| Average | Average | Average | |
| of | of | of | |
| Whole Leaf, | Laminæ, | Stem, | |
| per cent. | per cent. | per cent. | |
| Ash or Inorganic | 20·32 | 19·21 | 21·92 |
| Alk. Salts | 6·47 | 4·98 | 11·41 |
| Sand | 2·48 | 2·86 | 1·15 |
“The unmanufactured tobacco which is imported into this country, is converted into roll or spun tobacco, cut tobacco and cigars, and the refuse is used for making snuff. Roll tobacco is the staple manufacture in Scotland and Ireland, and cut tobacco the staple article in England.
“In the manufacture of roll tobacco, the leaves are moistened with water, spun into various sizes of twist, made up into rolls, and pressed. The liquid or juice which exudes under pressure is used as a sheep dip. Cut tobacco is made by moistening the leaves, cutting them into the desired size, and drying on plates. Sometimes it is made into cakes in the first instance, and afterwards cut.
“When we compare the composition of roll and cut tobaccos with that of the leaf from which they are made, we find that the difference lies almost entirely in the amount of moisture, and as manufacturers are not allowed to add anything but water and a little oil to tobacco, you will not err very much in assuming that as a rule the cheapest qualities of roll and cut tobaccos contain most water. Thus in 15 samples of the cheapest roll tobacco I found an average of 41·66 per cent. of water.
“The lowest qualities of cut tobacco, such as are largely manufactured and consumed in England, contain as much water as the cheapest roll tobacco, whereas the finer qualities of cut tobacco contain as a rule from 14 to 22 per cent. Cigars, even the cheapest, are comparatively dry, and contain, as a rule, only from 10 to 12 per cent. of water.
“The difference in cheap cigars is due chiefly to the weight of the material, but also to the quality of the tobacco and the labour, machinery being used in the manufacture of the lower qualities, whereas the higher qualities are nearly all hand made.
“The large quantity of water contained in the cheapest tobacco, and which frequently amounts to about 50 per cent., is not, in my opinion, introduced to please the palate of the working man, but simply on account of the keen competition between rival manufacturers, and the low price at which tobacco is sold; and in the interest both of the working classes and of tobacco manufacturers themselves, I think it is very desirable that some limit should be placed to the amount of water which may be sold as tobacco.
“Snuff.—I stated that the refuse tobacco was employed in the manufacture of snuff. This refuse consists of stems, tobacco smalls, and sweepings. These are moistened with water, subjected to a process of fermentation, which lasts from about six weeks to two months, then ground, mixed with alkaline salts to preserve the snuff, and flavoured when desired. Nothing is allowed to be added to snuff except the carbonates, chlorides, and sulphates of potash and soda, and carbonate of ammonia. It is also provided by Act of Parliament that any snuff found to contain, after being dried at 212° F., more than 26 per cent. of such salts, including those naturally in the tobacco, will be liable to forfeiture and a penalty of 50l. From my table of analyses you will observe that not only does the proportion of alkaline salts vary in different tobaccos, but the stem contains a much larger proportion than the leaf. On this account it is necessary that the snuff manufacturer should know the quantity of alkaline salts in his snuff material, in order to obtain an article of uniform composition. Some manufacturers go by rule of thumb, and in attempting to work close to the legal limit, they run a serious risk of unintentionally incurring the penalty. As a matter of fact, three samples of snuff, in 1883, were condemned by the Somerset House authorities because they contained an excessive proportion of alkaline salts, and the manufacturers were prosecuted. The more intelligent of the snuff manufacturers, however, analyse their snuff material, and are thus able to keep within the legal limit.
“The principal alkaline salts which are added to snuff are chloride of sodium or common salt, carbonate of potash, and carbonate of ammonia, all of which are allowed by Act of Parliament, and therefore no exception can be taken to their addition, so long as the total quantity does not exceed 26 per cent. in the dry snuff. In addition to alkaline salts, snuffs usually contain from 25 to 45 per cent. of water, with the exception of a kind of snuff called ‘High Toast or Irish Blackguard,’ which is very dry and contains from 5 to 8 per cent. Sometimes they also contain a considerable quantity of sand. In the several hundred samples of snuff which I have had occasion to examine for different manufacturers the average quantity of sand was about 5 per cent. in the dry snuff, and sometimes fell as low as a half per cent., but in many samples the quantity exceeded 10 per cent., and in one case I found as much as 30·94 per cent. of sand in the dry snuff. The greater part of this sand is probably derived from the sweepings of tobacco, on which duty has been paid, and I have no doubt the snuff manufacturer considers himself justified in selling it as snuff. But it appears to me to be very desirable in the interest of snuffers, that some limit should be placed on the quantity of sand which may be sold as snuff: more especially as the particles of sand are frequently very sharp, and have a tendency to produce inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nose, and it is to this, probably, that we owe the popular notion that snuff is sometimes mixed with ground glass to give it additional piquancy.
“When from any cause snuff is spoiled, the manufacturer may export it, and obtain a drawback of 3s. 7d. per lb. on the real tobacco which it contains.