258 AGRICULTURAL TEXT-BOOK. 



572. Inorganic analyses of eight specimens of Hungarian 

 tobacco-leaf. ( Will and Fresenius.) 



Mean of 4 analyses. Mean of 4 analyses. 



Potash, - 26.46 - - 12.14 



Soda, - 0.56 - 0.07 



Lime, - 27.87 - - 4590 



Magnesia, - 9.72 13.09 



Chloride of sodium, - 6.91 - 3.49 



Chloride of potassium, - 2.21 3.98 



Phosphate of iron, 7.09 5.48 



Phosphate of lime, - 1.49 



Sulphate of lime, 7.14 - 635 



Silica, - - 12.13 8.01 



Percentage of ash, - 21.28 - - 23.68 

 (See, for particulars, Knapp s Chemical Technology, Vol. iii, p. 149, 

 and Johnston s Agricultural Chem. last Ed.} 



Among the constituents of the tobacco leaf, Nicotine is the most char 

 acteristic. This is a volatile vegetable alkaloid (Cio H 16 N 2 ) belonging to 

 a class of nitrogenous organic substances which are, for the most part, 

 gifted with a very energetic and remarkable action on the animal sys 

 tem. Pure nicotine is a colorless oily liquid with a slight smell of 

 tobacco, which, when the liquid is heated, or mixed with ammonia, be 

 comes very intense and biting ; it has also a sharp irritating taste, a few 

 drops acting as a poison on small animals. This substance, which gives 

 value to tobacco, does not exist in a state of nature, but is a product of 

 fermentation. The/res/t leaves possess very little or no smell. When 

 thev are distilled with water, a weak ammoniacal liquid is obtained, 

 upon which a fatty crystallizable substance swims, which does not con 

 tain nitrogen and is quite destitute of smell. But when the same plant, 

 after being dried, is moistened with water, tied together in small bun 

 dles, and placed in heaps, a peculiar process of decomposition takes 

 place. Fermentation commences, and is accompanied by the absorp 

 tion of oxygon, the leaves become warm, and emit the characteristic 

 s nell of prepared tobacco. When the fermentation is carefully promoted* 

 this smell increases; and after the fermentation is completed an oily 

 azotised volatile matter, called nicotine, is found in the leaves. This 

 substance was not present before the fermentation. The different kinds 

 of tobacco are distinguished by having very different odorifereus sub 

 stances, which are generated along with nicotine. (Liebig Ag. Chem.} 

 This fermentation begins during the harvesting, or even before, but is 



