briefly. The
reader who may desire further information will find it in the bibliographical

references given throughout the book. These references have generally been
consulted by the author and his indebtedness is acknowledged here.

To My Wife

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL—BOTANICAL

HISTORICAL
The history of tobacco commences with the discovery of the New World by
Columbus. The Chinese claim that it was known and used by them much
earlier, but there appears to be no evidence to support this claim. Columbus
found the natives of Cuba smoking the dried leaves, and his followers are
said to have brought the plant to Spain about 1512. Oviedo published a
book entitled La Historia general de las Indias in Seville in 1526, in which
he mentions pipe smoking. It may be inferred that this custom was well
established in Spain then. Sir Walter Raleigh is usually credited with having
brought tobacco to England for the first time from Virginia in 1586; and the
Virginian Colonists are known to have cultivated the plant at that time; but
there is evidence enough to show that Sir Francis Drake was the first to
introduce the plant into England. Drake’s voyages were made between 1570
and 1580 and he brought the plant with him in one of these. Some give the
date of introduction by Drake as 1560. Raleigh was, however, probably the
first English distinguished smoker, and he cultivated the plant on his estate
at Youghal, Ireland. There is no doubt about the culture of tobacco by the
early English Colonists in the U. S., but it is doubtful whether the plant was
introduced by them from England or whether they continued a culture
learned from the Natives. From Virginia it spread to the other colonies. In
Peru and other parts of South America the growing of tobacco was well
established at the time of the Spanish Conquest.
In 1560 Jean Nicot, the French Ambassador at Lisbon, sent some tobacco to
Catherine de Medici as a cure for headache. Catherine was pleased with it
and is said to have become quite addicted to its use. Tobacco was
designated the “Queen’s herb” and the “Sovereign herb” from this

circumstance and Nicot himself is perpetuated in the word “Nicotine” and
its derivatives.
Many persons erroneously give credit to Nicot for the introduction of
tobacco into Europe. It is quite clear, however, from Oviedo’s book, quoted
above, that the plant was known in Spain very much earlier; and it is most
probable that the immediate followers of Columbus brought samples of the
leaves and pipes back to Spain with them. Moreover, in 1558, Phillip II of
Spain sent Francisco Hernandez, a physician, to investigate the resources,
etc., of Mexico, and on his return he brought back tobacco as one of the
products, and grew it as a drug. From Spain and England, the use of tobacco
spread by degrees all over the known world.

REFERENCES
Penn, W. A. The Soverane Herbe; a history of Tobacco. Chapters I, II.
London and New York, 1901.
Bouant, E. Le Tabac; culture et industrie. Paris, 1901.
Shew, Joel. Tobacco; its history, nature and effects on the body and mind.
Wortley, 1876.
Billings, E. R. Tobacco; its history, varieties, culture, etc. Chapters II, IV.
Hartford, Conn., 1895.
Comes, O. Histoire, geographie, statistique du Tabac. Son introduction et
son expansion dans tous les pays depuis son origine jusqu’ à la fin du
XIX siècle. Naples, 1900.
Fairholt, F. W. Tobacco; its history and associations. London, 1876.
Wolf, Jakob. Der Tabak und die Tabakfabrikate. Chapter I. Leipzig, 1912.

BOTANICAL
Tobacco belongs to the family of plants known in botany under the name of
Solanaceæ. Other well-known members of this family are the Irish potato,

the red pepper, the tomato, the egg-plant, etc.
American tobacco belongs almost exclusively to that group of this family
which comprise the genus Nicotiana. Of this genus there are about 50
separate species, one of which, Nicotiana Tabacum, supplies almost all the
tobacco of commerce. Plants of this species grow from 2 feet to 9 feet in
height; they have numerous wide-spreading leaves sometimes as much as 3
feet in length; these leaves may be oval, oblong, pointed, or lanceolate in
shape, and are generally of a pale green color when young; they are
arranged alternately in a spiral on the stem; the root is large and fibrous; the
stem is erect, round and viscid, branching near the top. The alternate
arrangement of the leaves on the stalk, succeeding each other spirally, so
that the 9th overhangs the 1st, the 10th the 2nd, and so on, is very
characteristic. The distance on the stalk between the leaves is about 2
inches. Flowers are in large clusters, with corollas of rose color, or white
tinged with pink. The leaves and stalks are covered with soft downy hair.
The plant is perennial but crops are usually raised from seed.
Of this species (N. Tabacum) there are probably more than 100 varieties
grown in the U. S. alone. Some of the best known will be described later.
To this same species (N. Tabacum) Havana, East Indian and European
tobaccos principally belong. The other important species are:
Nicotiana Persica. Grown in Persia. This has a white flower and the leaves
almost enwrap the stem. It is used almost exclusively as a pipe-smoking
tobacco. Some claim that this is only a variant of N. Tabacum.
Nicotiana Repanda. This is a species of Cuban tobacco entirely different
from that grown in the Havana district. It is also called Yara.
Nicotiana Rustica. A kind of wild growing tobacco principally cultivated in
Mexico, and which is claimed as the parent of some of the Turkish, Syrian
and Latakia tobaccos although many authorities claim that these tobaccos
belong to the species N. Tabacum. The European tobacco is hardier than the
American parent plant. The leaves are smaller.
N. Rustica. Also includes common Hungarian and Turkish tobaccos. There
are large and small leaved varieties.

N. Crispa. Grown in Syria and largely in Central Asia. Used as a cigarette
tobacco in the Orient.
It has been stated above that there are many varieties of N. Tabacum in the
U. S. Of these the most important are known to botanists by the names,
Nicotiana Tabacum Macrophylla and Nicotiana Tabacum Angustifolia.
Maryland tobacco belongs to the Macrophylla variety and there are many
other types differing from each other according to shape of the leaf, size of
the stalk, etc.
Virginian tobacco is of the Angustifolia variety, and of this also there are
many different types.
Most European and other grown tobaccos have been raised from original
plants of the Maryland and Virginian varieties.
It should be remembered that there is no essential difference in cigar, pipe
smoking or cigarette tobaccos. The differences are physical only. All kinds
may be obtained from the same species or even the same variety of the
species by suitable culture and crossing.

REFERENCES
Anastasia, G. E. Le varietá della Nicotiana Tabacum. Scafati, 1906.
Comes, O. Delle razze dei tabacchi. Naples, 1905.
Killebrew, J. B. and Myrick H. Tobacco leaf; its culture and cure,
marketing and manufacture. Part I. New York, 1897.
Lock, C. G. W. Tobacco growing, curing, and manufacturing. Chapter I.
London and New York, 1886.
Wolf, J. Der Tabac. Chapter II. Leipzig, 1912.
Billings, E. R. Tobacco; its history, varieties, etc. Chapter I. Hartford,
Conn., 1875.

CHAPTER II

THE CULTIVATION OF THE TOBACCO PLANT
Climatic and Soil Conditions. Treatment of the Growing Plant.
Shade Grown Tobacco. Harvesting.

THE CULTIVATION OF THE TOBACCO PLANT
A few general facts concerning the culture of the tobacco plant and its
treatment until it reaches the hands of the manufacturers will be of interest
for the smoker.
The general principles underlying the culture of tobacco are the same
whether it is intended for the cigar, pipe smoking or cigarette trade; but the
treatment of the leaf after it is harvested differs considerably.
Tobacco is a perennial plant. It is, however, usually raised each year from
seed. The seedlings are usually ready for planting towards the end of May
and are generally planted between the last week in May and the middle of
June.
The successful raising of tobacco depends on four principal factors: (1) the
climate, (2) the nature of the soil, (3) the seed, and (4) on the method of
culture.
The climate must be such as to favor rapid growth and therefore must
furnish sufficient heat and moisture during the time the plant is growing.
The fineness of the texture and the elasticity of the leaf depend on the
climate.
On the soil the plant depends for its food, and for the absorption of those
chemical constituents on which depend the burning qualities, the strength
and the color.

The physical qualities of the plant, structure and form, thickness of veins,
size, shape and distribution of leaves, are derived from the seed.
Finally, on the method of cultivation (including the curing process) depends
in part the final color, flavor and aroma; the type and trade value; that is to
say, on successful culture and harvesting and treatment at the right time and
in the best way, must depend the grower’s hopes of the final value of his
crop. The quantity of nicotine, essential oils, etc., on which flavor and
strength depend, is regulated to the greatest extent by the time of cutting.
The nature of the soil is a very important matter in the culture of tobacco,
for the color of the cured tobacco leaf depends almost entirely on the soil.
The light colored leaf is grown on light colored soil and the darker leaf is
grown on heavy, dark soil. The best type of soil for the raising of tobacco
intended for the cigar trade is a warm, deep, sandy loam which rests on
permeable well-drained subsoil. The very light colored yellow tobacco
cannot be raised except on light colored, porous soils; and so susceptible is
this matter of the coloring of the leaf that it has been noted that the
darkening of the soil by a liberal allowance of stable manure will, on a very
light colored soil, change the color of the tobacco leaf from a bright yellow
to a mahogany shade. Very light sandy soils or very light loams with clayey
subsoils are usually chosen for these light yellow tobaccos. Although by
processes subsequent to growth it is possible to darken the color of tobacco
leaf, there is no known process that will make a dark leaf light in color.
Moreover, the soil must be very fertile and rich in the special substances
needed by the growing plant. This is all the more necessary because tobacco
is a rapidly growing plant, and reaches its maturity within a few months
after its planting. The rapidity of growth therefore demands a rich fertile
soil well stored with plant food. Good manuring, or liberal treatment with
fertilizers, is essential for keeping such soils in prime condition, because the
period of growing must not be extended.
Tobacco is usually planted in rows, the rows being from three to four feet
apart, the usual arrangement being that the plants are generally about 12 or
18 inches apart in the row. Some planters, however, give the plants more
room for many reasons, varying the distance between the plants even as

much as 30 inches. Cigar leaf tobacco plants are usually placed about 14
inches apart.
There are various operations necessary during the growth of the plant. The
most important of these for our purpose are those known as “priming” or
“thinning out” and “cutting.” Priming is usually done when the plant is well
advanced in growth, but the time varies with different growers and
according to the species. It consists in removing the lower or imperfect
leaves from the plant, or these which have in any way become injured from
insect or other harmful agencies. As a general rule the larger the number of
leaves there is on a plant the lower is the quality of the subsequently cured
leaf. An average of about 10 leaves to each plant is what is favored by most
growers, and the plants are usually thinned to this extent. Seed buds are
removed also at the same time and for the same reason. If the plants are
“thinned” late and when they are approaching full growth the leaves
removed are not destroyed, but are cured separately and sold as inferior
quality and are usually called “primings” or “planters lugs.”
In the Southern American States the time allowed for the growth and
maturing of the plant is somewhat longer than in the eastern and more
northerly states where the soil, owing to richer fertilization, favors the rapid
growth. Moreover, a stronger quality of tobacco is wanted and the extra
time allows the plant to effect a greater elaboration in its cells of the oils
and gums, etc., which contribute particularly to strength and flavor.

Shade Grown Tobacco
The matter of rapid growth has, however, its limitations. Too much sunlight
is considered a disadvantage. Under such powerful action, nutrition is
drawn quickly from the soil and the plants ripen too quickly. Under such
circumstances the leaves tend to become heavy bodied and not very large in
size. To defeat this tendency and produce large, thin silky leaves for the
cigar trade, the grower sometimes covers his field with a tent of cheese-
cloth or similar protection from the glare of the sun. The ripening process is
thereby slowed and the leaves are thinner, larger and lighter in shade. This
method is employed principally in Cuba, Florida and Connecticut where

cigar wrapper leaves are produced, and such tobacco is known as shade-
grown.
Tobacco which has been planted out at the end of May or early in June is
usually ready for harvesting at the end of August or beginning to middle of
September. The actual time of harvesting varies a good deal according to
the variety grown and the physical condition concerned in the growing of
the plant. The heavier tobaccos which are intended for the export trade are
usually harvested late. The most important operations connected with the
culture of the tobacco leaf are the “yellowing” and “curing” processes, and,
as these commence with the cutting of the plant, this latter must be done
under strictly favorable conditions in order to insure proper results. The
cutting must not be done while the sun is very hot, or while there is rain, or
before the plant is fully matured. On the other hand, after the plant has
reached its maturity, it must not be allowed to continue its growth, which
along with other things would be likely to increase its nicotine content
which is not desirable. The experienced tobacco grower knows well from
the appearance of the plant when it is best fitted for cutting. The leaves
become thick and heavy and assume a drooping appearance. They become
crisp with a tendency to break easily, and a mottled, spotty look is
noticeable on them. The surface becomes gummy and oily; the oily
substances increases and exudates as the days pass. When these signs
appear the tobacco is cut on the first day when the weather favors. It is
usual in most cases to split the stalks down the middle and allow the leaves
to wilt, before the stalk is entirely cut through. After sufficient wilting the
leaves are gathered in piles and exposed to the action of the sunlight; or
they are stuck by the stalks on poles or framework and so exposed that the
sun and air have free access to all parts. This is the best and most approved
practice. “Yellowing” of the leaf is very rapid after the plant is cut; it is the
natural effect due to cutting off the food supply of the leaf and the
consequent slow death of the vitality of the cells. It must be remembered
that the leaves are large, varying in size (according to species) from 12
inches to over 2 feet in length. Such a leaf needs a large quantity of food
and the sudden cutting off of the supply effects a rapid change in
appearance. The leaves are allowed to hang on the scaffolds 3 to 5 days
until they are fully yellowed. They are then ready for the process of
“curing,” which is the most important operation connected with cultivation.

The “curing” and “fermentation” which the leaf undergoes are chemical
actions and their success depends on the proper method of “yellowing.” The
leaves must not be exposed to the sun too long, because the cells would lose
their vitality too rapidly and be unfitted for the new part they have to play in
the curing process. The chemical changes will be explained in subsequent
chapters. It is desired that the reader should understand that to ensure a
successful final issue the planter has need to watch continuously and to
know all the conditions. If the leaf does not “yellow” properly no amount of
after care in curing will make up for this deficiency. In tobacco growing as
in everything else, to ensure final high quality each step in the process must
be executed with skill, care, and judgment.
The yield of tobacco per acre varies from about 300 lbs. of leaf in the
southern states to 1,000 lbs. or more in the eastern. 700 to 800 lbs. per acre
is considered a good average crop.

REFERENCES
Killebrew and Myrick. Tobacco leaf; its culture and cure, marketing and
manufacturing. Part I. New York, 1897.
Billings, E. R. Tobacco; its history, varieties, culture, etc. Chapter XIII.
Hartford, Conn., 1875.
Laurent, L. Le tabac; sa culture et sa préparation production et
consummation dans les divers pays. Paris, 1900.
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Farmers’ Bulletins Nos. 6 and 60. Tobacco.
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant Industry. Bulletin 96. Tobacco
breeding.

CHAPTER III

THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO
Total production. Countries which cultivate tobacco.
Production in the New World other than in the United States.

THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO
The world’s recorded annual crop of tobacco leaf is over one million tons.
The latest government figures available are those for 1912 and 1913, and
show 2,696,401,379 and 2,722,190,030 lbs. respectively. Of this amount
Asia and America produce each about 350,000 tons, Europe about 250,000
tons and the rest of the world the balance.
The details of the production in the U. S. will be given in the next chapter.
The principal Asiatic countries which produce tobacco are China, Japan,
Afghanistan, India, Persia and Asia Minor. China has an immense
production and consumption of tobacco, a large portion of which finds its
way into western markets for the cigar and cigarette trade and is sold as
“Turkish” tobacco. No figures as to production are available.
British India and Afghanistan produce good tobacco, a lot of which is used
in Hindustan and other Eastern countries.
The Persian crop is known to be large, but there are no available records of
it. In Persia most of the tobacco raised is of the species known as Nicotiana
Persica. This is generally known under its trade name of Tumbach or
Tumbeki (or more correctly Teymbeki). This is the common Eastern name
for tobacco. It is considerably exported to the countries in the neighborhood
of Persia and is smoked in the pipe known as the Narghilli. In this pipe the
teymbeki burns in contact with a piece of incandescent charcoal. The
smoker draws the vapor through a flexible tube which passes to the bottom
of a water chamber and passes above it, whence it is inhaled. The narghili is

technically a water pipe. The teymbeki is very strong in nicotine, containing
up to 5 or 6 per cent.
Japan produces large and medium size leaf of good color but poor in
quality. It is generally used for pipe and cigarette trade.
The statistics of production for Asia are extremely unreliable. When we
consider the teeming populations of China, India and other Eastern
countries and the prevalence of the smoking habit, it is very probable that
the figure of production (350,000 tons annually) is much under the mark.
There is very little export of tobacco from the United States or Europe to
the East. Whatever tobacco is consumed there is mostly of its own
production.

European Production of Tobacco
In Europe the principal tobacco producing countries are Germany, France,
Austria, Russia, Italy and Turkey.
Germany has nearly 40,000 acres under tobacco cultivation in Rhenish
Bavaria, Baden, Hesse, and Alsace-Lorraine. The annual production is
about 50 to 70 million lbs.; and in addition nearly 3 times that much is
imported. German home grown leaf is medium to large in size, of fair body,
heavy and with coarse veins. It is used for cigar filler and pipe, but is not
suited for cigar wrappers. (See the chapter on cigars.)
French tobacco is raised from Virginia seed. It is dark, coarse and heavy and
is suitable for plug and snuff making only.
Russia is the largest European producer. Russian tobacco leaf is very large
in size and like the French is coarse, dark and heavy and is only fit for plug
and snuff making. There is a lighter kind grown from Turkish seed in South
Russia which is fit for cigarettes.
Italy has made several attempts to cultivate good tobacco, and several
different types are produced. A dark heavy leaf is grown from Virginia seed,
and a type from Kentucky seed is also produced. These types are suitable to
the dark, heavy fertile soils of Middle and North Italy. In the lighter sandy

soil of the south, the varieties grown are raised from Turkish seed and are
similar in appearance and quality to the genuine Turkish tobacco.
Hungary is a heavy grower of tobacco and produces some of the best in
Europe. There is a heavy dark type, of a rich brown color, medium sized
leaf with small and thin veins, which is used in cigar manufacture. A small
bright yellow leaf is also grown, poor in quality and aroma, which is used
for pipe smoking and cigarettes.
The most important foreign tobacco as regards U. S. consumers is that
known as Turkish. The leaves of the Turkish tobacco are small (about 8″
long), clear yellow in color, and have a special aroma, which renders them
peculiarly suitable for the manufacturing of cigarettes. The principal
producing centers are Macedonia, Albania, Syria, Palestine and Trebizond,
that raised in Macedonia being per-haps the most celebrated. Just like the
Cuban leaf, the very best grades of Turkish tobacco are not exported, but
are kept for domestic consumption.
Latakia tobacco is produced in the northern part of Syria. This tobacco has
a very small nicotine content. It is produced by a special fabrication and is
in very great demand as an ingredient of pipe smoking mixtures.
The District of Cavalla in the Province of Roumelia, is one of the most
important tobacco centers in the Turkish Empire. There are about 75,000
acres under tobacco cultivation and the annual production is about
10,000,000 lbs. The American Tobacco Co. has a large establishment here
through which it purchases its Turkish leaf, amounting to over 6 million lbs.
yearly, for the manufacture of Turkish cigarettes, etc.
The total importation of Turkish leaf into the United States during 1913
was:

From Turkey in Europe 10,816,048 lbs.
From Turkey in Asia 18,955,295 lbs.

Greece and the Balkan States produce tobacco which partakes of the
qualities of Hungarian and Turkish, the Grecian leaf being used a good deal
as a substitute for genuine Turkish tobacco.

Tobacco produced in the New World other than in United States
The government of Canada has given a lot of attention to experiments in
connection with the growth of tobacco in the Dominion, but only with
indifferent success. The leaf is raised principally from Virginian seed, but is
large and coarse and is only fit for inferior plug and snuff making.
Cuban Tobacco. The tobacco raised in the Island of Cuba is the most
celebrated in the world for cigar making. The leaf is of a rich, brown color;
narrow and small in size, varying from 8 to 18 inches in length. Its richness
of flavor and the peculiar aroma are its chief characteristics. Cuba produces
annually about 300,000 to 500,000 bales of tobacco varying in weight from
80 to 150 lbs. per bale, nearly one-half of which is exported to the United
States alone.
The importation of Cuban leaf into the United States over a series of years
is shown below:
Cuban leaf imports into the U. S. (lbs.)
1855-1860 == 7,014,485
1871-1875 == 8,985,465 Average
1886-1890 == 15,532,075 Yearly
1896-1900 == 10,811,173 Imports.
1901-1905 == 24,048,837
Year 1914 == 26,617,545
The value in 1900 was $ 8,478,251
The value in 1905 was $13,348,000
The Province of Pinar del Rio produces about 70 per cent of the entire
Cuban crop. In this is the District of Vuelto Abajo which is celebrated the
world over for the very finest cigar tobacco. The District of Habana or
Havana produces about 13 per cent and Santa Clara about 13 per cent. The
Cubans themselves favor the dark “Maduro” fully ripened leaves. At
present a good deal of Cuban cigar leaf is grown under shade with the result
that although when fully mature they are light in color, they are rich in
flavor.

