The soporiferous and intoxicating qualities of stramonium are well known in eastern countries, and have often occasioned the plant to be employed for very improper uses.
65. TOBACCO, in the state that we see it, is a narcotic drug formed from the dried leaves of an annual plant (Nicotiana tabacum, Fig. 11) that is principally cultivated in North America,
The stalk of the tobacco plant is erect, strong, round, and hardy. The leaves are large, oblong, pointed, clammy, and of pale green colour. The flowers, which terminate the stem and branches in loose clusters, are of reddish colour, and funnel shaped, with a long hairy tube; and the seed vessel is oval, and divided into two cells, that contain many rounded seeds.
The cultivation of tobacco is carried on to great extent in several parts of North America. The seed, mixed with ashes on account of its smallness, is sown a little before the beginning of the rainy season; and, in order the better to cover it, the beds are raked over or trampled upon. In about a fortnight the young plants begin to appear, and, as soon as they have four leaves, they are drawn up and transplanted in lines, and about three feet asunder, into the tobacco field. Here they are kept clear of weeds; and, as soon as they have eight or nine leaves each, the tops are nipped off to make the leaves grow thicker and longer. When the plants are full grown, and the leaves are become somewhat brittle, they are cut with a knife close to the ground. They are suffered to lie upon the ground for a little while, after which they are carried to the drying shed, where they are hung by pairs upon lines or ropes. When perfectly dry, the leaves are stripped from the stalks, and made into small bundles tied round with another leaf. These bundles are laid in heaps, and covered with blankets for about seven days to heat; after which they are closely stowed in casks for exportation.
The name of tobacco was given to this article from its having been originally brought into Europe from Tobago, or Tabago, an island in the Bay of Panama, near the coast of America.
To the American Indians the use of tobacco has been known for many centuries; and the practice of smoking it is common to almost all the tribes. Tobacco forms a part of every entertainment; and, in the intervals of hunting, sleeping, and eating, it occupies no small portion of their time. In many of their religious ceremonies tobacco is used; and instances have occurred in which they have taken it in such quantity that death has ensued.
The custom of smoking is understood to have been first introduced into England, by Sir Walter Raleigh, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and a ludicrous story has often been told respecting it: that Sir Walter having directed a servant to bring him a jug of water, the man, at his return into the room, found him smoking, and, alarmed at seeing his master apparently on fire, threw the whole contents of the jug into his face to quench it.
So extensive has this nauseous practice now become, especially in Holland and Germany, that it constitutes a daily luxury with nearly all the peasantry of those countries, as well as with the more indolent and wealthy classes of the inhabitants. To many constitutions it is very injurious. When first begun, it occasions vomiting, intoxication, and other unpleasant effects. These however, by repetition, are discontinued, though its stupifying qualities are never entirely overcome.
Another form under which tobacco is used, is that of snuff. The basis of snuff is tobacco powdered; but many other matters are added, to give it a peculiar smell, or to impart pungency to it. When first applied to the nose, snuff excites sneezing, but, by repetition, this entirely ceases. The practice of taking snuff has, in some instances, been found injurious to the smell and the voice; it has been attended with loss of memory, and by symptoms of a weakened or debilitated state of the nervous system.
But there is no mode of using tobacco so disgusting, to persons unaccustomed to it, as chewing. By the labouring classes, and particularly by mariners, this practice is chiefly followed, from a notion, though apparently a very erroneous one, that it will prevent the return of hunger, and, in some degree, supply a lack of food.