i88 ST NICOTINE 



mense bonded warehouses extend as far as the eye can reach, 

 unshipnient takes place among some hundreds of other similar 

 imports. Here it remains until the duty demanded by the 

 Custom House officer is paid. The period of bondage 

 may last three years, a small rent being charged for the ac- 

 commodation. Before releasing it from bond the consignee 

 will unpack the tobacco for the purpose of ascertaining 

 whether it is perfectly sound, or has sustained damage in 

 course of transit ; for it happens sometimes that the material 

 is found to be hardly worth the duty imposed. In this case 

 the consignee is not compelled to release it ; it is left with 

 the Crown officials to make such use of it as they may deem 

 fit. How they dispose of such tobacco is remarked upon 

 in the chapter headed, ' The Use and Abuse of Tobacco.' 



In looking over the various sorts of tobacco presented by 

 the tobacconists to the consumer we need not touch upon 

 the delicate grouiid of ' vested interests.' It will suffice our 

 present purpose if we notice merely that from the same 

 hogshead a selection and classification is made of the leaves 

 according to the shade of colour, and that the lightest 

 coloured (the mild) ones are reserved for less liquoring and 

 pressure than is given to the darker coloured leaves. ' Re- 

 turns,' for example, is the product of the lightest leaves and 

 less pressure. A large quantity of water used in the process 

 of liquoring has the effect of darkening the colour and giving 

 strength to the flavour of the tobacco. By extreme watering 

 and pressure is produced the kind so dear to the sailor 

 called 'pigtail,' as well as the less pungent 'sag,' of which 

 there are two sorts, fine and common, the difference consist- 

 ing of the fineness or coarseness of the shreds into which 

 the leaf is cut. These and many other odd circumstances 

 in the manufacture give the different degrees of strength 

 and flavour sought for by the varying tastes of smokers. 