The value of the cigar leaf imported by the U. S. from Cuba averages at
present about 14 or 15 million dollars annually.
Porto Rican leaf possesses many of the qualities of good Havana leaf, and
like the latter is used in cigar manufacture. The annual production is about
120,000 bales. The U. S. imports from 4 to 5 million lbs. annually. Further
particulars regarding Cuban and Porto Rican leaf will be given in the
chapters concerning cigars.
Mexico produces a tobacco, large as to leaf, dark in color, with heavy body
and coarse veins. The tobacco is very strong in flavor. The best grades
approach the Cuban tobacco in quality and are imported and used as
substitutes for it. The U. S. importation is small. The annual production is
about 34 million lbs. The best quality is produced in the neighborhood of
Vera Cruz, and only a small portion is exported, principally to Cuba.
Brazilian tobacco leaf is brown in color, medium in size, and medium in
body. It possesses fair qualities as a cigar tobacco, for which purpose it is
generally used in South America, which is its principal market.

East Indian and Philippine Tobacco
The Dutch East Indies (Sumatra and the adjacent islands) produce yearly
about 180 million lbs. of tobacco, all of which is used in the cigar business.
Of this the United States takes about from 30,000 to 40,000 bales of
Sumatran leaf, about 5½ million lbs. About 2 lbs. of this leaf wraps 1,000
cigars.
The Philippine Islands produce from 50 to 100 million lbs., of tobacco
annually. The crop for 1913 was 101,544,736 lbs. The imports into the
United States are principally as manufactured cigars by special
arrangements which will be referred to later on in the chapter on cigars.

CHAPTER IV

PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO IN THE UNITED
STATES
Total production. Amount produced by the different States.
Varieties raised. Description of the different varieties.

PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO LEAF IN THE UNITED STATES
The amount of tobacco leaf raised annually in the United States varies from
700 million lbs. to 1,000 million lbs. Thus, according to the Government
Statistical Reports, the production in 1909 was 1,055,764,806 lbs., being an
unusually high figure. The production in 1913 was 953,734,000 lbs. and in
1914, 1,034,679,000 lbs. The average crop may be taken as about 800
million lbs., about half of which is exported as leaf, and the other half
manufactured in the U. S. into cigars, smoking and chewing tobaccos, etc.,
and consumed in the U. S. To produce this immense crop over one million
acres of rich, fertile land is under culture, the actual government figures for
1913 being 1,216,000 acres, and for 1914, 1,224,000, and the value of the
raw crop is from 80 to 100 million dollars, which works out to an average
value of from 10 to 12 cents per lb. The cost of producing the best grades of
cigar leaf in the Eastern States is from 8 to 10 cents per lb.; in Wisconsin
from 5 to 10 cents. The price paid to the growers is from 5 to 15 cents,
except for the highest grades (cigar wrapper leaf) for which special prices,
up to 40 or 50 cents, may be paid. Smoking and chewing leaf of average
grade fetches from 6 to 7 cents per lb.
From these figures it will be seen that the agricultural industry of tobacco
growing is a most important one, and it is constantly increasing both in the
quantity produced and in value. About 45 of the states in the Union are
engaged in tobacco culture, the principal states and the quantities produced
being as follows (for 1914):

Kentucky 364 million lbs.
North Carolina 172 " "
Virginia 114 " "
Tennessee 63 " "
Ohio 78 " "
Wisconsin 54 " "
Pennsylvania 48 " "
Connecticut 35 " "
South Carolina 36 " "
Maryland 17 " "
Indiana 12 " "
Massachusetts 11 " "
Other states 30 " "
Total 1034 " "

Virginia was, until recently, the premier tobacco state. Tobacco was first
raised in Virginia about 1619 when the quantity produced was about 20,000
lbs. By 1753 the records show that over 50 million lbs. were raised
annually, all of which was exported. At this time and until about the period
of the Civil War, Europe was dependant more than now on America for her
tobacco supply, as at present a considerable part of her needs is supplied by
her own production. Tobacco was not grown in Kentucky till about 1785
and a little later in Tennessee and Ohio. The cigar leaf industry of the New
England States did not come into activity till about 1830. Cigar leaf was
raised in Florida about the same time but was discontinued and was not
resumed till fifty years later.
Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee have shown a declining annual
production since the Civil War. Thus Virginia in 1860 produced nearly 30
per cent of the total U. S. crop, whereas at present it produces about 12 per
cent only. The causes which have contributed to the decline in tobacco
culture in the Southern States are the loss of slave labor as well as the loss
of capital during the war; more particularly it is due to the impoverishing of

the soil without adequate fertilization. Thus with superior fertilization and
intensive methods, Massachusetts and Connecticut give 1,750 lbs. to the
acre, as against 870 and 580 lbs. for Kentucky and Tennessee. In
Massachusetts and Connecticut the cost for fertilizer per farm is $227 as
against $17 and $4 respectively in Tennessee and Kentucky. Moreover, the
Northern farms are smaller than the Southern.

Varieties of Tobacco raised
The varieties of tobacco raised are mainly of the native American species;
but in some states (in Florida particularly) plants are raised from imported
Cuban and Sumatran seed, in an endeavor to produce cigar leaf equal in
quality to the leaf now imported from these places which commands a high
price in the trade. The raising of cigar leaf tobacco from foreign seed began
in Florida about 1902; and, although on the whole, the cultivation has been
very successful, yet it cannot be said that the hoped for results have been
fully realized. It was claimed for the Florida grown Sumatran leaf that in
many ways it surpassed the native Sumatran leaf. Certainly the
experimental samples of this Florida leaf exhibited by the U. S. at the Paris
Exposition of 1900 were judged to be superior both in appearance and style
and other matters. However, this superiority does not appear to have been
upheld, for in the trade the native grown Sumatran leaf still holds its rank.
Similarly in the case of Florida grown Cuban leaf which at the same
Exposition was voted as equal to the native. The native leaf, however,
whether due to the soil or not, has a finer flavor and aroma, and the best
grades of native grown Cuban tobacco still hold the palm as the premier
cigar tobacco of the world.
The leaf raised in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida,
Massachusetts, and New York State, is generally used for the cigar trade
(see the chapters on cigars). Ohio and Florida (Cuban seed) leaf mostly
used as cigar fillers; Connecticut and Florida (Sumatran seed),
Pennsylvania and New York leaf mostly as wrapper leaf, the inferior leaves
being used as fillers. Wisconsin leaf is used principally as cigar binder leaf.
The total amount of cigar tobacco raised is roughly about one-fifth of the
entire tobacco crop.

The southern states produce the bulk of the export dark, heavy leaf. West
Kentucky and Tennessee particularly, as well as Virginia, the Carolinas and
Maryland, export considerable quantities. This tobacco is fire-cured. For the
domestic trade, however, (pipe-smoking, chewing and cigarettes) the
tobacco grown in these states is flue-cured, the principal product being of a
bright yellow color, characteristic of this region.
This “yellow tobacco belt” extends from the coast across to the North
Carolina Mountains, through Tennessee and South Carolina, Southern
Virginia, Southern Ohio, a few parts of Kentucky, some of Eastern Missouri
and Arkansas. The best soils are those which are of a light sandy or sandy
clay nature and they need not be deep or rich. In this region the very finest
pipe-smoking tobaccos are raised. Whilst the U. S. has not been able to
produce a cigar wrapper tobacco equal in quality to the Cuban or Sumatran,
in pipe-smoking and cigarette tobaccos she stands without a rival.
There are about 100 different varieties of tobacco grown in the U. S., many
of these being approximately the same and are synonymous. Subvarieties
are easily obtained by crossing. Cross-fertilization easily takes place where
different strains are produced in the same locality. On this account when it
is desired to keep a variety pure, care must be exerted to see that seed is
collected from pure strains. On the other hand, the ease of producing new
varieties gives opportunity to the various State Agricultural Experimental
Stations to try out new strains for desirable qualities. The enumeration of
the differences between the various varieties would be tiresome for the
reader, yet it will be well for the user of tobacco to know some of these
varieties, their characteristics and other particulars concerning them. These
are given here:

Leading Varieties of American Tobaccos
Burley. The variety known as White Burley has a long broad leaf, whitish
in appearance when growing. The points of the leaf hang down
towards the ground when growing, often even touching the ground.
The leaf is thin in texture, has a mild flavor, low nicotine content and
good absorbing qualities. It is one of the most popular tobaccos in the

U. S. and is used for pipe-smoking and chewing tobaccos and
cigarettes. It cures to a bright yellow brown color.
There is a variety known as Red Burley which has a thin leaf
narrowing from center to top. The leaves are of a characteristic
cinnamon color and are more elastic than those of White Burley.
Burley tobacco is raised principally in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia,
Maryland, Missouri and Indiana.
Connecticut Seedleaf. Large, strong leaves, thin and elastic, silky in
texture, small fibers, sweetish taste and light in color.
Used in the cigar trade as fillers and wrappers and grown in New
England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and to a smaller extent in Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois and Florida.
Connecticut Broadleaf. A modification of the above, the leaves being
broader in proportion to their length. They are up to 35 inches long and
22 inches wide. Largely used in the cigar trade as filler and wrappers.
Both the Connecticut Seedleaf and Broadleaf are superior to the
imported Sumatran leaf in flavor and aroma, but are inferior in
elasticity and covering qualities.
Grown principally in Connecticut and New York States.
Orinoco. There are 3 varieties of this name: (1) Short Orinoco. Broad leaf,
upright growth and open habit, light colored, much ruffled. Grown in
Virginia and Missouri. (2) Big Orinoco. Short, broad leaf. Grown in
Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. (3)
Yellow Orinoco. Long, narrow, tapering leaf with fine texture. The
sweetest variety grown. Grown in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,
Tennessee, West Virginia and Missouri.
Orinoco tobacco leaf is used largely for plug and smoking tobaccos
and for the export trade.
Virginian. Sun and air-cured tobacco. Leaf is medium in size. Very bright
brown color. Is rich in gums and oils which makes it sweet and
fragrant and gives it a pleasant taste. Hence it is a favorite chewing
tobacco.

Pryor. There are several varieties under this name: (1) Medley or White
Pryor has a very broad leaf with silky texture and tough fiber. (2) Blue
Pryor. Large, long fine leaf and good color. (3) Silky Pryor. A long
sharp-pointed leaf; grows thin on the stalk; very tough and pliant. (4)
Yellow Pryor. Heavy, wide leaf, fine bright color, tough and weighs
well.
Pryor is used principally for the export trade and to some extent also in
the home trade both for cigar and plug and smoking tobaccos. It is
grown generally throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana, the White variety being extensively
grown in Virginia.
Little Dutch. A very favorite pipe-smoking tobacco. It has a small nicotine
content (less than 1%). The leaf is small; narrow, thick and short; dark
brown in color, glossy surface and sweet in taste. It is grown
extensively in the Miami Valley of Ohio.
Sumatra Seed. Grown principally in Florida from imported Sumatran seed.
The leaf is light in weight and color, not long compared with other
seedleaf varieties. Very narrow and with fine ribs. Used in cigar trade
and grown extensively also in the New England states.
Cuban Seed. This has the usual qualities of Cuban tobacco but with inferior
fragrance and aroma to the native grown. Principally raised in
Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Florida for the
cigar trade.
Perique. A special variety of tobacco grown only in a small area of
Louisiana. The leaf is medium in size, has a fine fiber with small
stems. Tough, gummy and glossy. It is grown in a deep, rich soil and
grows very rapidly. Its special characteristics are acquired in the
curing, which is a special process peculiar to itself, and which will be
described in the chapter on Manufactured Tobaccos.

REFERENCES

Yearbooks of the United States Department of Agriculture. 1914 and
previous.
Hoagland, I. G. The Tobacco Industry. In Quarterly of the National Fire
Protection Association. 1907. Vol. I, Nos. 2 and 4.
Jacobstein, M. The Tobacco Industry in the United States. New York, 1907.
Billings, E. R. Tobacco; its history, varieties, culture, manufacture and
commerce. Hartford Conn., 1875.

CHAPTER V

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE
TOBACCO PLANT
Organic and inorganic matters contained in Tobacco and the parts they
play.
Analysis of various Tobaccos. Nicotine.

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE TOBACCO PLANT
The tobacco plant when subjected to chemical analysis is found to contain
all or most of the following substances:
Mineral Bases. Potash, Lime, Magnesia, Oxides of Iron and
Manganese, Ammonia, Silica.
Mineral Acids. Nitric, Hydrochloric, Sulphuric and Phosphoric.
Organic Base. Nicotine.
Organic Acids. Malic, Citric, Acetic, Oxalic, Pectic and Ulmic.
Other Organic Substances. Nicotianin, Green and Yellow Resin,
Wax and Fat, Nitrogenous Substances and Cellulose.
The substances which differentiate tobacco from other plants and form its
chief characteristics are Nicotianin, Nicotine and Malic Acid.
The percentage in which the important substances exist in tobacco is given
below:

Nicotine From 1 to 9%
Malic and Citric Acids From 10 to 14%
Oxalic Acid From 1 to 2%

Resins, Oils and Fats From 4 to 6%
Pectic Acid About 5%
Cellulose From 7 to 8%
Albumenoids About 25%
Ash From 12 to 30%

When tobacco is burned, chemical changes occur; the organic and other
compounds are decomposed. The volatile matters pass off in the smoke if
the combustion is complete, and the mineral ash remains. In ordinary pipe
or other tobacco smoking, however, the combustion is not complete and
many decomposition products remain with the mineral ash.
In tobacco smoke the following can usually be found: Furfurol, Marsh Gas,
Hydrogen Sulphide, Hydrogen Cyanide, Organic Acids, Phenols,
Empyreumatic Oils, Pyridine, Picoline Series and possibly some Nicotine.
The ash left after complete combustion is important, as much of the
smoking qualities of the tobacco depends on its constituents. An average
sample gives the following analysis (in 100 parts):

Average mineral contents of tobacco ash

Potash About 27%
Soda About 3%
Lime About 40%
Magnesia About 9%
Sodium Chloride About 9%
Sulphuric Acid About 3%
Silica About 5%
Lime Phosphate About 4%

Remarks on Some of the Substances Found in Tobacco

Nicotine
Of all the substances found in tobacco, nicotine is the most important.
Nicotine in the pure state is a colorless liquid having a specific gravity of
1.027. It is an organic base having the chemical formula C10H14N2. It is
extremely acid and burning to the taste, and is a virulent poison. It easily
volatilizes; is inflammable, and is soluble in water, alcohol, ether and some
fixed oils. Nicotine has the characteristic peculiar odor of tobacco.
The amount of nicotine in tobacco is said to depend on the nature of the soil
in which it is grown; rich, heavy soils and strong nitrogenous manuring
favor the production of a large nicotine content; and light, sandy soils the
opposite.
Moreover the nicotine content depends on the age and development of the
plant.
An investigation by Chuard and Mellet showed nicotine contents of leaves:

In young plants 7 weeks old contained .0324%
In plants 10 weeks old contained .0447%
In plants 13 weeks old contained .4989%
In plants 19 weeks old contained .9202%

The longer the plant is permitted to grow the larger will be its nicotine
content.
Schlössing has made a similar investigation and found that in the same
plant the nicotine content varies from 0.79% when young to 4.32% when
fully matured. Most nicotine is found in the ribs and veins.
H. B. Cox (American Druggist V. 24, 1894, p. 95) investigated the nicotine
contents of various manufactured tobaccos. These were not “proprietary
tobaccos” but samples obtained from different sources at random. His
results are given here:

Nicotine Contents of Different Tobaccos

Nicotine
Syrian Tobacco leaf (a) .612%
American Chewing Leaf .935%
Syrian Tobacco Leaf (b) 1.093%
Chinese Tobacco Leaf 1.902%
Turkish Coarse Cut 2.500%
Golden Virginia (whole strips) 2.501%
Gold Flake Virginia 2.501%
Navy Cut (light) 2.530%
Light Kentuckian 2.733%
Navy Cut (dark) 3.64 %
Best “Bird’s Eye” 3.931%
Cut Cavendish (a) 4.212%
Best Shag (a) 4.907%
Cut Cavandish (b) 4.970%
Best Shag (b) 5.00 %
Algerian Tobacco (a) 8.813%
French Grown Tobacco 8.711%
Algerian Tobacco (b) 8.90 %

The average of a number of samples of Syrian tobacco showed 1 to 2%
nicotine, Manila and Havana 1 to 3%, Virginia and Kentucky from 2 to 7%,
and French tobaccos about 9%.
Most of the nicotine in tobacco becomes volatilized and decomposed during
combustion; a small part, however, may form a solution with the water
which is also one of the combustion products. One of the decomposition
products of nicotine is

Pyridine
Pyridine is usually found in tobacco smoke. When condensed it is a
colorless non-oily liquid and is considerably less toxic than nicotine.
Reference will be made later on to the effects of nicotine and pyridine on
the human system.

Potash
Potash is important as on its amount depends the burning qualities of the
tobacco. It is sometimes present in the ash to the extent of 30%, being
converted into potassium carbonate by burning. Not only for free burning is
the potash valuable, but also for the better volatilization of the nicotine and
other substances. The more perfect the combustion, the fewer deleterious
compounds are formed.
Chlorides, if present, retard the burning of the tobacco, and hence a tobacco
which contains a high percentage of chloride, even if it is rich in potash
salts, is a poor burning tobacco and therefore faulty. While it is important
that the burning should be free and the volatilization as perfect as possible,
yet the smoker does not want his tobacco to burn too rapidly. To meet this
some manufacturers prepare “slow burning” tobaccos generally by the
addition of some chemical which checks the potash.
The aroma and flavor of the tobacco depend to a great extent on the waxes,
resins and oils, as well as on certain of the organic acids.

REFERENCES
U. S. Dispensatory. 1907 (19th Edition).
Kissling. The Chemistry of Tobacco. Scientific American (Supp.) 1905, Vol.
60, No. 1560.
Chuard & Mellett. Variation de Nicotine dans les differents organes de la
plante de Tabac. Comp. Rend. Acad. d. Sc. (Paris) 1912. Vol. 155, p.

293.
Pezzolato, A. Conferenza Sulla Chimica applicato alla technologia del
Tabacco. (Rome. 1903.)
Wolf, Jacob. Der Tabak und die Tabak fabrikate. Chapter III. Leipzig,
1912.
Schlossing. Sur la production de la nicotine par la culture du Tabac.
Compt. Rend. Acad. d. Sc. (Paris), 1910. Vol. 151, p. 23.

CHAPTER VI

THE CURING OF TOBACCO LEAF
Objects of curing. Methods.

THE CURING OF TOBACCO LEAF
The “curing” of tobacco leaf is the process of drying out which has for its
object the following specific actions:
(1) The expelling of the sap and superfluous moisture.
(2) The completion of the “yellowing” process and the fixing of
the desired color.
(3) The preservation of the juices, etc., which give the
characteristic flavor and aroma.
(4) To give the necessary toughness and suppleness to the leaf.
The first part of the curing is done by the grower in curing sheds on the
farm immediately after the cutting of the crop; the final part, or the
fermentation part is usually done by the leaf dealer or manufacturer in
special buildings called leaf-houses.
There are three methods of curing in use by the growers, i. e., sun curing,
air curing, and artificial heat curing. In the case of the tobacco known as
Perique the curing process is more or less peculiar to itself. “Sun” and “air”
curing are much slower processes than the curing by artificial heat.
All cigar leaf tobacco is sun-cured, and as a general rule pipe smoking and
chewing tobacco are cured by artificial heat.
For the purpose of drying and curing by artificial heat, the leaf is hung up in
specially constructed curing houses or sheds. It is found that after the

exposure to the sun for the first process of “yellowing” tobacco leaf still
contains 1 lb. of water approximately in each plant. The first part of the
process of curing consists in drawing off this superfluous moisture. Dry
heat is applied at a temperature of 90° F. to 120° F. for about 16 to 30 hours
to effect this. A further exposure of about 48 hours at a temperature of 125°
or so is necessary to complete the curing, and fix the color.
The stems and stalks being thicker take a longer time and generally require
9 to 10 hours further exposure and a temperature which may range as high
as 175° F. before they are fully cured, the temperature being graded hourly
until the maximum necessary is reached.
The process of curing varies considerably in different states. Some growers
prefer to put the tobacco into the sheds immediately after cutting, and allow
very little exposure in the fields. The temperature is usually kept steady at
about 90° F. Again the process is different according to the quality of
tobacco required. For the heavy type of leaf which is intended for the export
trade, the curing in the sheds is done by an open fire, the fuel being usually
hardwood logs. The smoky, creosotic flavor is absorbed by the leaf, and,
although this flavor is not relished by the smokers of the U. S., it is much
liked in Europe. The curing in such cases may last for 4 or even 5 days. The
tobacco is suspended on poles by the stalks and the fires are built on the
floor immediately under them so that the carbonaceous products are easily
absorbed by the open pores of the leaf.
The chewing and pipe smoking tobacco, as well as cigarette tobaccos
including all the bright yellow tobaccos used in the U. S. are usually cured
by Flue curing. In this case the heat comes from pipes which run around the
curing houses and are fed from a furnace in an adjoining chamber or in a
cellar. The temperature can be easily regulated. “Flue” curing is generally
completed in about 4 days. “Flue” curing does not clog up the pores of the
leaf which therefore remain more absorbent than in the open fire cured
tobacco. This is an important matter for the manufacturers because the flue
cured leaf will absorb twice as much of the flavoring sauces (which are
added to certain kinds of tobacco) than tobacco leaf cured by open fires.
Air exposure of 6 to 8 weeks (sometimes extended to 3 or 4 months) is
necessary when tobacco is cured by exposure to the sun and air. It is

claimed, however, that this method of curing preserves far better the natural
flavor of the leaf; and, where flavor and aroma are highly important, this
method is always preferred. Hence all cigar leaf tobaccos are cured by
exposure to natural sunlight and not by artificial heat.
“Air” curing as distinct from sun curing is generally done in open sheds
which are thoroughly ventilated and kept as far as possible at a temperature
of about 75° F. The leaf is usually allowed to cure while attached to the
stalk, but Florida curers generally prefer to strip the leaf and treat it
separately. The finer classes of pipe smoking tobaccos are air cured.
After the curing is completed the color of the leaf is usually fixed.
Generally speaking, the riper the leaf the lighter will be its color when
cured. Thus the bottom leaves of the plant will be lighter in color than the
upper leaves because they are more mature.
(For references see end of Chapter VIII)

CHAPTER VII

THE MARKETING AND SALE OF TOBACCO
LEAF
Methods of disposal by the grower. The Warehouse system. Direct
purchase.
Principal markets in the United States. Prices.

