44 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



a mistake. The smoke holds these principles in a 

 volatilized or minutely subdivided form, and they 

 impinge upon all the absorbent vessels of the mouth. 



If any one doubts the nature of the smoke, let 

 him take a fine, clean, linen handkerchief, and, 

 holding it to the mo*uth, force the smoke from a 

 cigar through it several times. The palpable yel- 

 low hue imparted is due to the oil and volatile 

 principles of tobacco held in the smoke. A good 

 cigar, chemically considered, should contain a large 

 portion of nicotianine, or the true aromatic essence, 

 and a small portion of the poisonous nicotine. Dif- 

 ferent soils impart to the tobacco-leaf these prin- 

 ciples in varying proportions. That of Cuba, and 

 some other of the West India Islands, supplies the 

 rich aroma in abundtnce, and but comparatively 

 little nicotine. The tobacco from these sources is 

 much sought after by smokers in all parts of the 

 world, and the prices paid for it are enormous. 



It is surprising how much tobacco is consumed 

 daily by some smokers. Instances are not rare in 

 which ten cigars are converted into smoke and 

 ashes during each twenty-four hours of the year, 

 by men of not strong constitutions. Let us see how 

 much of the poisonous principle of tobacco, nicotine, 

 is imbibed in the smoke of these cigars. The finest 

 Cuba tobacco contains at least two per cent, of the 

 alkaloid ; and assuming that each cigar weighs 



