CHAPTER XXV 

 TOBACCO 



628. Origin and History. Tobacco is one of the com- 

 paratively few important cultivated plants which are natives 

 of the New World. At the time of the discovery of America 

 it was grown by the Indians over a large part of both conti- 

 nents. It was taken to the Old World by the early explorers, 

 and its use soon spread among the people there. For many 

 years tobacco was a common medium of exchange among the 

 settlers in Virginia and some of the other colonies. It was 

 even made legal tender in some of them, and values were 

 commonly reckoned in pounds of tobacco instead of in dollars 

 and cents. Much of the early development of Virginia and 

 Maryland was due to the cultivation of this crop, which was 

 the most profitable one grov/n by the colonists and the only 

 one which they exported in any quantity. Later, it was 

 carried into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio by the early 

 settlers, and these states have always remained prominent 

 in its cultivation. 



629. Botanical Characters. The tobacco plant, Nico- 

 tiana tahacum, belongs to the natural order Solanaceae, in 

 which is included the potato, tomato, and eggplant, and such 

 medicinal and poisonous plants as henbane, nightshade, and 

 Jimson weed, or datura. Tobacco is a broad-leaved annual, 

 growing to a height of from 3 or 4 to 8 feet. The leaves, 

 which are the portion utilized, vaiy greatly in shape, size, 

 and texture in different varieties and under different soil and 

 climatic conditions. Climate and soil have more influence 

 than variety, as widely differing varieties soon assume much 

 the same characteristics when grown in a given locality for 

 several years. The long white or pink tubular flowers are 



461 