THE MARKETING AND SALE OF TOBACCO LEAF
When the tobacco leaf is fully cured it is at once prepared for the market.
The first step is the planters’ classification of the leaf. In the case of pipe
smoking and chewing tobacco the planter collects all the imperfect, injured
leaves, or those inferior from any cause, and ties them in bundles. These are
the planters lugs. All other grades are leaf. Slightly injured leaves are
classed as low-leaf or seconds. The others are classed medium, good, fine
and selected leaf, according to grade, color, quality, etc.
In the case of cigar leaf tobacco a similar classification is made, more care
being taken owing to the very great difference in price between the better
and poorer qualities. This difference may be as much as 20c in the lb., the
finer and more suitable leaf being eagerly sought for.
Pipe smoking and chewing tobacco leaf is usually packed in hogsheads or
cases each weighing from 1,000 to 1,400 lbs. The operation of packing the
leaf is called “prizing.” Cigar leaf is usually put up in “hands.” A “hand”
consists of from 25 to 75 leaves tied together. Four hands tied together
make a “carrot” and 80 carrots go to the bale, but the size of the bale varies
considerably. The tobacco is then ready for the buyer.
There are two systems of disposing of the planters’ product: (1) direct
purchase by the manufacturer or by a middleman from the grower; and (2)
what is known as the warehouse system. In the southern states the

warehouse system prevails. Every important tobacco section in the south
has its public warehouse which is under the control and supervision of state
law. Many of these warehouses are long established, that at Richmond, Va.,
dating as far back as 1730, and those at Louisville and Clarksville about
1839.
On appointed days the planter brings his leaf to the warehouse. Here it is
entered as “loose leaf” or “inspected leaf.” In the case of loose leaf, the
tobacco is open to the inspection of prospective buyers, who examine it and
afterwards bid on it. In the case of “inspected leaf” the warehouse officials
first examine the consignments, grade them and mark them according to
their judgment, taking samples. The samples are open to buyers’ inspection
and form the basis of sale. Tobacco auctions are regularly held when the
buyers assemble and bid on the “loose leaf” and “inspected” lots. Prices of
the various grades are fixed and sales take place at the day’s price.
The principal tobacco markets are:
For Kentucky and Tennessee—At Louisville, Clarksville and Cincinnati.
For Maryland and Ohio—At Baltimore.
For North Carolina—At Durham and Winston.
For Virginia—At Richmond.
The warehouse system has the great advantage that the proceedings are
open and the prices are recorded and published. Hence growers can know
how the market fluctuates and judge the best time for sale. This is not the
case when the sale is private between the buyer and seller as is customary in
the eastern and northern states. Here the price actually received by the
grower is often different from that given out as paid.
The price of tobacco leaf has had many vicissitudes during the past 25
years, the price often having reached so low a point as to discourage
producers. Thus at Winston, N. C., the price has gradually fallen from 12.3c
per lb. in 1889 to 6.3c in 1896. In the same period Burley leaf at Louisville
and Cincinnati fell from 10c to 7½c. Prices similarly dropped in other
centers. The price of cigar leaf has latterly increased. In 1900 prices ran
from 6 to 15 cents; in 1905 from 8 to 17 cents. Many conditions at home

and abroad affect the price, such as bad harvests or inferior grades of
produce.
The tobacco trust has been very unjustly blamed by many for the falling
price of tobacco. As a matter of fact and record, however, the concentration
of buying power by eliminating the middleman and the small dealers has
not only placed the grower in a better position by giving him a better price,
as recent records show, but it has benefited the consumer also who can
obtain the superior grades at a lower price. It is the middleman’s profit that
has been cut. Moreover, the concentrated buying power of the large
interests here has been an effective force in keeping up tobacco leaf prices
against the foreign buyers. It must be remembered that about half of our
crop is exported. The buyers of this portion, who are principally the agents
of foreign governments (in the cases where tobacco is a government
monopoly as in France, Italy, etc.) assemble at the auctions and bid in the
usual way. As this competition is very limited there is always an
opportunity for such buyers to agree among themselves as to the limit of
prices. This has been one of the important factors which has kept the prices
of tobacco leaf down. The concentration of American buying power has,
however, been a formidable check on it, the prices received by the growers
being now fair and reasonable, and such as are the result of a healthy
market, where the factors of supply and demand have their full share of
effect.
The government statistics show that for 1914 the prices of leaf varied from
5.5c to 20c for common to good varieties.
(For references see end of Chapter VIII)

CHAPTER VIII

REHANDLING AND FERMENTATION OF
TOBACCO LEAF PRIOR TO MANUFACTURE
Selection of leaf. Treatment and Blending.
Objects and methods of Fermentation. Action of microbes.

REHANDLING AND FERMENTATION OF TOBACCO LEAF PRIOR
TO MANUFACTURE
We have seen how the tobacco passes from the grower to the manufacturer
or leaf dealer. Before it is fitted, however, for manufacture into cigars or
other finished products the leaf must go through many processes, the most
important of which is fermentation. These processes, which are usually
known as rehandling, are carried out in special buildings which are called
leaf houses and stemmeries. The procedures in different leaf houses may
vary somewhat, but the general principles and objects in view are the same
in all. Moreover, the treatment is different, according to the ulterior
disposition of the leaf, i. e. whether intended for cigars, pipe smoking or
other product.
The general treatment as carried out in large establishments is about as
follows:
The leaf as soon as it is received whether in casks, cases, bales, or otherwise
is opened up and inspected in the casing room. Large concerns which
manufacture or deal in cigar and other kinds of leaf, sort out the different
kinds suitable for each class of product, i. e. wrappers, fillers, binders,
cigarette leaf, plug leaf, etc. These are distributed to either special houses or
departments. The tobacco leaf when first received is usually dry and brittle.
The bundles are carefully opened up and the leaves loosened and spread out
on large trucks where they are sprayed with water. When the leaf has

soaked the water and is pliable it undergoes a sorting which is done by
selecting leaves from different cases or even bundles of leaves and in a
general way arranging them so that each truckfull represents a blend of the
different kinds of leaf which are suitable for the purpose in view. These
sorted packages are then roughly fastened together and after being again
sprinkled thoroughly are sent to the “sweating” room to undergo
fermentation which may last several weeks. The temperature of this room
must be carefully regulated and is usually kept at about 90° F.
The selection and blending of the different kinds of leaf is most important.
It requires accurate and expert knowledge in choosing leaves and kinds
possessing different strengths and other qualities and in combining them in
such proportions that the final effect of the blend gives just what is required.
It is particularly in this expert treatment of the leaf before manufacture that
the greatest advance has been made in the tobacco industry. The smoker has
the advantage and satisfaction of knowing that not only does he get the
benefit of improved scientific knowledge and sanitary conditions by which
anything that might be harmful or undesirable is removed, but that handling
the leaf in large quantities effects great economics and procures for him the
benefit of choicest selected grades at a reduced cost.
It may be said here incidentally that leaves of the very best tobaccos which
are defective merely in size, or color, etc., are put through exactly the same
processes as the choicer quality leaves, and are used in the manufacture of
the popular priced machine-made “little cigars” and “cheroots.”
It will be necessary now to digress for a short time and consider what
happens during the process of fermentation.

Fermentation of Tobacco
The fermenting of tobacco leaf has for its principal objects, (1) the removal
of acrid matters, (2) the fixing of the color, and (3) the production of flavor.
Fermentation can only take place under suitable conditions of heat and
moisture, and is essentially a chemical process during which certain organic
compounds stored in the plant are split up and others formed.

A certain amount of fermentation takes place in the curing houses during
the “yellowing” of the leaf after it has been harvested, but as we have seen
the main process of fermentation does not occur until it is “rehandled” by
the manufacturers.
The general opinion held at present as the result of investigation is that the
transformations which are effected in the leaf are purely the result of
chemical processes. As the plant slowly dies and decomposes special
ferments are produced. These ferments set up an oxidization process which
splits up the complex organic compounds which still exist in the leaf cells.
The starch in the plant is changed into sugar which is slowly consumed.
There is a decrease in the fats and gummy substances, also in nicotine and
nitrogenous compounds, and there is a formation of certain organic acids
such as malic, citric and oxalic which are essential in the production of
flavor. Briefly it may be said that the process is an attempt by the plant to
prolong its existence by feeding on its own substance, by drawing on its
own reserves and on its own structure for the food which its cells no longer
receive through the natural growing process. When the struggle is over the
“fermentation” is complete. The necessity for maturing tobacco has long
been known but the exact nature of the changes that take place during the
process were not understood. Since the discoveries of Louis Pasteur
regarding the part played by bacteria in general fermentative processes it
has been generally claimed by bacteriologists that the changes wrought in
the leaf and the production of flavor are solely the work of bacteria.
Although this view has not been proved it has never been fully disproved,
and there appears to be no doubt that the microbes known to exist in the leaf
during the fermentation process play an important part in the process.
Fermentation can only take place as stated under suitable conditions of heat
and moisture and these are the conditions which favor the development of
microbes and enable them to work. The results obtained are probably
partially due to chemical action and partly to bacterial action, the two being
complementary to each other.
In 1899 Suchsland, a German scientist, startled the tobacco world by
asserting that the flavor of tobacco was in no way due to the effects of the
soil and climate where it was grown, but was solely due to microbic action,
and that the specific flavor and aroma of any given tobacco could be
artificially produced by the cultivation of selected bacteria and allowing the

tobacco to cure and ferment under their action. He conducted a series of
experimental investigations in which he searched for and isolated the
specific microbes found in the best West Indian tobacco. From these he
made artificial cultures and introduced them into heaps of inferior, coarse
German tobacco which was undergoing curing. His results were such that
the smoking quality of the leaf was entirely changed. It could scarcely be
distinguished from the best Cuban tobacco and experts and connoisseurs
failed to identify the product as German tobacco. A company was formed to
exploit the new ideas commercially, but it does not appear to have met with
success. Other investigations failed to obtain Suchsland’s results and
extensive investigation in the Agricultural Experimental Station in the
United States have not up to now produced any results confirmatory of the
theory.
We can now proceed to follow the course of the tobacco in its
peregrinations through the leaf house.
On their return from the first fermentation the bundles go to the picking
department. Leaves which are damaged or unsuitable in any way are here
picked out and put aside to be used in the cheaper grades. The leaves are
then subjected to a thorough cleaning to remove particles of sand, clay, etc.,
packed tightly in bundles and returned to the sweating department to
undergo further fermentation and to allow for a thorough interchange of the
aroma of the different blends. In due course the bundles pass to the
stemming department for the removal of the midribs which usually form
nearly one-third of the entire weight. The resulting half leaves are then
arranged in piles of 50, each pile forming a “book.”
From the stemming department the books pass to the drying room where
any superfluous moisture is removed by hot air currents.
From the drying room the books pass to the ordering room where they
undergo inspection for color, size, etc., and subjected to further treatment if
necessary. Here they are finally packed in cases and stored for several
months to allow perfect and uniform blending after which they are ready for
shipment to the factory. Filler leaf for the finest cigars may stand in these
cases for two or three years.

Leaf which is intended for chewing or pipe smoking is not subjected to so
great an elaboration of processes as cigar leaf, as the matters of uniformity
of color, and delicacy as well as individuality of aroma are not of such great
importance. Usually such tobacco leaf is fermented in bulk, and the removal
of the stems is done before the principal fermentation.
After the preliminary selection of varieties, sorting, stemming and cleaning,
the leaf is dipped into large vats containing flavors; and after drying are
subjected to steaming. They are then packed away in bulk in the sweating
department where they slowly ferment until required for use. These “bulks”
or stacks may contain many tons of leaf. They require constant turning over,
etc. Indeed it may be said that every step in these processes requires
constant care. Temperature, moisture, length of exposure, etc., must all be
carefully seen to. Otherwise the tobacco will spoil.
In the case of tobacco leaf intended for export trade rehandling consists
mainly of stemming and removal of moisture. This is done before shipment
in order to reduce the weight as customs duty is levied in accordance with
the weight of the imported packages in the countries importing.

REFERENCES
U. S. Depart. of Agric. Farmers’ Bulletins 6 and 60.
Laureut, L. Le Tabac, sa culture et sa preparation, production et
consommation. Paris, 1900.
Bouant, E. Le Tabac; culture et industrie. Paris, 1901.
Boekhout und de Vries. Uber Tabacfermentation. “Centralbl. f. Bakter,”
1909. 2 Abteil. Vol. 24, p. 496.
Loew, O. Sind Bakterien die Ursache der Tabakfermentation? “Centralbl. f.
Bakter,” 1909. Vol. 6, p. 108.
Killebrew and Myrick. Tobacco Leaf. Part I. New York, 1897.
Suchsland, E. Bobachtungen über die Selbsterwärmung des
fermentierenden Tabaks. In “Festschrift 200-Jahr Jubel. d. Verein.

Friedrichs Universit.” Halle-Wittenberg, 1894.
Wolf, Jakob. Der Tabak und die Tabakfabrikate. Chapter IV. Leipzig, 1912.
Hoagland, J. G. The Tobacco Industry. In Quarterly of the Nat. Fire Protec.
Assn., 1907. Vol. 1, Nos. 2 and 4.
Jacobstein, M. The Tobacco Industry in the U. S. Chapter II. New York,
1907.

CHAPTER IX

MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF TOBACCO
IN THE UNITED STATES
Statistics of production and consumption. Amount of capital invested,
etc.

MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF TOBACCO. GENERAL REMARKS
The importance and magnitude of the tobacco manufacturing industry in the
United States will be best understood from a consideration of the following
statistics taken from the latest available government records:
(For all Manufactured Products)

Cost of materials used (1905) == $126,000,000
(1909) == 177,000,000
Value of the product (1905) == 331,000,000
(1909) == 417,000,000
No. of establishments (1905) == 16,828
(1909) == 15,822
No. of persons employed,
more than one-third being (1905) == 160,000
women
(1909) == 197,000

The figures are given in round numbers. The total capital invested in this
industry is between $300,000,000 and $400,000,000.

There are more than one and a quarter millions acres in the U. S. under
cultivation of tobacco which yields a crop at present approximating to 1,000
million lbs. of leaf annually.
The industry shows an absolutely increasing condition in every particular at
each census. During the past 45 years the value of the product has increased
more than $300,000,000.
In addition to the trade in manufacturing in the U. S. there is the export
trade principally in unmanufactured leaf. This amounts at present to about
$54,000,000 annually. The price of export leaf has been continuously
increasing despite of the fact that the production of leaf abroad is
increasing. Thus in 1886 the average export price of leaf from the U. S. was
8½c per lb. In 1914 it was more than 12c.
The following statement shows at a glance the marvelous increase in the
tobacco industry:
Comparative Statement of Manufactured Tobacco in the U. S. (all products)

No. of
Capital Value of
persons
invested. product.
employed.
Year $
86,000 $126,000,000
1880 39,000,000
Year
90,000,000 117,000 195,000,000
1890
Year
111,000,000 142,000 264,000,000
1900
Year
324,000,000 159,000 330,000,000
1905
Year
197,000 417,000,000
1909

In addition to the number of persons employed in manufacturing we must
take into account those employed (as well as the capital invested) in the
agricultural and distributing ends.

The export manufacturing trade is not important, being only valued at about
3 million dollars annually.
The value of the home manufactured products which in 1905 was shown at
$330,000,000 is distributed as follows.

Cigars $198,000,000
Cigarettes 16,000,000
Chewing and smoking tobaccos 109,000,000
Snuff 6,000,000
Other products 1,000,000
Total $330,000,000

For the increase in the present value of the product these figures would be
proportionately increased.
In the year 1913 the United States exported about 350 million lbs. of
unmanufactured tobacco leaf, and in 1914, 449 million lbs. This was
distributed as follows:

To Great Britain and Ireland 174 million lbs.
To Canada 17 " "
To France 55 " "
To Germany 32 " "
To Italy 45 " "
To Netherlands 28 " "
To Spain 17 " "
To Japan 16 " "
To China 11 " "
To Belgium 11 " "
To Africa, Australia, etc. 43 " "
Total 449 " "

The largest export manufacturing trade was to Asia, the cigarettes exported
there having a value of 2½ million dollars.
The consumption of manufacturing products of tobacco in the U. S. has
increased continuously since 1863 when it was 1.6 lbs. per head to the
present time when it is 5½ lbs. per head of the total population. This works
out at about 16 lbs. per head for each male over 16 years. The consumption
of tobacco in the U. S. is higher than in any other country and has increased
more rapidly. For the past 40 years the consumption per head in U. S. has
increased 240%; in England 56%; in France 24%; in Germany 23%. From
this fact different deductions might be made. It may be that the Americans
smoke more because they are fonder of tobacco than Europeans; or because
they get better and cheaper tobacco; or because they can better afford to buy
tobacco. The greatest percentage of increase in the United States is in the
consumption of cigars.
The manufactured products are classed as (1) cigars, (2) pipe smoking and
chewing tobaccos, (3) cigarettes, (4) snuff. To each of these separate
chapters will be devoted.
(For references see Chapter XV)

CHAPTER X

CIGARS. HISTORICAL AND GENERAL FACTS
History. Statistical information regarding the cigar business in the
United States.

CIGARS. HISTORICAL AND GENERAL FACTS
When the Spaniards landed for the first time on American soil they found
the natives smoking the rolled-up tobacco leaves, that is a cigar. For a cigar
is nothing more, four centuries having made little change in the Cuban
cigar. The word cigar is most probably derived from the Spanish word
cigarer—to roll. Other derivations are given, but this seems etymologically
the correct one; and we will rest content with it. In Spanish America to the
present day the custom of smoking tobacco in the rolled form, either as
cigars or cigarettes, prevails, rather than the custom of smoking in pipes
which was the method of the northern aborigines from whom the English
colonists adopted it. Smoking was introduced into Spain in the cigar form
and into England in the pipe form. Cigars, however, at the present time,
both in North and South America, form the principal item in the tobacco
account of the people; we shall therefore enter somewhat fully into matters
concerning their manufacture, etc.
Although, as stated, it is in the cigar form that smoking was introduced into
Spain, it was not till about 1790 that cigars were used generally in Europe.
A factory for the manufacture of cigars was established at Hamburg in
1796. The custom did not spread rapidly and did not reach any considerable
proportion in England till about 1830 when the high duties were
considerably reduced.
Cigar making has always been a staple industry in Cuba. It was there when
the Europeans landed and it is there still. Its record is unbroken. There was
always a greater or lesser exportation to Europe and elsewhere.

The cigar business of the U. S.
Of the various manufactured products of tobacco leaf, the cigar trade is the
most important in the U. S., its value being greater than that of all other
tobacco products combined.
The magnitude of this branch of the tobacco business may be gauged when
we state that at the present time there are made annually in the U. S. cigars
of all kinds to the amount of about 8½ billions. The Census Bureau Report
for 1912 shows that for that year the number of full-sized cigars made and
on which tax was paid was in round numbers 7,500,000,000, and of “little
cigars,” that is under the regular size, about 1,000,000,000. These figures
are certainly stupendous, particularly when we consider that, in addition, at
least several hundred more were imported and that only about 2,000,000
were exported. Uncle Sam evidently likes to smoke cigars.
To make these cigars requires a consumption of 136 million lbs. of cigar
leaf. Nearly 50 million lbs. of this is imported at a gross cost (exclusive of
duties) of about 35 million dollars, the rest of the leaf is home grown. The
principal imports are from Cuba. In 1912 we imported cigar leaf from Cuba
in amount nearly 23 million lbs. and in 1913 this increased to over 27
million lbs. valued at more than 16 million dollars. The imports of East
Indian (Sumatran) leaf varies from 6 to 8 million lbs. and costs from 7 to 8
million dollars.
Although the amount of imported leaf used in cigar making shows a steady
increase, being now more than 50% greater than a decade ago, yet the
proportion of foreign leaf to home-grown leaf in the whole manufacture
shows a steady decrease. This speaks well for the improving quality of
American grown leaf.
There are in the United States about 26,000 cigar factories, both large and
small. The large number of establishments is due to the fact that cigar
making is still to a large extent a hand-making industry. About 135,000
persons are directly employed in the manufacture, nearly half of whom are
women. The capital engaged in the business is reported as 150 millions and
the value of the product 200 million dollars annually. The actual consumer

pays about 300 million dollars for the cigars smoked, the difference
between the cost of the product and the latter figure being the expense and
profit of the retail handlers. The enormous growth of the cigar trade is seen
when it is compared with 1860. In that year the annual value of this product
was only 9 million dollars. The two states of New York and Pennsylvania
are the centers of cigar manufacture. Between them they make nearly half
of the entire product, Pennsylvania leading with about two thousand million
cigars annually. Florida makes about 300 million. The price paid by the
consumer works out to an average of about 4c for each cigar.

