The maté of commerce has a stimulant principle identical with that of tea and coffee, which is the only reason for its use. The consumption, about fifteen thousand tons a year, is confined almost wholly to the countries named.
Tobacco.—The tobacco of commerce is the prepared and manufactured leaf of several species of plant, belonging to the nightshade family. Most of the product is derived from the species known as Virginia tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and the Brazilian species (Nicotiana rustica). The former is cultivated in the United States, West Indies, the Philippine Islands, and Turkey; the latter has been transplanted to central Europe and the East Indies.
The use of tobacco was prevalent in the New World at the time of Columbus's first voyage, and was quickly introduced into Europe. The prepared leaf contains a substance, nicotine, which is one of the most deadly of poisons when swallowed, and an intense narcotic stimulant when inhaled. On account of the evil effects arising from its introduction, its use was forbidden by the Church and also by sovereigns of several European states. The latter, however, finding that its use was becoming general, made it a Crown monopoly. In Great Britain its cultivation was forbidden in order to encourage its cultivation in Virginia.
Tobacco does not thrive best in a poor soil, but the latter produces a thin, half-developed leaf, which in other plants would be called "sickly." It grows in almost any kind of soil, but requires warm summer nights. In many instances the tobacco of temperate latitudes yields a more salable leaf when grown under cover. The flavor is due partly to soil and climate, and partly to skill in curing. The choicest product is obtained in only a few localities of limited area. It sometimes happens that the products of two plantations almost side by side, and similarly situated, are very unlike in character and quality.
TOBACCO
The choicest cigar-tobacco is grown on the Vuelta Abajo district in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba; another very choice Cuban leaf is known as Partidos. Cuban-made cigars of fine quality are commercially "Havana" cigars, although tobacco from Manila and Porto Rico is apt to be largely used in their manufacture. In order to avoid the very heavy duty on cigars, which is not far from six dollars per pound, a great deal of the Havana tobacco is exported to points along the Florida coast, mainly Key West and Tampa. The unmanufactured tobacco pays a comparatively small duty, and the cigars made from it are commercially known as "Key West."
In some parts of Mexico a fine-flavored tobacco is grown, but as the cigars are not uniform in quality they are not popular. Some of the Brazilian tobacco is a high-class product, but not much is exported. Porto Rican leaf has a fine flavor, but is not popular because of its dark color. The demand for it in the United States is growing, however. Of the leaf grown in the East, that from Sumatra and the Philippine Islands is by far the best, and the exports are heavy. Cuban manufacturers purchase the Manila leaf; the Sumatra wrappers are purchased in the United States.
The choicest cigarette-tobacco is grown in Asiatic Turkey, Transcaucasia, and Egypt. It is selected with great care, and is "long-cut." The common grades are made of chopped Virginia tobacco, or of chopped cigar-trimmings. The cheapest grades consist of refuse leaf mixed with half-smoked cigar-stumps. The United States leads in the manufacture of cigarettes, and a large part of the product is sold in China, India, and Japan. Most of the world's product of snuff is made in the United States, and nearly all of it is sold abroad.