TOBACCO. The dried leaves of the .Nicotiana tabacuni, a plant indigenous to this continent, but which succeeds very well, and is extensively cultivated, in most parts of the Old World. The recent leaves possess very little odor or taste; but when dried, their odor is strong, narcotic, and somewhat fmtid ; their taste bitter, and extremely acrid. When well cured, they are of a yellowish green color. When distilled, they yield an essential oil, on which their virtue depends, and which is said to be a virulent poison. The leaves are used in various ways, be ing chewed, smoked, and ground, and manufactured into snuff. It is in the last mentioned form that tobacco is princi pally used in Great Britain, and, thought the contrary has often been asserted its use does not seem- to have been produc tive of any perceptible bad consequence.
The term tobacco is probably derived from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, where it was first found by the Spaniards. To Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh has been ascribed the honor of having introduced it into England, nearly three centuries ago.
For some years past it is believed, so far as can be ascertained, there has been a comparative falling off of the tobacco crop of the country. The reason of this is to be found proba'bly in the fact of the ex haustion of the bawls devoted to this pro duct in the largest tobacco growing regions of the Atlantic States; especially of Mary land, Virginia, and South Carolina, while there has not been, t .9 in the case of the cotton crop, sufficient additional lands in the other parts of the country brought into cultivation to supply the deficiency. It is capable of being raised in every state in the Union ; and a large breadth of land is laid out for it so far north as New York. When the plants are green, they are dried for keeping.
The plants are bung up to dry during four or five weeks ; taken down out of the sheds in damp weather, for in dry they would be apt to crumble into pieces; stratified in heaps, covered up, and left to sweat for a week or two according to their quality and the state of the season ; during which time they most be examin ed frequently, opened jip, and turned over, lest they become too hot, take fire, or run into putrefactive fermentation.
This process needs to be conducted by skilful and attentive operatives. An ex perienced man can form a sufficiently ac curate judgment of the temperature, by thrusting his hand down into the heap. According to the recent analysis of Possett and Reimann, 10,000 parts of tobacco-leaves contain-6 of the peculiar chemical principle nicotine ; 1, of pica tianine ; 287 of slightly bitter extractive ; 174 of gum, mixed with a little malic acid; 26.7 of a green resin ; 26 of vege table albumen; 104.8 of a substance anal agous to gluten; 51 of male acid ; 12 of malate of ammonia; 4.8 of sulphate of potassa ; 6.8 of chloride of potassium ; 9.5 of potassa, which had been combined with malic and nitric acids ; 16.6 of phos phate of lime ; 24.2 of lime, which had been combined with malic acid ; 8.8 of silica ; 496.9 of fibrous or ligneous mat ter ; traces of starch; and 88.28 of water.
Nicotine is a transparent colorless liquid, of an alkaline nature. It may be distilled in a retort plunged into a bath heated to 290 Fahrenheit. It has a prickling, burn ing taste, which is very durable ; and a pungent, disagreeable smell. It burns by means of a wick, with the diffusion of a vivid light, and much smoke. It may be mixed with water in all proportions. It is soluble also in acetic acid, oil of almonds, alcohol, and ether, but not in oil of turpentine. It acts upon the ani mal economy with extreme violence ; and in the dose of one drop it kills a dog. It forms salts with the acids. About one part of it may be obtained by very skilful treatment from one thousand of good tobacco.
The.tobacco raised in 1847 in the Unit ed States, amounted to 220,164,000 lbs., valued at $11,008,220. For 1848, it was— prod nce 218,909,000 lbs.; value $8,756,860. The exports during the same were, in value 1847 ........ 07,242.086 1848 7,651,122