CHAPTER XI

CIGAR MAKING
Hand-made cigars. Machine-made cigars.
Classification of cigars. Terms used in the cigar trade.

CIGAR MAKING
It was inevitable that modern progress should invade and revolutionize the
old and slow methods of cigar making; and so it has. Smoking is a
sentimental occupation and lends itself easily to romantic associations. A
good deal of romance and sentiment still hangs around the hand-made cigar
and cigarette. In an up-to-date cigar factory, however, the whir of
machinery and the precise, regular movements of automatic contrivances
give little scope for sentiment.
Up to 1870 cigars were hand-made. All that was necessary was an
inexpensive board, a cutting knife, and a block of wood with a stationary
knife, known as a “tuck,” for measuring and cutting the finished cigar.
About the time stated the “mold” was introduced. The mold is a wooden
block about 18″ x 6″ x 3″, a tool which facilitates the shaping of the
“bunch” or filler part of the cigar and presses it into shape. This mold is
now used in most “hand-made” cigar factories where the labor is
subdivided into “bunch-makers” and “rollers,” the latter putting on the
binder and wrapper and finishing the cigar.
It is the introduction of practically automatic machinery, however, which is
revolutionizing the cigar-making business, and slowly but surely driving the
“hand-made” cigar into the position occupied by the “hand-made” cigarette.
And the writer cannot see why this should not be so. As it has been said,
there is much sentiment about hand-made cigars. But common sense seems
to be on the side of the machine. We quite understand the difficulty of

killing old prejudices and time honored customs; but it is difficult to
understand how the flavor or quality of a cigar filler can be different
whether it is pressed into the shape by a machine or by the hand of a
workman; or what the precise improvement is when a wrapper leaf is put on
and licked by a workman rather than by a clean machine under perfect
sanitary conditions. However, sentiment still persists. Imaginary, or perhaps
real, charms are ascribed to the hand-made goods and the smoker is willing
and even wishful to pay a higher price for his fancy. The result is that the
small factory is still predominant. It depends more on labor than on capital.
But the large factories have an immense production. The condition will be
best shown by stating that in less than 1 per cent of the cigar making
establishments of the U. S. nearly 50 per cent of the entire output is made,
or, putting it another way, nearly three-fourths of all the licensed cigar
factories produced less than one-tenth of the product. Of the 26,000
establishments in the U. S. only in 2 is the annual output more than 50
million and in 27 the output runs from 25 to 50 million. Pennsylvania
establishments, principally in Philadelphia, produce 28% of the entire U. S.
cigar output; New York State, principally New York City, comes next with
about 20%; and Ohio, principally Cincinnati, third with about 8%.
For machine-made goods the principal machines used are the bunch rollers
and the suction table. The former rolls the bunch of filler leaves and presses
them into shape. The suction table is used for wrapping the cigar. The
operator places the wrapper leaf on a perforated plate. By pressing a foot
lever a vacuum is created beneath this plate which holds the leaf smooth
and snug against the table. The perforated plate is exactly the form which
the wrapper must be to properly fit the cigar. It is easily cut around and
trimmed to shape. The bunch from the bunch roller is then quickly encased
in the wrapper. Human labor is necessary only to feed the machines and to
spread the wrappers. 25,000 bunches can easily be wrapped in a week at a
cost of $6 to $9 for labor (principally female) and the upkeep of the
machine. This in labor alone would formerly cost as much as $75.00. In the
smaller “hand-made” factories, the method of procedure is about as follows:
The leaf on receipt is opened and moistened. The “filler” leaf is separated
from the wrapper. The filler leaf is made up into “books,” a “book” being a
bunch of leaves suitable for one cigar. The loose books are then allowed to
ferment for a week or so when they are ready for use. The bunchmaker

selects and arranges his leaves from each book, selects his binder and rolls
the whole into cigar form. If a mold is used he puts the bunch in a matrix of
the mold and fastens down the cover until the leaves are pressed into shape.
They then go to the wrapper man and are wrapped either by machine or by
hand, according to the class of goods. The wrapping is begun at the lighting
end and finished at the point which is called the head. After trimming to
gauge, the cigar is ready for inspection and classification according to color,
etc., and for banding.
Cigars according to their manufacture are classed for trade purposes in
various ways. The trade nomenclature embraces the following descriptions:
Cigars, little cigars, all-tobacco cigars, stogies and cheroots.
Cigars proper have many subdivisions:
(1) Imported Cigars. This term is usually confined to cigars
made in Cuba, and does not include Porto Rican or
Philippines.
(2) Porto Rico Cigars.
}Used for cigars made in those places.
(3) Philippine Cigars.
(4) Clear Havanas. This term denotes a cigar made by hand in
the U. S. of Cuban tobacco exclusively and in the same
style as in Cuba.
(5) Seed and Havana. Up to about 50 years ago there were no
clear Havanas made in the U. S., the best produced being a
combination of Havana leaf and leaf grown in the states
from imported Havana seed. Hence the term which
ordinarily means an American made cigar, the filler being
wholly or partly of Cuban tobacco and the wrapper, a
domestic or Sumatran leaf.
(6) Domestic Cigars. This term is used for cigars made in the U.
S. in contra-distinction to imported cigars.

(7) Nickel Goods. Ordinary 5c cigars made either entirely, of
domestic tobacco or with a Sumatran wrapper, and usually
made partly or wholly by machine. It also usually includes
“segundos” or “seconds,” i. e., cigars of a better type made
to sell at higher prices but which on account of some defect
are rejected on inspection. Sometimes clear Havanas made
of scrap filler and inferior wrapper are included. These
cigars have a vast variety of designations and make up the
general stock of most cigar stores. The cost of production
does not usually exceed $20.00 per thousand and they sell
to dealers at from $25.00 to $30.00.
(8) Stogies, Tobies, Etc. Cheroots. Cigar shaped rolls of cheap
domestic tobacco made quickly by machine, and of various
sizes. Cheroots are open at both ends. The filler of stogies
is usually a western grown leaf of full size, but rough
quality. They are manufactured principally in Louisville,
Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Wheeling, etc.
One of the large tobacco companies operates about 25 large cigar factories
in various centers of the U. S. Here are made all classes of domestic cigars,
but all are made under the same conditions of sanitation, economic handling
and strict supervision. The leaf is prepared, selected, fermented, blended,
etc., in the company’s own special leaf houses and is despatched to the
various factories as needed. All the better class of domestic cigars are hand-
made, machinery being used in making the cheaper grades. There are
special factories for the making of “little cigars,” of which a vast number
are made on account of their popularity. These include the package goods
and those put up in cardboard boxes of which such brands as “Virginia
Cheroots” and “Royal Bengals” are types. By the terms “little cigar” the
trade recognizes all cigars under the regular standard size and which weigh
less than 3 pounds per thousand. In some “little cigar” factories these little
cigars are not made from inferior leaf. They are made usually from the
small leaves of the tobacco intended for higher priced goods, but which on
account of faulty size cannot be used. The leaf is, however, cured and
prepared in exactly the same way. In addition the “scrap” or waste portions
of the high priced leaf is used for fillers for little cigars. The little cigars of

this type are usually of first-rate quality and on account of their small cost
give excellent value to the smoker.

Cigars. Miscellaneous
There are a good many terms used in the cigar trade to denote color, size,
quality, etc., which smokers should know the meaning of. Most of these
terms are Spanish, because the cigar trade was for a long time confined to
Cuba.

Terms used to denote the quality of cigar leaf
Desecho. The finest quality; the top leaves of plant; best because they have
received most sunshine and dew.
Desechito. Good leaves but inferior to desecho.
Libra. Good leaves but small in size; the smaller top and bottom leaves.
Injuriado. Injured leaves; root leaves soil stained and injured by insects.

Terms used to denote color
Note: The color term refers to the wrapper only. Many smokers judge the
mildness or strength of a cigar by its outside color. This is a fallacy. The
wrapper constitutes only about 2 per cent of the cigar weight. Moreover
color is no criterion of strength. The darkest cigar may be and usually is
very mild. The color is due (1) to the soil, (2) to the age of the plant when
cut, and (3) to the length of time of curing and fermentation. As a general
rule the lighter the color the more inferior and immature is the tobacco.
Cigar smokers should remember this.
Claro or Clara. Very light colored. The lightest shade known in selected
leaves.
Colorado. Red; medium in color.

Colorado Clara. Light Brown.
Colorado Maduro. Dark Brown.
Maduro. Ripe; very dark, almost black in color.

Terms used to denote size and shape
Conchas. Shell; cigars so marked are 4¼″ long.
Concha Fina. A first quality Concha.
Concha Especial. Finely finished and somewhat larger than a Concha.
Londres. London. Specially made for the London market and on account of
its shape and length.
Regalias. A cigar of a finer grade of tobacco than is used in Londres or
Conchas.
Damas. Ladies; small cigar about 3″ long.
Panatelas. A long thin cigar that has been heavily pressed.
Non plus ultra. A large handsome cigar made from the finest tobacco.
Escepcionales. Exceptionally large sized cigar.
Opera. A small after-dinner cigar about 3¼″ long.
Princesses. Like the Opera, but thinner.
Coquettas. Flirt; 3½″ long.
Brevas. A short, thick cigar.
Noblesse. The largest and most expensive cigars.
In addition to the above there is a multitude of trade names, such as Club
House, Hoffman House, Rothschilds, Invincibles, Perfectos, etc., etc. Some
of these terms merely denote particular brands put out by certain makers
and to distinguish their products. The Spanish terms refer to the cigar itself

and not to the maker. They may be used by any maker, and no longer refer
to any standard of excellence.
(See references end of Chapter XV)

CHAPTER XII

CIGARS AND THEIR QUALITIES
Qualities of cigars and cigar leaf. Imported cigars.
Havanas. Domestic cigars.

CIGARS AND THEIR QUALITIES
A cigar consists essentially of three distinct parts: the body or inner part
called the filler; the covering of the filler which is called the binder; and the
outside finishing cover which is called the wrapper. Cuban cigars, however,
consist of filler and wrapper only.
Except in the case of cigars made in Cuba the wrapper leaf is usually of a
different class of tobacco from the rest of the cigar, as the qualities to be
fulfilled by each part is different. The qualities required in a cigar must be
viewed both from the smokers’ and the manufacturers’ standpoints and the
leaf must be such as to conform to these qualities. Thus the smoker is
concerned with the burning quality, the taste, flavor, aroma, color, general
appearance and strength of the cigar. The manufacturer in addition to
seeking leaf that will answer the smokers’ requirements also has an eye to
economy and requires the leaf to have qualities regarding size, weight,
texture, etc. Therefore, in the best cigar leaf the following qualities are more
or less essential: (1) good color, (2) fair body, (3) a continuous pleasant
aroma, (4) fine texture combined with a certain toughness, (5) small ribs
and veins, (6) good combustion so that it will hold fire for 4 or five minutes.
The burning must be free and even with a white or whitish-brown ash
which remains intact until cigar is three-fourths smoked, (7) good size of
leaf, (8) must be elastic and souple, must not be brittle, (9) it must be free
from spots and light in weight.
Some of these qualities are essential in filler leaf; some in wrapper leaf.
Thus the color of filler leaf does not matter; neither does the aroma of the

wrapper the essential qualities of which are color, lightness and elasticity.
The cigars consumed in the U. S. are either (a) Imported or (b) Home
Manufactured.

(a) Imported Cigars
The most important of the imported cigars are those that come from Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippines.
Up to the time of the Civil War cigars were imported principally from
Germany and Cuba and the value was about 4½ million dollars annually.
High import duties have, however, altered this and the number of imported
cigars is nearly 90 per cent less than formerly. The value of the import has
not, however, fallen so much, that is to say only the higher grades of cigars
are imported. The value of cigars now imported does not exceed 3 million
dollars annually and they are principally Cuban.

Cuban, or so-called Havana, Cigars
As the strictest laws are enforced in Cuba against the importation of
tobacco, it follows that all genuine so-called Havana cigars are made of
Cuban tobacco. The Havana Tobacco Co. controls about 260,000 acres of
the best Cuban tobacco land and has 25 factories in the City of Havana.
Here Havana cigars are made in all grades from those which can be bought
at 2 for 25c to those which cost $2.00 each. The high priced are very limited
in quality, being made from tobacco grown in specially favored districts.
The Province of Pinar del Rio produces 70 per cent of the whole Cuban
crop, and includes the celebrated District of Vuelta Abajo in which the
finest cigar tobacco in the world is grown; the Provinces of Havana and
Santa Clara each produces about 13 per cent of the Cuban crop. Havana
Partidio leaf is of very fine quality and is used principally as wrappers of
clear Havanas. Havana Remedios leaf comes from Santa Clara, has a high
flavor, rather heavy body and is used mostly for fillers.

The very finest Havana cigars never leave Cuba, for the merchant keeps
them for his own use. He is a smoker before a trader. The crop of the very
best Vuelta Abajo tobacco is so small that not more than about 30,000
cigars can be made from it. These are kept for private purchasers and none
go on the market. The finest Havanas are of an even tint of rich dark brown,
free from all stains and spots, burning freely to a white or whitish-brown
ash, and holding fire for 4 or 5 minutes. Altogether the District of Vuelta
Abajo produces about one-quarter million bales of leaf annually and about
one-tenth of this is high class and produces up to 20 dollars per lb. on the
spot.
As stated previously, Cuban cigars have no binder. They consist of filler and
wrapper only and are all hand-made. The unique position which these cigars
have held for so long is due not only to perfect curing and blending of the
leaf, but also to the superior skill of the Cuban workmen who are the most
expert cigarmakers and blenders in the world, and who in the best factories
are allowed to take all the time they need in making the cigar. Some of
these “Tabacqueros” have been making the same brand of cigar for 20 years
or longer.
Of the total annual output of Cuban made cigars, England takes about 40
per cent, the U. S. about 25 per cent and Germany 13 per cent. In 1913, the
U. S. imported 659,358 lbs. of cigars and cheroots from Cuba valued for
$3,999,410.

Porto Rico Cigars
From Porto Rico the U. S. ships about 125 million cigars annually.

Philippine Cigars
The laws in force between the U. S. and the Philippine Islands, governing
the tariff, provide for the importation annually from the Philippines to the
U. S. free of import duties, of cigar wrapper leaf and filler leaf mixed or
packed with more than 15 per cent of wrapper leaf, not in excess of 300,000

lbs.; of filler leaf alone not in excess of 1,000,000 lbs.; and manufactured
cigars in number not exceeding 150,000,000. The shipping must be direct.
As the Philippine leaf is excellent and labor there is cheap, the U. S. smoker
is thus enabled to get a very good smoke at a small cost. The full number of
cigars allowed at least is imported. In 1913 the importation of Philippine
cigars and cheroots to the U. S. was 1,641,832 lbs. valued at $2,296,823.

Home Manufactured Cigars
For the home manufactured cigar trade the leaf used is either imported or
home grown.
Imported cigar leaf comes principally from Cuba, Dutch East Indies
(Sumatra, Java, etc.), Porto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.
Imported Cuban leaf is used both as fillers and wrappers. The U. S. as
already stated imports about 26 million lbs. annually. The leaf varies in
length from 8″ to 18″; is a rich brown color, and its principal characteristic
is its fine flavor and aroma, which is unequalled by any other tobacco in the
world.
The Sumatran leaf is perhaps more important in the U. S. cigar trade than
the Cuban leaf. It is used exclusively as wrappers, on account of its fine
light brown color, its elastic texture and light weight. The genuine imported
leaf is much less in weight than that grown from Sumatran seed in Florida.
About 2 lbs. of imported Sumatran leaf will wrap 1,000 cigars. Its length is
usually from 14 to 20 inches and the U. S. imports annually about 7 million
lbs., valued at about 5 million dollars. The use of Sumatran leaf as a
wrapper for home-made cigars has increased remarkably in the last quarter
century. In the quinquennium ending 1885 the number of such cigars was
34 millions. In the last quinquennium the number exceeded 2,000 millions.
The Sumatran leaf has little aroma or flavor and its value is for appearance
only. The average prices paid by the United States for imported cigar leaf in
1914 was: for leaf suitable for cigar making, 127c per lb.; for “other leaf,”
50.44c per lb.

Other Imported Cigar Leaf
Since the introduction of tax-free manufactured cigars from the Philippines
the importation of leaf has declined.
Mexican leaf is used as a substitute for Cuban, to which it is inferior.
The imports of cigar leaf tobacco from Porto Rico and Brazil are relatively
unimportant.

Cigar Leaf Tobacco Grown in the U. S.
The home grown tobacco leaf used in the cigar manufacturing trade of the
U. S. is grown principally in the states of Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. The
Connecticut leaf is used for wrappers and binders. The Ohio and
Pennsylvania leaf almost exclusively for fillers. Wisconsin produces binder
leaf particularly. The leaf grown elsewhere is used mostly as wrappers. It is
usual, however, to use the imported and Sumatran leaf as wrappers for all
high class home-made cigars.
The finest American grown wrapper leaf is raised in Connecticut. The best
known brands are known as Connecticut Seedleaf and Connecticut
Broadleaf, both varieties raised originally from imported Havana seed. The
leaf is destitute of thick fibers and has a fine texture. They run from 14″ to
26″ in length, giving good wrapping capacity.
The Pennsylvania leaf is also classed as Seed and Broadleaf. It is about the
same size as the Connecticut, but does not equal it in quality. The principal
varieties in Ohio are the Gebhardt, Zimmer, Spanish, and Little Dutch.
These do not usually exceed 20″ in length. Florida cigar leaf is usually
small, running from 10″ to 14″ in length.
(For references see Chapter XV)

CHAPTER XIII

PIPE SMOKING AND CHEWING TOBACCOS
Qualities required. Description of kinds.
Perique tobacco. Statistics.

PIPE SMOKING AND CHEWING TOBACCOS
For pipe smoking mixtures the tobacco leaf used is of various kinds.
Preferred strains of leaf from Virginia, North and South Carolina,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and East Ohio, to which is added
sometimes Turkish, Latakia, Perique, and a little Havana. The blend is made
while the tobacco is in leaf form, portions of the desired kinds being
assembled in accordance with a formula followed by the manufacturer. The
leaf is then put through the required mechanical processes.
The qualities necessary in pipe smoking tobaccos are that it must burn
evenly, slowly, smoothly and thoroughly; it must have an agreeable aroma;
it must not cause a burning or acrid sensation in the mouth when smoked; it
is desirable that its nicotine contents should be low. Appearance is not of
any consequence, but the manufacturer looks for leaf that, in addition to the
above qualities, is free from gumminess as this interferes with granulation
and cutting; also that the leaf may be a good absorbing kind in order that it
may imbibe the juices with which this class of manufactured tobacco is
treated both for chewing and pipe smoking.
As the taste of smokers with regard to the flavor and aroma of pipe tobacco
varies considerably, some desiring a strong, others a mild or light tobacco,
this must be taken into account by the manufacturer and the blends graded
accordingly.
Pipe smoking tobaccos are distinguished according to the different
mechanical processes used in their production. Thus there are (1)

Granulated, (2) Plug-cut, (3) Long-cut, (4) Fine-cut, etc. In former days it
was customary for smokers to buy their tobacco in the roll or twist and cut
and manipulate it themselves. This custom has, however, passed away
almost entirely in the U. S. It still survives to a large extent in Europe where
smokers prefer their tobacco moist. In the U. S. pipe smoking tobacco is
usually cut and ready for the pipe and sold in packages or cans.
Granulated is tobacco that has been flaked by breaking or cutting
machines with blunt teeth or saws and then passed over a series of
oscillating sieves of graded mesh.
Plug-cut or Cut-plug is first made into plugs by pressure. These plugs are
then cut into thin slices convenient for crumbling. The slices are put up in
packages in which form the smoker uses it. Special forms of cut-plug are,
bird’s-eye, short-cut, cube-cut, straight-cut, curly-cut, wavy-cut and
cavendish-cut; the name being determined by the shape of the cut slices.
“Navy-cut” is a particular kind of plug which was originally prepared
directly by shipmen.
Long-cut tobacco is leaf cut into long shreds. It differs from plug-cut in not
having been pressed into solid plugs before cutting.
Fine-cut is finer and shorter shreds than the long-cut, and the tobacco used
is usually of a less gummy kind.
Other varieties known in the trade are:
German Smoking. A coarse-grained, heavy tobacco with strong flavor. It is a
coarse granulated tobacco.
Strips. A fine shredded or powdered tobacco used principally in the mining
camps of Pennsylvania.
Scrap. Smoking tobacco made up from cigar clippings and cheap cigar leaf
of the filler and binder type.

