R. E. Billings - Tobacco: Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce

Smokers from different cultures

WITH

AN ACCOUNT OF ITS VARIOUS MODES OF USE, FROM ITS FIRST DISCOVERY UNTIL NOW.

BY

With Illustrations by Popular Artists.

"My Lord, this sacred herbe which never offendit,
Is forced to crave your favor to defend it."

Barclay.

"But oh, what witchcraft of a stronger kind,
Or cause too deep for human search to find,
Makes earth-born weeds imperial man enslave,
Not little souls, but e'en the wise and brave!"

Arbuckle.

HARTFORD, CONN.:
AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY,
1875.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1875, by the
AMERICAN PUBLISHING CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.

Is it not wondrous strange that there should be
Such different tempers twixt my friend and me?
I burn with heat when I tobacco take,
But he on th' other side with cold doth shake:
To both 'tis physick, and like physick works,
The cause o' th' various operation lurks
Not in tobacco, which is still the same,
But in the difference of our bodies frame:
What's meat to this man, poison is to that,
And what makes this man lean, makes that man fat;
What quenches one's thirst, makes another dry;
And what makes this man wel, makes that man dye.

Thomas Washbourne, D. D.

Thy quiet spirit lulls the lab'ring brain,
Lures back to thought the flights of vacant mirth,
Consoles the mourner, soothes the couch of pain,
And wreathes contentment round the humble hearth;
While savage warriors, soften'd by thy breath,
Unbind the captive, hate had doomed to death.

Rev. Walter Colton.

Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
My social box attends on me;
It warms my nose in winter's snow,
Refreshes midst midsummer's glow;
Of hunger sharp it blunts the edge,
And softens grief as some alledge.
Thus, eased of care or any stir,
I broach my freshest canister;
And freed from trouble, grief, or panic,
I pinch away in snuff balsamic.
For rich or poor, in peace or strife,
It smooths the rugged path of life.

Rev. William King.

Hail! Indian plant, to ancient times unknown
A modern truly thou, and all our own!
Thou dear concomitant of nappy ale,
Thou sweet prolonger of an old man's tale.
Or, if thou'rt pulverized in smart rappee,
And reach Sir Fopling's brain (if brain there be),
He shines in dedications, poems, plays,
Soars in Pindarics, and asserts the bays;
Thus dost thou every taste and genius hit
In smoke thou'rt wisdom, and in snuff thou'rt wit.

Rev. Mr. Prior.

TO
CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER,

Whose rare, good gifts have endeared him to all lovers of the English tongue, this volume, historically and practically treating of one of the greatest of plants, as well as the rarest of luxuries, is respectfully dedicated by

The Author.

Ever since the discovery of tobacco it has been the favorite theme of many writers, who have endeavored to shed new light on the origin and early history of this singular plant. Upwards of three hundred volumes have been written, embracing works in nearly all of the languages of Europe, concerning the herb and the various methods of using it. Most writers have confined themselves to the commercial history of the plant; while others have written upon its medicinal properties and the various modes of preparing it for use. For this volume the Author only claims that it is at least a more comprehensive treatise on the varieties and cultivation of the plant than any work now extant. A full account of its cultivation is given, not only in America, but also in nearly all of the great tobacco-producing countries of the world. The history of the plant has been carefully and faithfully compiled from the earliest authorities, that portion which relates to its early culture in Virginia being drawn from hitherto unpublished sources. Materials for such a work have not been found lacking. European authors abound with allusions to tobacco; more especially is it true of English writers, who have celebrated its virtues in poetry and song. All along the highways and by-paths of our literature we encounter much that pertains to this "queen of plants." Considered in what light it may, tobacco must be regarded as the most astonishing of the productions of nature, since it has, in the short period of nearly four centuries, dominated not one particular nation, but the whole world, both Christian and Pagan. Ushered into the Old World from the New by the great colonizersSpain, England, and Franceit attracted at once the attention of the authors of the period as a fit subject for their marvel-loving pens. It has been the aim of the writer to give as much as possible of the existing material to be had concerning the early persecution waged against it, whether by Church or State. These accounts, while they invest with additional interest its early use and introduction, serve as well to show its triumph over all its foes and its vast importance to the commerce of the world. This work has been prepared and arranged, not only for the instruction and entertainment of the users of tobacco, but for the benefit of the cultivators and manufacturers as well. As such it is now presented to the public for whatever meed of praise or censure it is found to deserve.

Hartford, Conn. , 1875.