Perique Tobacco

Perique tobacco is a specially dark, rich variety having special qualities
which render it desirable as a component in pipe smoking mixtures, or for
straight smoking. Genuine Perique is grown and prepared only in the Parish
of St. James in the State of Louisiana by the descendants of the old French
Colonists. The properties which it possesses are essentially due to the
peculiar method of curing and fermentation and not to any peculiarity in the
leaf itself. It is the only tobacco in the United States that is grown and put in
its final condition for the consumer by the farmer. It is said that the output
of genuine Perique is small, being well under 50,000 lbs. annually. But
there is a good deal of substitute Perique sold in lieu of the genuine kind.
The tobacco is raised on a black, deep, exceedingly rich soil. The leaf is
medium in size, about 18″ long, and a rapid grower. The stem is small, the
fiber tough and gummy.
In curing no artificial heat is used. The leaf is hung in sheds for about 10
days. It is then stripped into half leaves. These are taken in bundles of about
20 each and converted into rough “twists.” A dozen or so “twists” are
packed in a box 11″ square the weight being about 50 lbs. The contents of
the box are then submitted to a pressure of about 7000 lbs. for at least 24
hours. The tobacco is then taken out and the twists again opened up. The
leaves are exposed to the air and sunlight until an exudate appears on them
and is reabsorbed. This is done over and over again for at least 10 days or
until in appearance the tobacco is quite black. That is to say the curing of
Perique is accomplished by allowing it to soak its own juice and then
submitting to heavy pressure and repeating this process several times. When
the leaf is cured it is made into rolls or “carottes.” A cotton cloth 24″ x 18″
is taken and covered with leaves. Others are spread crosswise over these.
Then rolled and a thin rope is wound very tightly about each bundle or
“carotte.” This process like the curing is repeated over and over again. One
man can handle about 10 carottes in a day, the weight being about 4 lbs.
each.
Perique is considered to have a finer aroma than any other pipe smoking
tobacco and its presence in a mixture is at once detected by the experienced
smoker. It is said to contain only ¼ of the citric acid, ½ of the nitric acid
and 6 times as much acetic acid as tobacco cured in air. The resultant aroma
is rich and fragrant, and the taste is smooth, delicate and agreeable. It is also

claimed that it stimulates the brain without in any way being hurtful to the
digestive or nervous systems.
When the carottes are finally made it is usual to leave them under pressure
for at least 12 months. The aroma is said to improve as the tobacco grows
older.
It has been stated above that much of the Perique tobacco is a substitute for
the genuine. This substitute is made by taking inferior leaf and submitting it
to a similar process, i. e., pressure and oxidation repeatedly. The process is
abridged but a black tobacco results particularly when certain darkening
ingredients are added. The moral is if you want genuine Perique be sure
where you get it, and don’t grudge the price.

Chewing Tobacco
The particular qualities required in leaf for this purpose are toughness,
sweetness of taste, and a richness in oils and gums. Suitable leaf having
been selected the leaf is cut and moulded into small plugs or “chews” which
are put up in boxes for the market. Flavoring essences are of course
plentifully used.
As well as plug, chewing tobacco may be of the variety known as twist, the
leaves being spun and twisted in a continuous roll.
The plug consists of a wrapper and filler like the cigar, the brighter and
better grades of leaf being used as wrappers. Burley leaf and the yellow leaf
tobacco of Virginia, Kentucky and the Carolinas are principally used. The
substances used for flavoring are liquorice, cane sugar, maple sugar,
molasses, and rum, principally. The plugs are packed in boxes of 72 lbs.
each, and also smaller boxes of 10 and 12 lbs. each.
The principal centers of the manufacture of pipe smoking and chewing
tobacco are Missouri (St. Louis); North Carolina (Durham and Winston);
Kentucky (Louisville); New Jersey (Jersey City); Virginia (Richmond) and
Ohio (Cincinnati).

There are altogether about 400 establishments employing about 20,000
persons, and the value of the product is over 100 million dollars annually.
This class of products is by its nature more suitable for concentration of
manufacture than either cigars or cigarettes. Hence the small number of
establishments.
Only about 10 million lbs. of manufactured tobacco is exported.
(See references end of Chapter XV)

CHAPTER XIV

CIGARETTES
Statistics. Kinds and where made. Imported Cigarettes.
Domestic Cigarettes. Cigarette papers.

CIGARETTES
A cigarette according to the meaning of the word is a small cigar. It consists
of a roll of loose tobacco wrapped in a case of either paper or tobacco-leaf.
In the latter case it is known as an all-tobacco cigarette.
Since the introduction of cigarette making machinery the output of
cigarettes in the United States has grown enormously. This will be seen
from the following figures which represent the output of cigarettes for the
past 25 years:

Number of cigarettes
Year manufactured in the
United States.
1890 2,000,000,000
1895 3,500,000,000
1900 4,000,000,000
1905 6,500,000,000
1910 7,000,000,000

These figures taken from Government Reports are given in round numbers.
They include “little cigars” which form about 15% of the totals. About one-
third is at present exported. In addition to the manufactured cigarettes there
is, of course, the large amount of cigarettes made directly by the smoker
himself.

There are only about 500 establishments in the whole U. S. engaged in
cigarette manufacture and about ten of these manufacture four times as
many as all the rest together. There would in fact be fewer factories except
for the popularity of certain brands of hand-made cigarettes. 95% of the
total output is made in 4 cities, i. e., New York, Durham, N. C.; Richmond,
Va.; and New Orleans. New York City alone manufactures about 60% of the
whole; Richmond about 16%; New Orleans about 10% and Durham the
balance.
Every country manufactures its own peculiar brand of cigarettes. The best
known and most popular kinds of cigarettes are those known as Virginian,
Turkish, Havana, Porto Rican, Mexican, Russian and Philippine.
The Havana, Porto Rican, Mexican and Philippine cigarettes are usually of
the all-tobacco kind—the others being paper wrapped. They are generally
made from the cuttings and smaller leaves of cigar leaf tobacco.
Turkish cigarettes are celebrated all the world over. The name is however
mostly a misnomer, for nearly all the so-called Turkish cigarettes proper are
made in Egypt, Greece, etc., and not in Turkey. In Egypt, however, the best
Turkish cigarettes are made from tobacco grown in Turkey (in Europe)
which is imported, as no tobacco is grown in Egypt. The peculiar flavor of
Egyptian Turkish cigarettes is due to special methods known only to the
makers there.
The crop of Turkish tobacco, particularly of the better kinds suitable for
cigarettes, is small and less than half of it is exported. The supply of
genuine Turkish cigarette tobacco is, therefore, strictly limited and does not
find its way into ordinary channels. Much of so-called “Turkish” tobacco
comes from China, and other parts of Asia. From Turkey, in Europe, the
United States annually imports at present about ten million lbs., the actual
government figures for 1913 being 10,816,048 lbs. valued at about 5½
million dollars.
From Turkey in Asia the imports in 1912 were 11,233,546 lbs., and in 1913,
18,955,295, this latter being valued at nearly 5 million dollars. It does not
follow that all this latter is Turkish. It was probably in large part collected
from distant points and shipped from ports in Asia Minor. The imports of

Turkish tobacco during 1914 are considerably reduced on account of the
war.
One American company which does an immense business in the cigarette
line maintains at Cavallo a large establishment for the direct purchase and
treatment of its own Turkish leaf. This plant handles about 6 million lbs. of
leaf annually. The American smoker of home-made Turkish cigarettes has
the advantage of knowing that his leaf is genuine and bought economically.
The most valued kind of Turkish tobacco is that grown in the Caza of
Yenidji on the Vardar River region in Roumelia.
The Latakia tobacco grown in the hilly part of Northern Syria is also
celebrated as a cigarette tobacco. This tobacco has a low nicotine
percentage (less than one per cent) and its peculiar aroma is due to its
exposure for nearly 6 months to the smoke of the tree known as Quercus
Ilex. Very choice parcels of these tobaccos fetch in the open market from $3
to $5 per lb.; lower grades are bought from 25c per lb. and up.
The best known grades of cigarettes made from genuine Turkish leaf are the
La Ferme of Leipzig and St. Petersburg; the Nestor and Melachrino of
Egypt; the Monopol of New York; and the Dubec of Richmond. In the
Turkish hand-made cigarette there is no flavoring of any kind. In Europe
the Turkish cigarettes are usually made by Greeks who are special adepts at
this work.
The paper wrappers are imported from France or Austria. The native
cigarette makers as a rule blend their own leaf and cut or shred it by hand.
An expert workman can make about 3,000 cigarettes per day.
In the United States, Turkish cigarettes are of two kinds, imported and
domestic. The imported include those purchased already made from Egypt,
England, France, etc. In 1913 the value of cigarettes purchased directly by
the U. S. from Egypt was about $25,000 and from England $22,000, other
countries less. In 1914 the total cost of imported cigarettes (not including
those from Philippine Islands) was $79,554. The value of such trade is,
therefore, not large. The Turkish cigarettes made in the States are termed
Domestic Turkish, and are usually hand-made, though not by any means
exclusively so. It appears to be nothing more than an idiosyncrasy to

consider that a hand-made cigarette is better than a machine-made one. As
in the case of cigars, other things being equal it would appear that on many
considerations, hygienic as well as mechanical, the balance is in favor of
the machine. However, many still think there is some peculiar talismanic
virtue in a hand-made cigarette and are willing to pay a higher price. There
is, of course, a pleasure in making one’s own cigarettes, but when they are
bought made the advantage of hand-making is not very apparent.
There are many variants of the Turkish cigarette. Besides the common
paper wrapped variety some have fillers of Turkish tobacco with Havana or
Virginia leaf wrapper; others have mixed fillers of Turkish, Virginia,
Havana or Perique, two or more or all kinds being mixed. Each type of
cigarette has its own special votaries. Cigarettes of this variety are not,
however, so popular in the United States as in other countries where the
cigarette is the most pronounced type smoked.
The American cigarette is generally made of Yellow Virginian tobacco and
is popular all the world over. The secret of success in good cigarette making
lies in the selection and blending of the leaf so that the proper strength and
characteristics may be secured. As a general rule no adulterants of any kind
are added to the tobacco except in some of the very cheap kinds in which
the leaf is sometimes treated with a glycerine solution in order to give it a
sweetish taste. The solution is quite harmless.
The machinery for the manufacture of cigarettes has been brought to such
perfection that it is quite automatic. The only hand work required is the
feeding of the tobacco into the hoppers. The cutting, rolling, wrapping,
tipping and packing are all done quite mechanically, the cigarettes being
turned out all ready for the smoker. In the large factories the processes are
under strict hygienic conditions, which is not usually the case in the small
workshops where the hand-made goods are prepared. The various machines
used in the manufacturing processes are highly complicated and a detailed
description of them would be too technical for these pages.
The paper used for wrapping cigarettes has frequently been the subject of
most unwarranted attacks and the most absurd statements have been made
regarding it. Investigation and analysis of the paper used in the very
cheapest grades of cigarettes by competent authorities have failed to find

anything deleterious to health. The paper used for this purpose is made
principally in France. It is of the kind known as rice paper although it has
no connection whatever with rice. It is a vegetable substance being made
usually from the membranes of the bread fruit tree or else from fine
trimmings of flax and hemp. The materials are thoroughly washed and
treated with lime and soda before and after pulping. Careful analysis are
made to see that nothing is left that might be harmful and the manufacturers
use the greatest care and judgment to see that their product is as pure and
perfect as possible as it is their interest that it should be so. The paper is
extremely thin and light, very combustible, and gives off very little smoke.
These are the only qualities necessary and there is not the least reason to
use any harmful ingredients, as the required qualities can be obtained by the
ordinary manufacturing processes. Moreover, the best paper can be
manufactured and supplied at a very low cost. From France the United
States annually imports about $500,000 worth of cigarette paper and from
Austria about $120,000 worth.
Most manufactured cigarettes have a protective tip at the mouth end. This
not only keeps the cigarette intact but prevents the tobacco from being
wetted by the saliva. As already stated, nicotine is soluble in water, and its
entrance to the mouth in this form is thus obviated. The tips are made of
various substances, cork, straw, goldleaf, cherry wood, etc., in fact any
water-proof substance that is harmless, nonadherent and smooth can be
used.
Cigarettes must according to the law of the U. S. be put up in packages of 5,
8, 10, 15, 20, 50 or 100, and the packages must not contain any lottery or
chance ticket nor any indecent picture.
Much criticism, that is to a large extent groundless, has been directed
against the habit of cigarette smoking. It has been shown by many
investigators that when not carried to excess the cigarette is the safest
method of using tobacco. The reader is referred to the remarks regarding
cigarettes in the chapter respecting the effect of tobacco on the human
system; but it may be as well here to quote a recent editorial from one of the
leading representative medical journals of the United States, the opinion
stated in which should go far towards removing the absurd prejudice against
the cigarette.

From the New York Medical Journal of July 25, 1914 (Editorial):
“Particularly do the uninformed enjoy an attack on the cigarette; it is cheap;
it is small; and its patrons, numerous as they are, yet form an insignificant
minority in our immense population. Therefore, the cigarette and its users
are fair game for cheap and silly sneers; sneers which are capable, however,
of cowing an entire legislature, as in Georgia at this moment. Yet, beyond
cavil, it has been proved scientifically that of all methods of using tobacco,
cigarette smoking is the least harmful. Some months ago the Laucet
undertook a careful laboratory study of the various ways of consuming
tobacco, with the result that it was found that the cigarettes, Egyptian,
Turkish and American, yielded the least amount of nicotine to the smoke
formed; the cigar came next in point of harmlessness, while the pipe
overshadowed the cigar to the extent that from 70 to 90% of nicotine was
said to exist in its smoke.
“As to the paper of cigarettes the attacks are simply preposterous.
* * * * * * * *
“Men are well within their rights in forbidding cigarette smoking and other
pleasures and distractions to their employes; it is another matter when they
seize an opportunity to compound with vices they have a mind to, by
damning one they’re not inclined to, especially when the latter affords
solace and recreation to millions perfectly capable of judging what is and
what is not good for them. In Europe where a good deal of logical thinking
still prevails, there is probably not one smoker of distinction in any walk of
life who does not include the cigarette in his nicotian armamentarium.”
(See references end of Chapter XV)

CHAPTER XV

SNUFF
How made. Qualities. Description of kinds.

SNUFF
A century ago snuff taking was the principal form in which tobacco was
used. The custom pervaded all classes of society and it was used by both
sexes. The habit has to a very large extent died out; and it is rarely now that
one sees a snuff box in use. Nevertheless there is still a very large trade in
snuff manufacture, and it is used very extensively in many countries. It will
surprise many to know that about 24 million lbs. of snuff are manufactured
and used annually in the U. S. and that within recent years the percentage of
increase in the use of this form of tobacco has been higher than in the case
of cigar, cigarette or pipe smoking kinds. The value of the snuff
manufactured annually is appraised for revenue purposes at about 6 million
dollars.
The process of the manufacture of snuff or tobacco powder, is essentially
based on long and thorough fermentation as all bitter substances, acid and
essential oils, as well as a large part of the nicotine, must be removed.
Strong, coarse tobacco is suitable for the purpose, the darker types of
Virginian and Tennessee tobaccos being used. Strong tobacco does not
necessarily contain a high percentage of nicotine as is usually supposed.
Strength has nothing to do with nicotine content; but whatever amount of
nicotine the tobacco possesses, at least one-half must be removed by
fermentation. As a general rule tobacco leaf which is at least 2 years old is
used and this is submitted to a further fermentation process of a special kind
for a period varying from 2 to 6 months. When the fermentation process is
complete, the tobacco, while still in leaf and unpowdered, is technically

known as snuff. There are two principal kinds of snuff and there are many
varieties of each kind principally differing in flavor and minor qualities.
The two kinds of snuff are known as Wet and Dry. These terms are due to
the difference in the mode of manufacture.
In making wet snuff, the tobacco leaves are ground up into grain form
before the fermentation takes place. It only becomes snuff when the
fermentation is completed.
In the dry kind the grinding does not take place until after the fermentation
is completed, when the fermented leaves are thoroughly dried.
The grinding is then done in a muller similar to a mortar and pestle—this
operation being conducted by machinery on a large scale. After grinding the
snuff is put through a sieving process and is then sent to the seasoning
department, thus occupying from 2 to 6 months or even longer.
Various flavors—attar of roses and such like—are added to give the snuff
different scents and flavors.
The various names under which brands of snuff are put up are survivals of
names applied to snuff made by methods no longer in vogue:
Scotch Snuffs are all dry. There are various kinds—strong, plain, sweet,
salt, high-toast, etc.
Maccaboy is a semi-wet snuff.
Swedish Snuffs usually contain a large percentage of moisture. The grains
are coarse and usually highly flavored. Snuff taking is still extensive
among the Swedish people.
Rappee is a snuff made after the French fashion.

REFERENCES (Chapters IX to XV)
U. S. Dept. of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Report of 13th Census,
1910. (Vol. on Manufacturers, 1912-1913.)

U. S. Dept. of Commerce and Labor. Bureau of Corporations. Report of
the Commissioner of Corporations on the Tobacco Industry. Vol. I,
1909, Continued.
Ivens, W. M. Brief and argument in certain appeals from the Circuit Court
of U. S. for Southern District of New York. (Tobacco Monopoly, 1911.)
Hoagland, I. G. The Tobacco Industry. In Quarterly of the National Fire
Protection Assn., 1907. Vol. I, Nos. 2 and 4.
Jacobstein, M. The Tobacco Industry in the U. S. New York, 1907.

CHAPTER XVI

SMOKING PIPES
History. Materials used in making. Meerschaum. Briar root.
Amber. Special kinds of pipes. Care of pipes.

PIPES
The history of tobacco smoking pipes began with the discovery of tobacco
by the Spaniards. How long before that event they were used is not known,
but that they were used by the Indians and others for a long period is quite
clear from many items of evidence. The reader who desires information
concerning pre-Columbian tobacco pipes is referred to the Pipes and
smoking customs of the American Aborigines, by J. D. McQuire, based on
the material in the U. S. National Museum 1889, and other similar
archaological works.
The first mention of pipes in literature appears to have been made by
Oviedo in 1535 in his work La historia general de las Indias (Part 1). In
this there is a small wood cut which is the oldest known picture of a pipe.
This pipe was shaped like a Y—the two ends of which were placed in the
nose and the tobacco leaves in the stem. The smoke was inhaled. Oviedo
says that this pipe was called “Tabaca” from which the name tobacco was
probably derived. Admiral John Hawkins was the first to mention the pipe
in English literature in 1564.
Raleigh’s famous smoking feat did not take place until 1586.
The Indian pipes were principally of clay and this material was used in
England for the first pipes made there and continued in sole use for about
250 years. From England it came to New England, with the first colonists.
The Spaniards of South America did not generally use pipes. Meerschaum
as a pipe making material was not known in Europe till 1723. It came about

in this way: There was then in Pesth (Austria-Hungary) an honest old
shoemaker, Karl Kowates, who, when he was not making or mending
shoes, made pipes. Count Andrassy was one of his pipe patrons. The Count
while on a mission to Turkey in 1723 was presented with a lump of
meerschaum. The lightness and porosity of the material suggested to him
that it would be a very suitable substance for a pipe bowl and on his return
to Pesth he handed the lump to Karl to make a pipe of it. It seems Karl
made two, one for the Count and one for himself. But Karl did more than
that. The nature of his shoe work made his hands waxy and he noticed that
wherever the pipe was waxed by his hands it turned into spots of clear
brown color. He thus discovered the coloring qualities of meerschaum.
Karl’s first pipe is still preserved (it is said) at Pesth.
The new material became very popular and it spread from Austria all over
pipe-smoking Europe.
Wooden pipes do not appear to have come into use till the early part of the
19th Century.
There is a good deal of interesting lore concerning early clay pipes into
which it is not proposed to enter here. It will be interesting, however, to
note that in William Penn’s land transactions with the Indians, 300 clay
pipes (probably English make) were one of the articles of barter.
The earliest clay pipe stems were about 9 inches long. The long stem pipes
with glazed ends were introduced about the year 1700 and were known as
“Aldermen.” The pipe known as the “Churchwarden” with a very long, thin,
curved stem which was typical of a leisurable smoke did not come into use
till about 1819. In those days smokers did not commonly carry pipes around
with them. When a man arrived at an inn or tavern he ordered a pipe and
tobacco, just as he ordered his dinner. The “Cutty” or “Aberdeen” with the
short stem was, however, used by those who needed a pocket pipe.
It is very surprising how little changes the pipe has undergone. The original
pipe was a simple bowl and stem, and the best pipe today is a plain bowl
and stem; for although hundreds of devices and all kinds of patents have
been tried, the true smoker prefers the simple plain pipe which offers no
obstacle to the clear drawing of the smoke from the burning tobacco.

The materials used for pipes differ in various countries. Pipes are made of
clay, porcelain, wood, metal, glass, ivory, horn, cane, bamboo, stone, etc.
There is no known material which in the opinion of smokers equals genuine
meerschaum as a material for pipes. This is on account of its lightness, its
coolness, its absorbing qualities and its capabilities of high polish and
assumption of a beautiful color when used from soaking the essential oils of
the tobacco. Its friability, however, renders it more suitable for use as a
home pipe than for a work-a-day pipe.
For the work-a-day and knock-about pipe the wooden pipe with short stem
is without a rival. The qualities which are essential for a wooden pipe are
many and it is difficult if not impossible to get any material that will answer
all of them. The wood for such a pipe must be hard and practically
incombustible, yet light. It must be sapless and inodorous so that when
heated the fragrance of the tobacco would not be mingled with that of the
wood and be lost. In addition it must be a good absorber, cool and have
beauty of grain and be susceptible of a high polish and must not be brittle.
The wood known as briar root possesses these qualities to a greater extent
than any other wood known. It will be described in more detail later.
Myall, a native Austrian wood of a very dark color, hard and of good grain
has many excellent qualities for pipes, but is brittle.
Maple, juniper and cherry and several other woods are used to a limited
extent.

Meerschaum
Meerschaum is a light, porous, clayey substance composed of magnesium,
oxygen and silicon. It is chemically described as a hydrated silicate of
magnesia and its chemical formula is MgSi2O4 + 2H2O.

The word meerschaum is composed of two German words, i. e., Meer, the
sea; and Schaum, foam, and literally means “the foam of the sea.” A
popular belief being that the substance was petrified sea foam.
The circumstances under which meerschaum came to be used for smoking
pipes have already been detailed. Meerschaum occurs as a mineral more or

less scattered all over the world, but the largest quantities and probably the
best qualities occur in Asia Minor. In the United States, the mineral is found
in South Carolina. Other mines occur in Spain, Greece and Morocco. The
principal mines in Asia Minor are situated about 250 miles southwest of
Constantinople, on the plains of Eskishahr. Meerschaum has been in use for
sundry purposes in the Orient for many centuries and the mines of Asia
Minor have been worked for at least 1,000 years. The result is that they are
now approaching exhaustion. The area in which the mineral occurs
principally is small, about six square miles, and in this area many thousands
of pits are worked. The soil is alluvial and in these deposits the meerschaum
is found in soft lumps and nodules having no definite or regular shape. It
also occurs in veins among the Serpentine rocks and marls. Although it is
soft when taken out of the ground it rapidly hardens when exposed to the
air. It is roughly shaped and cleaned at the mines and from thence sent to
the dealers who further prepare it by waxing and polishing and put it on the
market in the conditions in which it reaches the pipe makers. The principal
European depots for meerschaum are Constantinople and Vienna. It is
usually packed in boxes containing about 50 lbs. each and sells for from
50c to $4.00 per lb.
The lumps on reaching the manufacturers are first cut with a band saw into
suitable sized blocks according to the size and shape of the pipes desired.
These blocks are then thoroughly soaked in water until they are thoroughly
saturated. The soaking renders the material soft and soapy and gives it the
consistency of cheese, so that it is then easily shaped into the desired form
which the pipe is to take. It is then dried and hardened again and on
completion the bowl is hollowed out and the stem drilled. If the pipe is a
plain one without carving it is finished on a lathe and filed ready for
polishing. It is also threaded for the mouthpiece. The pipe is then sent to the
drying room for such time as is necessary to expel all moisture. The final
treatment for the smoothing of the surface is done by fine sandpaper and
other special substances, then immersing in melted white beeswax for three
to five minutes and finally the giving of a high polish with precipitated
chalk, cotton and flannel being the usual rubbing materials used.
Meerschaum by its nature is particularly adapted for carving. The hand
carving of such pipes requires artistic and dexterous craftsmen, who are
experts in this particular class of work.

There are various imitations of meerschaum. One is made from burnt
gypsum soaked with lime in a solution of gum arabic. This forms a hard,
creamy plaster and is capable of receiving a highly smooth and polished
marble-like surface.
Another form of imitation is made of a hardened plaster of Paris highly
polished and tinted in a solution of gamboge and dragon’s blood, being
afterwards treated with paraffin or stearic acid. All cheaper grades of
meerschaum pipes, holders, etc., are made of this or similar compounds and
it is very hard for the average smoker to distinguish them as the ordinary
tests will not suffice. The absorption and coloring qualities are about the
same. Such imitations cost about half as much as the genuine article or even
sometimes less.
It should be added that the chips and dust resulting from the working of the
genuine meerschaum are bonded together with a solution and moulded and
this is also sold as meerschaum.
The number of genuine meerschaum pipes annually manufactured is
probably much less than one-half a million, while there are probably three
or four times as many imitations.

Briar Root
As we have seen briar root is found to be the most suitable wood for pipe
smoking. The word briar is not named from wild briar. The word is a
corruption of the French name La Bruyère, meaning the heather shrub of
that name which grows along the Mediterranean coast of France, Spain and
neighboring countries. It is the root of this shrub which is the substance
used. The shrub is especially cultured for the purpose of pipe making; but
the area in which the best briar root grows is very limited. It takes
considerable time and the result is that the supply of the most suitable wood
is far below the demand. The cultivation of the briar root is a simple matter.
It consists merely in pruning the growth as much as possible so as to
encourage and strengthen the roots.
The very best qualities of briar root come from Corsica and the
neighborhood of Leghorn. It is very finely grained, hard and tough, does not

char and heats slowly.
When full grown and ready for the market the wood is rough sawn into
blocks, varying in size from 3 inches square up, according to the market
sizes required, and allowed to season. When fully seasoned the blocks are
packed in boxes each containing from 200 to 300 of these blocks. They are
then sent to the dealers or direct to the pipe factories as the case may be.
In the factory the blocks are sorted and then undergo a sweating process in
steam vats for ten to twelve hours. This steaming gives the wood the
familiar brown-yellow tint of the natural briar root uncolored. After
sweating the blocks are sent to the drying room as all traces of moisture
must be removed. This usually takes several months. For pipe making the
workman selects his block and roughly trims it to size. It is then placed in
the frazing machine. This usually has three cutters revolving at very high
speed, making several thousand revolutions per minute. The center cutter
shapes out the block and the outer knives cut away the wood on the outside
so as to form the block roughly into the shape of a pipe bowl and stem. This
is then placed in a special lathe for cutting irregular forms. It is usual to fit
in it a metal pattern of the particular shape chosen for the pipe. A circular
cutting tool is set in motion and the briar block, which turns with the metal
pattern, is mechanically cut to the exact shape of the pattern. After cutting,
the pipe passes to the sandpapering machines where both inside and outside
are thoroughly treated, and it gets a first polishing or smoothing on a
pumice stone wheel. The next process is the boring of the stem which is
done in a drilling machine by a steel wire having a cutting top rapidly
turned by a lathe. The thread on the end of the stem for the mouthpiece is
formed by a special machine. The pipe is then ready for polishers and
finishers. It is first sandpapered four times, twice with rough and twice with
fine on revolving wheels. Unless the wood is to be left its natural color, it is
dropped into a vat of stain until it acquires the color desired. After drying it
is ready for “buffing.” A “buff” is a wheel made of many layers of cloth,
leather, etc., which revolves very rapidly. For pipe buffing these buffs are
usually Tripoli buff, sheepskin buff, muslin and cotton flannel buff. The
Tripoli takes off any sediment held by the edges of the grain. The sheepskin
buff burns the color fast into the wood. The muslin and cotton bring out the
grain and gives the wood its final delicate lustre and finish, which are done
when the stem and mountings have been put on. The pipes are then ready

for final stamping with name and packing. The process is much the same
with all other hard woods. Pipe factories are found in most countries.
French briar pipes are justly celebrated, but the American pipes are better
made.
Within recent years calabash has come into vogue to a large extent as a pipe
making material. The calabash is a South African squash and has a special
softness of flavor. The curved stem end of the calabash is used, being lined
with plaster of Paris, and quite a large trade has sprung up in South Africa
in growing calabash for the pipe trade, the principal point being Cape Town.

The Pipe Stem
It is very important that suitable material be selected for the mouthpiece of
the pipe. In fact from many points of view the mouthpiece is the most
important part of the pipe for the smoker, because damage to the lips must
be particularly avoided, and a defective, rough, or badly made mouthpiece
is apt to cause damage. There are three very important qualities which the
material must have: (1) It must be hard enough to resist indentation from
the teeth and yet not feel gritty. (2) It must be capable of receiving a
perfectly smooth surface and of retaining it under the action of saliva. (3) It
must not be a rapid heater so that it will not burn the lips, or crack or
splinter under action of heat. Other very desirable qualities are toughness,
beauty of appearance and freedom from taste or odor under all
circumstances of use.
Amber has a unique place in fulfilling these conditions. Amber is a fossil
gum or resin, the juice of pine trees, which in course of time has become
petrified like coal.
Amber is found is various parts of the world, but is more plentifully found
along the sandy shores of East Prussia bordering on the Baltic Sea. This
area was in time long past the site of pine forests. The amber is found very
often to occur with lignite or brown coal. It is dug out of the cliffs or mined
like coal out of the ground. Sometimes it is washed in from the sea. In size
it varies from the size of a pea to lumps as large as an orange. When first
dug up it is usually of a pale yellow color, but this becomes darker on

exposure. The manufacture of commercial amber is a government
monopoly in Prussia. The pieces are all melted down at a temperature of
about 550° F., and then after purification it is cast into slabs about ⅞ inch to
1⅝ inches thick and four inches to eight inches long, in which form it is
sold to dealers. There are two qualities, opaque and transparent, the opaque
being the tougher. The cost varies considerably, the inferior kinds being
sold for $2.00 per pound, and the finest specimens cost up to $60.00 per
pound.
By far the largest quantity of amber used for ordinary pipes is imitation
amber. The manufacture of this is a trade secret. It is so good and fulfills its
purpose so well that only experts can distinguish it from genuine amber.
There are many substitutes for amber.
Good vulcanite, except for the matter of appearance is little inferior to
amber as mouthpiece material. Cut vulcanite is cool and smooth, but
moulded vulcanite is liable to be rough to the lips and should be avoided.
Vulcanite mouthpieces are usually sold already finished direct to the pipe
makers.
Except for the matter of brittleness unglazed clay is a most excellent pipe
stem. Clay is usually cool and very absorbent of the acrid oils occurring in
the distillation of tobacco. When the end of a clay stem is protected by a
rubber band, it forms a very good mouthpiece. Bone and other materials are
also used as mouthpieces. Ebonite is used, but is objectionable because it
spoils the flavor of the tobacco. Celluloid is a dangerous substance and
should not be used as a pipe stem.
The smoker should avoid biting the mouthpiece as it roughens it. It is far
better to discard a mouthpiece when it becomes indented, rough or worn in
any way. A damaged mouthpiece should on no account be used when the
lips are chapped or lacerated because the irritation may, if continued, lead to
ulceration and tobacco juice is not beneficial to skin lesions.

Special Pipes
German pipes are, as might be expected, the most correct in scientific
principle. The pipe has two bowls the upper of which is for the tobacco.

This fits into a socket which allows the oils and aqueous solutions due to
the distillation to pass into the lower bowl, very little getting into the stem.
The bowls are usually of porcelain and the long curved stem is of wood
mostly cherry.
The Dutch pipe is similar to the German except that the stem is long and
straight which allows the bowl to rest on the ground. The German pipe is
usually held in the hand by the lower bowl. In Turkey and Oriental
countries the water pipe is used. This form of pipe originated in Persia. The
pipe consists of a receptacle for the tobacco, which has a perforated bottom.
This holder fits into a cup from which a hollow tube leads into a jar
containing water. The tube passes through the stopper of the jar and
descends almost to the bottom of the water. Another tube, the inhaling tube,
also passes through the stopper of the jar, but does not reach to the surface
of the water. On drawing through the inhaler a vacuum is created in the air
space above the surface of the water in the jar which induces suction
through the other tube below the water level. The smoke therefore bubbles
through the water and is cooled before it reaches the mouth of the smoker.
It, however, requires a considerable amount of effort to draw the smoke
through.
Water pipes are used extensively among the better classes of the East. Some
of them are very gorgeous affairs, the bowls being of the richest crystal and
the fittings gold or silver set with gems. Sometimes they have several
smoking tubes so as to accommodate more than one smoker. The water pipe
used by the Shah of Persia is said to be worth $400,000.00.
In Turkey the water pipe is known by the name of Hookak. In Egypt it is
called Nargeeleh (or Narghile) because the water vessel is usually a cocoa
nut for which the Arabic name is Na’rghee’leh. The Hookak usually stands
on the floor and is ponderous, with many smoking tubes. The Nargeeleh is a
hand pipe.
In Eastern countries, however, besides the water pipe the ordinary clay bowl
pipe is used to a very large extent, being fitted with a wooden stem from 3
to 5 feet in length. All these pipes are essentially home pipes, as it is not
habitual with the Eastern people to smoke except when seated.

In China both sexes commonly smoke pipes—a water pipe made of brass is
usually smoked by the richer classes. The poorer classes use a clay pipe
with a bamboo stem.
The principal importation into the United States of foreign made pipes and
smokers’ articles is from Austria, England and Germany. The latest
government statistics show that from England $278,000, from Austria about
$280,000, and from Germany about $139,000 worth of such goods are
annually imported. These are principally pipes. Cigarette paper, briar root,
etc., are not included in these figures. The total importation value in 1912
(exclusive of duty) from Europe was $1,478,000.

The Care of Pipes
An experienced smoker lays down the following rules for the care of pipes.
The rules apply whether a man uses one or half a dozen pipes:
(1) When a pipe is used for the first time wipe out the bowl with a cloth.
Then thoroughly wet or dampen it. Before the moisture evaporates fill the
pipe. Light evenly and be careful not to burn the rim with the lighted match.
The tobacco being damp next the wood will not redden there, hence the
wood will not char but a sooty film will form.
(2) Ashes should be allowed to remain in the pipe till thoroughly cooled.
Then emptied. The object of this is to allow the liquid residue to soak into
the pores of the new wood.
(3) Do not scrape the inner surface of the bowl. The thin coating of carbon
(the “cake”) which is formed on it is a nonconductor of heat and prevents
the wood from overheating or cracking. It keeps the pipe cool and is a good
absorber.
(4) After half a dozen smokes the rule of removing the ashes should be
reversed. They should be removed promptly after smoking. Blow through
the mouthpiece after smoking. By this time the inner surface of bowl is
sufficiently soaked and coated and continuation makes it acrid and sodden.

(5) Always allow your pipe to cool and dry before resmoking. Use pipe
cleaners and pipe spoon for cleaning. When the “cake” becomes too thick
part of it may be removed but always leave a layer next the wood. Be
careful not to scrape the surface of the bowl.
(6) A pipe should not be used continuously for more than a few weeks or a
month. It should then be cleaned and allowed rest unused for a while. It is
well to allow it to hang where the sunlight can play on it. Acrid matters will
dry out and the pipe will be sweet when smoked again. It is a good plan to
pack the bottom of the bowl with powdered chalk when it is resting.
When a pipe tastes acrid it requires more than ordinary cleaning. If one has
the opportunity a most excellent way is to blow steam through it, first
removing the mouthpiece. Another way recommended by a smoker who
says it is most efficacious is to fit a cork into the bowl of the pipe. Make a
hole in the cork, into which the nozzle of a soda siphon will fit snugly.
Direct the mouthpiece into some emptying vessel and force about a wine
glass of the soda water from the siphon through the pipe. It will clean it out
effectively.
If you are smoking a meerschaum and desire it to color well and evenly it is
a good plan to use a false upper bowl to fit inside the bowl of your pipe.
The rim of fire where the tobacco is burning makes the pipe bowl too hot
and does not allow that part to color. The false bowl will prevent this. Some
smokers think that covering a meerschaum bowl with chamois will cause it
to color well. The chamois will not aid the coloring but it will protect the
bowl from being touched by the hand during the process and thus avoiding
a spotty effect, particularly if the hand should be moist or greasy. During
the progress of the coloring the pipe should never be allowed to get too hot.
The time required to color a pipe depends on the tobacco used. If it is a rich
oily tobacco, the time necessary is shorter than with a dry tobacco.
Imitation meerschaum of the cheaper kind are sometimes artificially
colored by the makers. This is done by boiling the pipe in an oily solution
of nicotine, the formula for which as given in the American Druggist, V. 58,
is:

Crude nicotine (oil of tobacco)==℥ i.
Olive oil==℥ ii.
Yellow wax==℥ viii.
The pipe is kept in the boiling solution from 10 to 15 minutes and rapidly
absorbs it. The surface is capable of a high polish.

REFERENCES
Penn, W. A. The Soverane Herbe: a History of Tobacco. London and New
York, 1901.
Fairholt, F. W. Tobacco; its History and Associations. London, 1876.

CHAPTER XVII

EFFECTS OF TOBACCO SMOKING ON THE
HUMAN SYSTEM
Physical effects. Opinions of medical men quoted and discussed.

EFFECTS OF TOBACCO SMOKING ON THE HUMAN SYSTEM
It is a matter of very great importance for the user of tobacco that he should
have clear information regarding the beneficial and harmful effects of
tobacco on the human mind and body. There are very few matters which
have been the subject of such varied opinions; such exaggeration and
misconception. Those who are opposed to the use of tobacco have not
hesitated to ascribe to it every form of evil, physical, mental and moral.
Insanity, epilepsy, cancer, malignant throat disease, blindness, heart disease
and a host of other diseased conditions are traced to tobacco smoking by its
enemies. On the other hand the users of tobacco are scarcely less vehement
in holding that no harmful effects follow, but ascribing all kinds of virtue as
resulting from its use. It is not our object in this chapter to justify or
recommend the use, or to advise the avoidance of tobacco; we think it is a
matter that the individual should decide for himself. Moreover, we think
that no general rules governing all cases can be laid down, but that each
individual must judge for himself whether the use of tobacco is justified in
his own particular case or not, taking into consideration all the
circumstances that affect him. The important thing is that he should possess
clear and correct information with regard to the effects of tobacco as far as
such have been scientifically determined; and from the observation of its
effects on his own organism to determine whether in his own case the
practice is beneficial or otherwise and to what extent it may be pursued if
he desires to smoke.

We, therefore, purpose to submit the facts which have been determined by
the most careful scientific investigators and others of high standing, who,
from their experience in the investigation of the causes of disease, are best
qualified to offer opinions which may be accepted as authoritative.
A perusal of the vast amount of literature both for and against the use of
tobacco brings out certain points very largely. First, in the case of the
opponents, the most sweeping statements are made without a particle of
scientific proof in support of them, by persons who are in no way qualified
to make such statements. Statistics are quoted most recklessly and accepted
as conclusive, although in most cases there is no logical connection
between the matter of the statistics and the absolute effects of tobacco. If
there is a question of a certain condition, it is not sufficient to show that the
person suffering from it was a user of tobacco and to allege, therefore, that
tobacco was the cause of the condition. It must be shown conclusively that
no other circumstances than the use of tobacco could have caused this
condition. Dr. T. W. Jenkins, of Albany, N. Y., (New York Medical Journal,
1915, V. 102, p. 355), who was awarded a prize by this leading medical
journal for his essay on tobacco smoking says: “The first thing to bear in
mind is that considering the large amount of tobacco used very little harm
results, and care should be taken not to incriminate tobacco when the
troubles under observation may be due to other causes.”
Secondly, among the investigators themselves who have made impartial
inquiries about the effects of tobacco, there is sometimes a wide difference
of opinion in the interpretation of results and in the relation of cause and
effect. Thus most varied opinions exist on the subject of nicotine. The result
is that it is difficult for the average man to come to a satisfactory conclusion
on the subject; for it cannot be said that the scientific knowledge of the
effects of tobacco smoking on the human system as presented to us today is
final or sufficiently well determined to enable definite and true conclusions
to be arrived at.
Thirdly, there is the widespread error of ascribing the evils of the abuses of
tobacco to the use of tobacco. This matter of the use and abuse of tobacco
cannot be put too clearly. Most medical investigators have based their
results clearly on the excessive use of tobacco. It is a very rare thing to find
a medical investigator drawing attention to any harmful results following

the moderate use of tobacco, and it appears a just statement to make that the
majority of men use tobacco in moderation. It appears to be true that
excessive smoking is harmful and is capable of producing deleterious
effects on the respiratory and nervous systems in man, but it has never been
scientifically proved that the moderate use of tobacco has any particularly
harmful effects. Moreover, it is well-known to the medical profession and
so stated constantly that in many cases where the use of tobacco has
produced bad effects on the eye, nerves, etc., its use is contra-indicated,
owing to the condition of the subject due to other causes and that such
results would not occur in a normally healthy subject. Therefore, because
tobacco when used excessively or when used by persons who are not
constitutionally fitted for it, produces bad effects, it is not logical to argue,
as many opponents of tobacco smoking do, that the use of tobacco is
universally harmful.
Fourthly, the conclusions arrived at by some investigators, are based on
experiments made on animals, and it appears quite open to criticism, and is
in fact disproved by common experience, that such results will follow when
applied to man. Hinging on this is the question of immunity and toleration.
The human system will easily after use tolerate effects which at first it
rebels against. This may easily be seen in muscular and other efforts. Let a
man who is constantly leading a sedentary life suddenly walk 10 miles. The
result is almost prostration and he will not recover from it for a considerable
time. Let him, however, commence by walking a mile or two and gradually
at each walk increase the distance, and in a short while he will be able to
walk 10 miles without feeling any fatigue. Similarly running or other rapid
exercise to a person not used to it will produce such rapid disturbances in
the respiration and circulation as even to be fatal, while the seasoned athlete
may perform such feats without the least ill effects.
To take animals or persons who have never before used tobacco and to
argue or conclude that the effects of tobacco smoke on them are the effects
of tobacco on smokers generally is absurd. Yet such experimental results are
very often made the basis of denunciation of tobacco smoking.
Finally most investigators have made their inquiries for the exclusive
purpose of discovering the evil effects of tobacco smoking. They proceed to
their work with a biassed mind. They have already assumed that the habit is

harmful and they simply want to find out how much harm they can
discover. They are prejudiced from the beginning. It is to this class of
investigator that Dr. John Aikman refers to (New York Medical Journal,
Oct. 30, 1915), when he says: “In reading the literature on the use of
tobacco we are impressed by the fact that much of it is written by persons
greatly opposed to the use of the plant, and naturally prejudiced.” It is quite
conceivable that a man may investigate the evil effects which follow from
wearing clothes and shoes and he could undoubtedly find some evil effects;
but the users of such articles could very justly say that the beneficial results
of such habits more than outweighed the demonstrated harm that might
occur. And then the user of tobacco might say that the beneficial effects of
smoking more than compensated for any slight harm that may happen. For
tobacco has undoubtedly many excellent effects, and no one knows this
better than the smoker himself. He will readily admit that excess is bad. He
will readily admit that the use of tobacco is not suitable to immature
persons, or in fact to many other persons, but he insist that in the majority
of cases, it is not only practically harmless but that it has many desirable
qualities, for that is proved by his own experience and the experience of
millions of other smokers in all ages and under all conditions.
We will now proceed to consider some of the effects which have been
ascribed to tobacco smoking and give expressed opinions concerning them.

Physical Effects of Tobacco Smoking
The principal deleterious effects on the human system ascribed to the use of
tobacco are:
(a) Throat diseases.
(b) Disturbance of vision.
(c) Heart troubles (smokers’ heart).
(d) Disturbance of the digestive organs (dyspepsia, etc.).
(e) Disturbance of the nervous system.
(f) Disturbance of nutrition.

As regards (a) throat diseases, the following is the opinion of Dr. H. Reik of
the Johns Hopkins University, surgeon to the Baltimore Eye, Ear and Throat
Hospital, as expressed by him in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal,
Vol. 162, p. 856, 1910:
“There is not one scintilla of evidence that malignant disease of the throat is
due in any way to the use of tobacco; and if it be admitted that carcinoma
(cancer) of the lip or tongue has been produced by smoking, it is clearly not
tobacco, but traumatism (i. e., injury) from the stems of the pipe or other
tobacco container that is responsible.
“It does not appear or at least has not been proven that tobacco causes any
definite characteristic lesions of the nose, throat or ear.”
Dr. Reik is a man of high standing in the medical profession. His opinion is
clear and unmistakable and it is presumed he has seen thousands of cases of
nose and throat diseases and knows what he is talking about.
Dr. Reik refers to the question of so-called smokers’ cancer. Cancer is a
disease which attacks all kinds of people and may occur in widely different
parts of the body. The causation of this disease is not known to the medical
profession but what is known about it is that it usually occurs on the site of
some previous injury. Thus cancer may occur on the tongue as the result of
the constant irritation of a jagged broken tooth.
Dr. I. C. Bloodgood (Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, No. 2, 1914),
who has examined 200 cases of lip cancer says that smoking is a common
factor, the disease when occurring being usually on the site of a neglected
and ulcerated smoker’s burn. The burn may be a charring of the skin due to
a very hot pipe stem or burning cigar stem. He says, moreover, that if the
burn is not continued and there is no other injury, this defect may heal
without evidence of ulceration.
Similarly a cancer may be the result of continual use of a broken or rough
pipe stem or from using a dirty pipe stem on a broken skin. All these are
clearly matters which the average smoker easily and usually avoids. It is,
however, clear that tobacco itself is in no way responsible for cancer, and
no responsible medical writer on the subject alleges that it is.

Most of the medical writers who have inscribed injurious physical effects
on the nervous system, heart and sense organs, to excessive tobacco
smoking have stated that these effects are due to the toxic action of the
alkaloid nicotine known to exist in tobacco. There is a wide difference,
however, in the results obtained by different writers as to the amount of the
nicotine in tobacco which finds its way with the tobacco smoke. Moreover,
some of the investigators who have done very careful work do not consider
that nicotine is the toxic element, but the substance called pyridine which is
derived from it.
Dr. Bush (quoted below) referring to this matter says:
“From a review of the literature it would appear that extensive studies had
been made as to the effects on living organisms of the alkaloid, nicotine.
From such studies a great number of writers, especially laymen, have
adopted the hasty conclusion that tobacco smoking entailed like results.
“Comparatively few studies have been made of the effects of tobacco
smoking on human beings; and such as have been made fail to state if the
tobacco used or the smoke produced was examined for nicotine or its
congeners. The absence of an examination necessarily causes some doubt in
the causative faction of the phenomena. Some authors are rather inclined to
conclude that nicotine alone is the pathogenic factor in tobacco smoking,
but since the presence of nicotine per se in tobacco smoke is debatable and
since other toxic substances are demonstrable, it would seem as if the whole
subject still remained open for investigation.”
The nicotine contained in ordinary tobacco, according to many authors,
ranges from about 1 to 8 or 9 per cent. Lee’s investigation (Journal of
Physiology, 1908, p. 335) found that about half of the total nicotine was
present in the smoke—according to Lee the pyridin seemed to be entirely
without influence.
Lehmann (Archiv für Hygiene, 1909, p. 319) found that from 80 to 90% of
the total nicotine in a cigar or cigarette was to be found in the smoke. He
found also that in the case of cigars about 10 to 18% of the nicotine in the
smoke is absorbed by the smoker and that cigarette smoke absorbed by the
smoker contains a less proportion of the nicotine in the tobacco than is the

case with cigars. The general opinion is, however, that about one-seventh of
the nicotine in the tobacco will be found in the smoke.
Entirely at variance with these results are those obtained recently by A. D.
Bush, M.D., Instructor of Physiology in the University of Vermont (New
York Medical Journal, March 14, 1914), and those obtained in the
laboratory investigation by the London Laucet. Bush made long and
extensive investigations on the effects of tobacco smoking and criticised the
results of previous workers. He shows very clearly that in many cases the
conclusions drawn by them as regards nicotine contained in tobacco smoke
are either entirely erroneous or that the deductions made from the
investigations were not warranted by the facts observed. He points out the
fact that most writers on the subject have overlooked the fact of the great
discrepancy between the possible effects arising from the administration of
the amount of nicotine in a cigar and the actual effect produced on the
smoker of the cigar. He asks this pertinent question: “If a cigar contains
0.085 grains nicotine, and if one-seventh of the nicotine of the tobacco is
present in the smoke and if but .004 grains is capable of causing death, why
does the smoker not absorb enough nicotine to cause his demise?”
As a result of his careful experiments, Bush found that although nicotine
was present in all the samples of tobacco tested there was no nicotine
whatever found in the smoke, except in the case of cigarettes and in this
case only traces were found. The reason of this is given as due to the rapid
burning of the cigarette which did not allow sufficient time for the complete
decomposition of the nicotine. Pyridine was, however, found in the smoke
of all tobacco burned. Pyridine is only one-twentieth as toxic as nicotine.
Bush concluded, therefore, that pyridine and not nicotine is the toxic factor
in tobacco smoke. The same fact was stated several years ago by Rideal
(Disinfection and Preservation of Food, London and New York, 1903, p.
254), who says: “Tobacco smoke, contrary to popular belief, does not
contain nicotine, which is decomposed by the heat; but pyridine and its
homologues and the beneficial effects of tobacco in many cases of asthma
must be attributed to this latter.”
The Lancet investigation (see Lancet, Ap. 6, 1912, pp. 944-947) was made
because “a recent review of numerous analysis of tobacco which have been
published from time to time raises some doubt as to whether the results

given correctly represent the actual alkaloidal contents of the tobacco.”
Moreover, to find the relationship of the true amount of nicotine in any
tobacco to that in the smoke produced by the combustion of that tobacco,
and any modification caused by the method of smoking.
The investigation was conducted under the strictest conditions, the most
recent methods of chemical research being employed.
The following table (given by the Lancet) shows the nicotine contents of
various tobacco samples and the percentage of nicotine in the smoke:

Per Cent
Per Cent Per Cent
Nicotine
Description of Nicotine Nicotine
in
Tobacco. in in Smoke
Smoke
Tobacco (Cigarette).
(Pipe).
Virginian
Cigarettes 1.40 0.74 0.12
(Sample 1)
Virginian
Cigarettes 1.60 0.60 0.06
(Sample 2)
Caporal
(French) 2.60 2.20 0.95
Tobacco
Turkish
1.38 .... 0.51
Cigarettes
Egyptian
1.74 .... 0.21
Cigarettes
Pipe Smoking
2.85 2.20 2.25
Mixture (1)
Pipe Smoking
2.81 1.53 ....
Mixture (2)
Pipe Smoking
2.04 0.23 ....
Mixture (3)

Perique Tobacco 5.30 1.27 0.57
Cavendish
4.15 3.85 ....
Tobacco
Latakia Tobacco 2.35 1.20 ....
Havana Cigar 0.64 .... 0.20

From this analysis it appears that pipe mixtures contain the largest amount
of nicotine in the tobacco (2.04-2.85%). Egyptian and Turkish cigarette
tobaccos come next (1.38-1.74%). Virginian cigarette tobacco shows similar
figures (1.40-1.60%). French tobacco (Caporal) contains 2.60%, and
Perique 5.30%. For all practical purposes the tobaccos consumed by the
public according to this report seldom contain more than 3% of nicotine and
generally less, the average being about 2%, which is much lower than
previous writers lead us to expect.
The cigarette, whether Egyptian, Turkish or American, yields the least
amount of its total nicotine to the smoke formed, while the pipe yields a
very large portion (in some cases between 70 and 80%) of its nicotine to the
smoke. Analysis of cigar smoke gives figures midway between the two.
With the results of Bush and the Lancet before him the user of tobacco will
be better able to judge of the opinions of those who describe the effects of
nicotine on the vision, heart, digestive organs, etc., as likely to be the results
of tobacco smoking.
Thus the disturbance of vision ascribed to tobacco smoking is called
tobacco amblyopia.
Dr. W. S. Franklin of San Francisco (Calif. State Jour. of Med., 1909, V. 7,
p. 85), says that to produce this disease it is necessary to smoke daily from
.75 to 1.0 gms. of pure nicotine. If 17% of the nicotine of tobacco is carried
in the smoke, in order to absorb that quantity 7 or 8 cheap domestic cigars,
10 or 11 Cubans or 60 cigarettes should be smoked. Now very few smokers
consume this amount and according to Bush, and the Lancet, and others
there is no such percentage of nicotine in the smoke.
To the use of tobacco is ascribed an acid dyspepsia—this, however, is
noticed more particularly in habitual chewers and in this case the nicotine

not being burnt has no chance of being decomposed. All writers have
agreed that chewing is the worst way that tobacco can be used. Dr. R. V.
Dolbey says: (Northwest Medicine, 1909, V. 1 p. 99).
“In chewing, quantities of watery extract of tobacco are swallowed and
taken down with the food containing a large percentage of nicotine and
causing severe dyspepsia. While tobacco juice solution in the laboratory
kills intestinal bacteria, excessive tobacco chewing does not have this effect
on the human body owing to the fact that the gastric and pancreatic juices
act on it and alter it.”
Dr. I. S. Gilfilian discusses the effects of tobacco on the heart in the St. Paul
Medical Journal, July, 1912, p. 338. He says that the important part whether
organic changes in the cardio-vascular system may be produced by tobacco
is still doubtful, and that it has never been shown that smokers suffer more
from organic heart disease than nonsmokers.
General opinion is that smoking lessens the pulse rate and slightly increases
the blood pressure, and that it is a cause of arterio-sclerosis.
With regard to arterio-sclerosis, Dr. A. Lorand of Carlsbad who is a world-
wide authority on the effects of toxic substances on the blood, says in his
book, Old Age Deferred (English translation, 1910, p. 367):
“Clinically we have observed the great frequency of arterio-sclerosis in
great smokers, but we do not think that two or three light cigars a day, but
never before meals, can do any harm save in exceptional cases. Indeed there
are a few instances of persons living to be over 100, notwithstanding the
fact that they were smokers—a fact contrary to the observation of Hufeland
who pretends that he never heard of such a case. The famous English
painter, Frith, who died in October, 1909, used to smoke 6 cigars a day, and
Mr. F. of Chartres, in France, passed last year his 100th birthday in spite of
his having taken snuff all his life.”
If there were any serious lesions caused in the human system by the
continued use of tobacco we might naturally expect that life insurance
companies would take notice of it, but hear what they have to say (Medical
Record, New York, July 12, 1913):

Dr. H. G. Turney, at the meeting of Life Insurance Medical Officers
Association, London, January, 1913, said that as far as observation and
study of the literature went he did not consider that there was much
evidence that the habit of smoking can be convicted of any serious effect on
the mortality table. One must confess rather to a feeling of surprise that the
life-long absorption of so potent a drug as nicotine by a large proportion of
the male population should not be accompanied by more obvious results in
the way of serious injury to the cardiac muscle than appears to be the case.
Dr. A. Marvin of the Department of Pharmacology, Vermont University,
made numerous experiments on the effects produced by tobacco. In the
cases of the respiratory system, he states that in rapid smoking the
respiratory rate is increased, due more to the effort than to the drug. In
deliberate smoking there is very little effect. In the digestive system the
effects produced were, increased flow of saliva and stimulation of the
mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. Marvin did not find any
important symptoms of systemic irregularities except where there was
excessive use of tobacco. He says: “Tobacco produces, when used to excess,
symptoms in a very small per cent and often it is only one factor in
producing the conditions observed.” A very cautiously expressed and
noncommittal opinion.
It is to be remembered that of the percentage of nicotine in tobacco smoke
only a small portion is drawn into the smoker’s system. The greater part
passes off again in the smoke passed out; also that the products of
combustion of tobacco include acqueous solution as well as smoke; it will
not probably be questioned that some of this watery solution is drawn into
the mouth as well as the smoke and probably contains minute quantities of
nicotine or its derivatives.
The smoker may obviate any slight harmful effects of these substances by
care. If he is a cigar smoker he must avoid chewing or sucking the butt end
of the cigar in which the acqueous solution finally gathers, and he would
find it better to smoke long thin cigars which afford a small area behind the
burning point for the collection of acqueous vapor and give a better
combustion. Judged from these viewpoints the best and most expensive
thick cigar is likely to be more harmful than the very worst kind of a
cigarette, for although there may be a much smaller percentage of nicotine

in the cigar tobacco, a much larger proportion of it may reach the mouth of
the smoker through the water produced by combustion, in the case of the
cigar than in the case of the cigarette.
Every cigar and cigarette smoker should use a holder for the reason stated.
The cigarette from the nicotine point of view is the least objectionable form
of smoking. In fact expert opinion is recognizing that unless where the
smoke is inhaled cigarette smoking if not excessive is probably harmless. It
is hard, of course, to kill a popular prejudice, but we have to deal with
demonstrated facts not prejudices. In the case of inhalation of cigarette
smoke the danger is from carbon monoxide gas and not from nicotine.
When the difference of opinion amongst authoritative investigators are
discounted their general results will be found to agree very well with the
general facts observed by all users of tobacco. What they see is that
probably seventy per cent of the adult male population under all conditions
and circumstances use tobacco within limits of moderation. They see
around them men who have for many years used it, and they do not observe
any particular harmful results in the user of tobacco compared with the
nonuser. Men as a rule are not more nervous, more subject to heart troubles
or age troubles than women, who as a sex, do not use tobacco. Smokers do
not deny and never have denied that the abuse of tobacco is harmful.
The general view that both scientific investigators and popular observation
is able to support is well expressed by Clouston, who is a world known
authority on nervous and mental disease. (See Hygiene of Mind, 3rd Ed.
London, 1906, p. 260.)
“If its use is restricted to full grown men, if only good tobacco is used not
of too great strength, and if it is not used to excess, then there are no
scientific proofs that it has any injurious effects, if there is no idiosyncracy
against it.... Speaking generally, it exercises a soothing influence when the
nervous system is in any way irritable. It tends to calm and continuous
thinking and in many men promotes the digestion of food.
“Tobacco, properly used may, in some cases, undoubtedly be made a mental
hygienie.”

Mann (Brit. Med. Journal, 1908, V. II, p. 1673), expresses a similar opinion
thus: “Most men if they choose to smoke can do so within certain limits
without injury to health. Some men can exceed such limits with apparent
impunity. The extent of the limitation must be determined by each man for
himself.”

CHAPTER XVIII

THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF TOBACCO
Its disinfecting action. Protection against infectious disease.
Psychological effects of smoking.

THE BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF TOBACCO
In the previous chapters the possible harmful effects of using tobacco have
been dealt with at length. In this chapter we shall deal shortly with some
positive beneficial effects.
There is very little doubt that tobacco is a strongly protective agent against
infection from disease. Its germicidal qualities are well-known and
recognized. It is now recognized by medical writers that the mouth is one of
the principal, if not the principal channel of infection for many infective
diseases. The cavities of the teeth are the breeding places of hosts of
pathogenic bacteria, of which there are about 100 different varieties arising
from decaying food and other sources. These destructive agents, many of
them highly pathogenic, easily find their way from the mouth through
various channels to the inside of the body. Many infective organisms
floating in the air are drawn into the mouth in the act of respiration and this
is a common method of falling a victim to contagion.
The effect of tobacco juice on the bacteria of the human mouth was
investigated by Dr. W. D. Fullerton and is reported by him in the Cleveland
Med. Journal 1912, page 585.
In his experiments Fullerton used tobacco juice obtained from the human
mouth by chewing plug tobacco. He also used a solution of smoke obtained
from a well seasoned pipe. These were first thoroughly sterilized in order to
obtain a pure natural mixture of tobacco and saliva. Cultures of well-known
species of bacteria were made using every laboratory precaution so as to

obtain accurate results. Specimens of these bacterial cultures were then
submitted to the action of the tobacco juice. It was found that exposure for
one hour killed or rendered innocuous 15 to 98 per cent of the bacteria;
exposure for 24 hours acted similarly on from 84 to 100%. Dr. Fullerton
gives his opinion, from his results, that it seems that a pipeful of tobacco
was more toxic to bacteria than one chew; but chewing tends to loosen
retained food particles, foci of bacteria, etc., and much of this is ejected
from the mouth. Fullerton’s work agreed very well with the results obtained
by other workers in the same line of investigation. In Miller’s Micro-
organisms of the Human Mouth, p. 246, it is stated that the organisms of the
mouth lead only a miserable existence in a mixture of an infusion of
tobacco, sugar and saliva; and that the smoke of the last one-third or the
first one-fourth of a Colorado Claro cigar sterilized ten cubic centimeters of
beef extract solution which had been richly inoculated with bacteria from
decayed teeth. Arnold, Lancet (London, 1907) reports similar experiences
with some of the most virulent types of infective bacteria.
Both nicotine and its derivative pyridine as well as the tarry oils resulting
from tobacco distillation are strong and effective disinfectants; and
formaldehyde, one of the most powerful germicides known, is so formed.
Trillat, Annales de l’Institut Pasteur (Paris), Vol. 19, p. 722, shows that 100
grams of pipe tobacco will yield .063 grams and 100 grams weight of cigar
.118 grams of formaldehyde. Also that a dilution of 1⁄1000 formaldehyde is
germicidal to all bacteria although it has very little deleterious effects on
man.
As far as can be ascertained there has not been very much investigation for
the purpose of demonstrating the actual results of clinical experience
regarding the antiseptic qualities of tobacco in the case of smokers, but
facts, so far as they have been recorded, bear out the experiments. Rideal
Disinfection and Preservation of Food (London and New York, 1903) states
that the investigations of Tessarini showed that tobacco smoke passed over
the organisms of human cholera and pneumonia killed them in from 10 to
30 minutes. He also states that the Cigar Manufacturers Association of
Hamburg reported that in the cholera epidemic of 1892 in that city, only 8
out of 5,000 employes in the cigar factories there were attacked by the
disease and that, there were only 4 deaths. Professor Wenck, of the Imperial
Institute of Berlin, has published an account of this cholera epidemic (see

Laucett francaise, Paris, 1912, p. 1425). His conclusions favor the
preservative action of tobacco. It was clearly shown that slightly moist
tobacco was a fatal germicide for the cholera bacillus; all microbes die in it
in 24 hours. The examination of cigars made in Hamburg during the
epidemic showed that they were absolutely free from bacilli. Wenck asserts
also that cholera microbes die in ½ hour, 1 hour, and 2 hours after having
been placed in contact with the smoke of Brazilian, Sumatran and Havana
tobacco. The fumes of tobacco will besides kill in five minutes the cholera
microbes obtained from saliva. Fullerton already quoted examined a small
number of mouths (74) in the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore. Of
those who did not use tobacco in any form a larger percentage showed signs
of dental caries and decay of an advanced stage than in the case of tobacco
users. Similarly in the case of women who never used tobacco; and,
although there was a much greater care and cleansing of the teeth, yet the
percentage of decay and disease was higher than in the case of men using
tobacco. Fullerton says, “The smoking or chewing of tobacco is decidedly
germicidal. Chewing, by exercising the teeth, helps nutrition and eliminates
pathological agencies both by destroying them in situ and by removing
them in the expectoration.” Rideal (already quoted) mentions that Dr.
Burney, the senior medical officer of Greenwich Hospital, London, asserts
that the tobacco smoking inmates of that institution enjoyed comparative
immunity from epidemics.
From these opinions and examples it seems quite clear that whatever
portions of the decomposition products of tobacco reach the mouth and mix
with the saliva, or propagate themselves in the immediate surroundings of
the smoker, are likely to have extremely good effects. It would be easy to
multiply these opinions but there is no use laboring the argument. There is a
matter, however, it will do no harm to mention here. Today it is being
gradually recognized by the medical profession that the conditions which
lead ultimately to gastric and intestinal ulcer including appendicitis are
entirely due to infection. At the 1912 meeting of the British Medical
Association this was clearly manifested and some of the leading authorities
in England pointed out the importance of the mouth as a focus of infection
in such diseases. Now if this is so, it is at once apparent how important
tobacco as a mouth disinfectant and germicide becomes; and it may
incidentally throw some light (otherwise unexplained) on the fact constantly

observed that in persons under 30 years old these diseases are far more
common amongst women than in the case of men. The use of tobacco is not
asserted as a reason, but it may be.
With regard to other beneficial effects—Clouston, Fullerton and Marvin,
state that the moderate use of tobacco has a beneficial effect on the
digestive system as in general it causes an increased flow of saliva and
gastric juice which helps in the digestion of food; it also stimulates the
muscles and mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. The sedative
effects of tobacco on the nerves is a preventative of nervous dyspepsia and
is valuable for the promotion of good digestion.
While much has been written on the effects of excessive smoking on the
nervous system little has been said of the good effects of moderate
smoking. Every smoker realizes that the soothing effects of tobacco on the
nerves is perhaps its most valuable property. Clouston’s opinion, already
quoted (and none could be better), is that “tobacco exercises a soothing
influence when the nervous system is in anyway irritable; it tends to calm
and continuous thinking.” Fullerton says, “It gives a composure and feeling
of well-being which are beneficial to mind and body.” Of these facts there
can be no doubt because they are matters of common daily observation and
experience. Most smokers find a solace and quieting influence from their
evening smoke after the worries of a troublesome day which no other agent
can give them. The effect produced may be partly psychological but that
does not matter. Indeed the strenuousness of life in the age in which we live
seems to demand such a help and nothing appears to supply the want so
efficiently, so pleasantly, and with less harm, than a quiet smoke. It puts the
smoker at peace with himself and at peace with others. Bush found in his
investigations on the mental effects of tobacco on college students that there
was a temporary loss of ten per cent in mental efficiency in certain faculties
of the mind. This is probably true enough though his results are not quite
conclusive. On the other hand many men find that they can think more
clearly and more consecutively when helped by a smoke. Indeed they
smoke when they have a knotty problem to solve. The point need not be
argued; all smokers will agree with it.
Judged from a psychological standpoint the effects of tobacco are entirely
favorable. To the sleepless, the worried, to him who is troubled in mind or

vexed in spirit, the pipe or cigar is a never-failing remedy to soothe and
cheer. It is the feeling of betterment which it engenders and the spirit of
good will which tobacco creates that are responsible for its universal use by
men differing widely in grade and condition of life as well as in mental
caliber; it reaches the common springs which move humanity; its qualities
are those which have made the pipe a symbol of peace and a bond of
fellowship and union between man and man from Pole to Pole.
From a general summing up of the opinions which have been quoted the
question might finally be asked, “Is tobacco on the whole harmful or
beneficial to its users?” The answer seems to be this: “Tobacco to the extent
used on the average has some slight injurious effects and some slight
beneficial effects on the physical system. It is an excellent preservative
agent against contagious and infectious disease. Mentally its effects are
overwhelmingly beneficial.” In every particular case a man must judge for
himself, taking account of his individual idiosyncrasies and conditions
whether the use of tobacco is beneficial to him or otherwise.

REFERENCES
Laucet. London, 1906. Vol. I, p. 984. The germ-destroying properties of
tobacco.
Arnold, M. B. On the effects of the Exposure of Tobacco Smoke on the
growth of pathogenic micro-organisms. Laucet. London, 1907. Vol. I,
p. 1220.
Murray, J. C. Smoking; when injurious, when innocuous, when beneficial.
London, 1871.
Lezars, I. The use and abuse of Tobacco. Philadelphia, 1883.

CHAPTER XIX

MISCELLANEOUS
Revenue, taxation, etc., in connection with tobacco. Free imports.
Diseases of tobacco. Tobacco flavors. Formulae.

NOTES
The “per capita” consumption of tobacco in the U. S. has increased from
1.6 lbs. in 1863 to between 5 and 6 lbs. at the present time.

At the present time the United States collects about 70 million dollars
annually from domestic taxation on manufactured tobacco; and, in addition,
about 25 million in import duties. The actual total income from tobacco in
1912 was 96 million dollars. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, tax
was paid on the following “withdrawn for consumption”:
Cigars weighing more than 3 lbs. per thousand, 7,699,037,543.
Cigars weighing less than 3 lbs. per thousand, 1,033,778,160.
Cigarettes weighing more than 3 lbs. per thousand, 18,194,311.
Cigarettes weighing less than 3 lbs. per thousand, 14,276,771,160.
Snuff, lbs., 33,209,488.
Tobacco, chewing and smoking, lbs., 401,362,620.

In France, Spain, Austria, Italy and other countries the government has a
monopoly over the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Purchase of
leaf in the U. S. is made through government agents.

The quantities of tobacco which may be imported “free of duty” into
European countries is as follows:
Austro-Hungary—12 cigars, 35 grams tobacco.
Belgium-None.
Bulgaria—50 cigars, 50 cigarettes, 50 grams tobacco.
Denmark—None.
Egypt—25 cigars, 100 cigarettes, 200 grams tobacco.
France—80 cigars, 300 cigarettes.
Germany—Enough for immediate use.
Great Britain—12 cigars, 20 cigarettes.
Holland—None.
Italy—6 cigars, 15 cigarettes.
Norway—100 cigars.
Portugal—None.
Russia—100 cigars, 100 cigarettes, 100 grams tobacco.
Spain—None.
Sweden—None.
Turkey—None.

In U. S. 50 cigars and 300 cigarettes may be imported free.

Small variations in the cost of manufacture (including the cost of leaf),
which do not exceed 10%, are usually borne by the manufacturer, and do
not affect the price to the consumer. But increase in taxation, either internal
revenue or tariff, usually occasions a diminution in consumption as it
invariably increases the cost.

The diseases of tobacco due to insect pests, etc.
Tobacco, from the seed bed to the storage of the manufactured products, is
subject to attack by insects, etc., and vigilance must at all times be
exercised to keep it free from such harmful influences.
Only a few of the principal agencies attacking tobacco will be mentioned
here as the subject is of more interest to the specialist than to the smoker.
The growing plant is particularly subject to Cut-worm disease and Horn-
worm disease. Cut-worms are the larvae of several species of moths. They
injure the young, tender plant and feed on the leaves. Horn-worms are the
larvae of the Sphinx Moth. 2 or 3 will ruin a plant in one day.
Stored tobacco is subject to many diseases. Bud caterpillars, the leaf-miner
or split-worm and the Tobacco flea beetle are minute beetles which attack it.
Mosaic disease, Frog-eye or Leaf-spot are probably bacterial diseases.
In addition, tobacco, particularly during the curing process, is subject to
pole-burn, pole-sweat, or house-burn, stem-rot, white-vein, and various
forms of mould, all these being probably due to bacteria.
For additional information see:
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Farmers’ Bulletin, 120.

Howard, L. O. The principal insects affecting the tobacco plant.
Washington, D. C., 1900.
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Bureau of Entomology. Bulletin 65.

Speckled or spotted cigars
Many smokers of cigars have the idea that there is some special virtue in a
cigar that shows specks or spots of discoloration in the leaf. As a matter of
fact such spots have nothing whatever to do with the quality of the tobacco.
The occurrence of such spots is accounted for differently. Some say the
spots are due to certain bacteria which attack the leaf either when growing
or fermenting and this most probably is the correct view. Others say that the
spots are due to rain drops which, sprinkled on the leaves, act as lenses and
concentrate the rays of the sun, thus causing a burning of the leaf in such
spots. Some think the spots are caused by a worm. On account of the
prejudice of smokers for speckled cigars dealers have been known to
produce this appearance in the leaf artificially. There are different methods
although resort is not often had at the present time to this practice as the
belief in this sign is no longer as prevalent as formerly. The following are
examples of such cigar speckling preparation, the chief ingredient being
some active oxidizing agent:
Cigar speckling fluid:
(Method 1.) Powdered Ammonium Carbonate and a concentrated solution
of (H2O2).

Dissolve one part of the Ammonium Carbonate in 25 parts of the (H2O2).
Touch the cigar with this in spots with the end of a pointed stick. This gives
the appearance of speckled Sumatran leaf.
(Method 2.) The following method is said to be used by a large firm:
Sodium Carbonate—3 parts.
Chlorinated Lime—1 part.
Hot Water—8 parts.

Dissolve the washing soda in the hot water, add the chlorinated lime, and
heat to the boiling point. When cool decant and cork tightly. This is
sprinkled over the tobacco.—From American Druggist, Vol. 83, p. 328.
Specks are sometimes caused by fluids used to destroy insects which attack
the cigar after manufacture.

Tobacco flavoring essences
In the chapter treating of the manufacture of smoking and chewing tobacco
it was stated that the tobacco leaf was often treated by certain flavoring
essences. The following are quoted as examples of such essences:
Cascarilla Bark—1 ounce.
Fluid Extract Valerian—1 ounce.
Tonka Bean—2 drams.
English Rum—3 ounces.
—From Pharmaceutical Era, V. 21, 1899, p. 252.
The following essences are said to be used in France and Germany:
(1) For every 1,000 kilos. of tobacco take 4 kilos. of purified potash; 5
kilos. table salt; 10 kilos. canella water; 10 kilos. rose water; 5 kilos.
melilotte water; 2.8 grams tonka bean; pulverized. Color the whole with 4
grams English red. Add when the tobacco is cut up.
(2) 12 kilos. soda; 4 kilos. salts of tartar; 10 kilos. canella water; 10 kilos.
rose water; 5 kilos. melilotte water; 2.8 grams tonka bean; 4 kilos. simple
syrup; 5 kilos. French brandy; 6 kilos. red sandal wood.—From
Pharmaceutical Era, V. 24, p. 67.

Cigar Flavors

Although the best cigars are made from the natural leaf and depend solely
on its flavor and aroma, in the inferior article manufacturers sometimes
resort to flavoring fluids.
The following examples of cigar flavoring fluid formulae are taken from the
Pharmaceutical Era, V. 24, p. 455:
Formula 1.
Extr. Vanilla—½ gal.
Alcohol and Jamaica Rum,—each, ½ gal.
Tinct. Valerian—8 ounces.
Carraway Seed—2 ounces.
English Valerian Root—2 ounces.
Bitter Orange Peel—2 ounces.
Tonka Bean—4 drams.
Myrrh—16 ounces.
Formula 2.
Valerianic Acid—3 drams.
Acetic Ether—40 minims.
Butyric Ether—10 minims.
Alcohol—4 pints.
Formula 3.
Fluid Extr. Valerian—1 ounce.
Tinct. Tonka Bean—8 ounces.
Alcohol—enough to make 16 ounces.

Formula to improve the burning qualities of tobacco
2 lbs. of Saltpeter.
Half gallon of Alcohol (100% proof).
1 gallon Port Wine.
9 gallons Lukewarm Water.

Mix these ingredients thoroughly together, and add to every 100 lbs. weight
of tobacco.

Overcoming desire for tobacco
(From The American Druggist, V. 51, 1908.)
Kalometzer (Bulletin Medical, 1907) states that rinsing mouth with solution
of silver nitrate (¼ of 1% strength) will overcome the desire.

Preventing injurious action of nicotine
A process for the treatment of tobacco leaves preventing in a way injurious
action of nicotine and of acrid empyreumatic acid products, was devised
some years ago by Professor Gerold of Halle. His process is thus described:
He employs for 8 kilograms of tobacco leaves containing the usual
percentage of nicotine a decoction prepared by boiling 15 grams of tannic
acid with 1½ kilograms of water until the weight is reduced to one
kilogram; then 30 grams of the essential oil of origanum vulgare are added,
after which the decoction is immediately removed from the fire. Having
stood for some minutes the mixture is filtered and allowed to cool to about
16° C., when the preparation is ready to be spread over the previously
weighed tobacco. When the absorption of this mixture by the tobacco leaves
is completed, they are subjected to slight pressure and moderate heat, after
which they are ready for the manufacture of the various tobacco products.

Tannic acid is a well-known antidote for nicotine poisoning, and it is
claimed for Gerold’s process that while the undistilled nicotine is
neutralized in its toxic qualities only by the tannic acid, that this does not

influence at all its peculiar odor nor most of its other characteristics.—From
the Pharmaceutical Era, July 27, 1899, p. 144.

Havana cigars are generally better if smoked fresh; domestic cigars are
better if allowed to age in the box several months before using.

Remember that the phosphorus or sulphur of a match may spoil the flavor
of a fine cigar. Be careful when you are lighting it to use only the edge of
the match flame.

If the total number of cigars smoked annually in the United States were
placed end to end they would encircle the whole world more than twenty
times.

INDEX
Air Curing of Leaf, 66

Amber, 162

American Production of Tobacco Other Than in U. S., 35

Analysis of Tobacco, 55

Asia, Production of Tobacco in, 31

Bacterial Diseases, Effects of Tobacco on, 197

Blends of Tobacco, How Made, 78

Briar Root, 158

Cancer and Tobacco, 180

Chemical Constituents of Tobacco, 55

Chewing Tobaccos, 128

Cigar and Cigarette Holders, Value of, 191

Cigar Business in U. S., 96

Cigar Flavors, 215

Cigar Leaf Tobacco Grown in U. S., 119

Cigarette Paper, 139

Cigarette Smoking, Criticisms of, 140

Cigarettes, American, 138

Cigarettes, Kinds of, 134

Cigarettes, Nicotine in Smoke of, 187

Cigarettes, Statistics, 133

Cigarettes, Turkish, 135

Cigarettes, Turkish, Manufactured in the U. S., 137

Cigars, Classification of, 104

Cigars, Composition of, 113

Cigars, Desirable Qualities of, 113

Cigars, Hand-made, 101

Cigars, History, 95

Cigars, Imported Kinds, in U. S., 114

Cigars, Machine-made, 103

Cigars, Manufactured in U. S., 117

Cigars, Speckles or Spots on, 212

Cigars, Statistics of Production and Consumption in U. S.,
96

Cigars, Various Terms Regarding, 107

Coloring Meerschaum Pipes, 169

Consumption of Tobacco in U. S., 92

Cuban Cigar Leaf, 118

Cuban Tobacco, 35

Curing of Tobacco Leaf, 63

Digestive System and Use of Tobacco, 202

Diseases of Tobacco Leaf, 211

Disinfecting Action of Tobacco, 199

East Indian Tobacco, 38

Europe, Production of Tobacco, 32

Exportation of Tobacco from U. S., 91

Eyes and Use of Tobacco, 189

Fermentation of Tobacco, Action of Microbes, 81

Fermentation of Tobacco, Chemistry, 80

Fermentation of Tobacco Leaf, 79

Flavoring Essences, 214

Flue Curing of Leaf, 65

Hand-made Cigars, 101

Havana Cigars, 115

Holders for Cigars and Cigarettes, Value of, 191

Infection, Value of Tobacco Smoking Against, 197

Insects Affecting Tobacco Leaf, 211

Life Insurance and Tobacco, 188

Machine-made Cigars, 103

Manufactured Products of Tobacco in U. S., Statistics, 89

Meerschaum, 155

Microbes, Action in Fermentation of Tobacco, 81

Mind, Effects of Tobacco Smoking, 202

Mouthpiece of Pipes, Importance, 161

Nerves, Effect of Tobacco Smoking on, 202

Nicotine, 57

Nicotine, Amount in Tobacco Smoke, 183

Nicotine Contents of Tobaccos, 185

Nicotine Effects on Human System, 182

Open Fire Method of Curing Leaf, 65

Packing of Tobacco Leaf for Market, 69

Perique Tobacco, 50, 125

Philippine Cigars, 117

Pipe Smoking Tobaccos, Kinds of, 124

Pipe Smoking Tobacco, Qualities of, 123

Pipe Stem, Importance, 161

Pipes, Briar Root, Making of, 159

Pipes, Care of, 167

Pipes, History of, 151

Pipes, Importation of, Into U. S., 166

Pipes, Materials Used in Making, 154

Pipes, Meerschaum, Coloring, 169

Pipes, Meerschaum, Making of, 156

Pipes, Special Kinds of, 164

Plug Tobacco for Chewing, 128

Potash, Importance in Tobacco, 59

Psychological Effects of Tobacco Smoking, 202

Rehandling of Tobacco Leaf, 77

Revenue Derived from Tobacco, 209

Shade Grown Tobacco, 25

Smoke, Tobacco, Nicotine in, 187

Snuff, Manufacture, Statistics and Kinds, 145

Soils, Influence on Quality of Tobacco, 22

Suchsland’s Experiments With Bacteria on Tobacco Leaf, 81

Sumatran Cigar Leaf, 118

Teeth and Tobacco, 201

Terms Used in Cigar Trade, 107

Throat Diseases Due to Use of Tobacco, 179

Tobacco, Analysis of Contents, 55

Tobacco, Botanical Information, 15

Tobacco, Burning Qualities of, 216

Tobacco, Culture, 21

Tobacco, Denicotianized, 216

Tobacco, Effects of on Body, 173

Tobacco, Exportation from U. S., 91

Tobacco, Flavoring Essences, 214

Tobacco, Free Importation in Different Countries, 210

Tobacco, History, 13

Tobacco Leaf, Prices of, 71

Tobacco Manufacturing Industry, Capital, etc., 89

Tobacco Plant, Varieties, 16

Treatment of Leaf Before Manufacture, 82

Turkish Tobacco, 34

United States, Production of Tobacco, 41

Varieties, Botanical of, Tobacco Plant, 16

Varieties of American Grown Tobacco Leaf, 44, 46

Vulcanite, as Pipe Stem Material, 163

Warehouse System of Sale of Tobacco Leaf, 70

Water Pipes, 165

Yellowing of Tobacco Leaf, 27

Transcriber’s Note:
Other than the corrections noted by hover information, spelling
inconsistencies have been retained from the original.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOBACCO
LEAVES: BEING A BOOK OF FACTS FOR SMOKERS ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be
renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law
means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the
Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States
without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying
and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the
PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a
registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook,
except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying
royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge
anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is
very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg
eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do
practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by
U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license,
especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any
other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you
agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License
available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing
Project Gutenberg electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work,
you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the
terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright)
agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement,
you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg
electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy
of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to
be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on
or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be
bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can
do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying
with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a
lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you
follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to
Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation”
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual
work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are

located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works
based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are
removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg
mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing
Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for
keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can
easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you
share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a
constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the
laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before
downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating
derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work.
The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status
of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied
or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with
this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in
the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country
where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from
texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice
indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the
work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without
paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a
work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on
the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs
1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the
permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply
with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed
by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project
Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the
copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License
terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any
other work associated with Project Gutenberg.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently
displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or
immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the
official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no
additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of
exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work
in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format
must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph
1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing,
copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply
with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to
or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the
use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you
already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the
owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate
royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days
following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to
prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly
marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about
donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does
not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You
must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works
possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all
access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.

• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution
of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in
this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project

Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3
below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works
not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and
the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as,
but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription
errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or
damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that
damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except
for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to
you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE
THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT
EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE
THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY
DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE
TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL,
PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE
NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you
discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you
can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the
defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund.
If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to

you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work
electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you
may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the
problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in
paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or
the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or
limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable
to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum
disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity
or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that
arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause
to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b)
alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg
work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project
Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic
works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including
obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the

efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of
life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance
they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring
that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for
generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for
Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations
can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)
(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of
Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541.
Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax
deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s
laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516,
Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and
official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the
number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed
in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment

including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are
particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States.
Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort,
much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these
requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not
received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or
determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit
www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have
not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against
accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us
with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any
statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the
United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods
and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including
checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit:
www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg
electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with
anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg
eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions,
all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a

copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in
compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility:
www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how
to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation,
how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email
newsletter to hear about new eBooks.