REMARKS ON SOME OF THE SUBSTANCES FOUND 



IN TOBACCO 



Nicotine 



Of all the substances found in tobacco, nico- 

 tine is the most important. 



Nicotine in the pure state is a colorless liquid 

 having a specific gravity of 1.027. It is an 

 organic base having the chemical formula 

 Cio H 14 N 2 . It is extremely acid and burning 

 to the taste, and is a virulent poison. It easily 

 volatilizes; is inflammable, and is soluble in 

 water, alcohol, ether and some fixed oils. Nico- 

 tine has the characteristic peculiar odor of 

 tobacco. 



The amount of nicotine in tobacco is said to 

 depend on the nature of the soil in which it is 

 grown; rich, heavy soils and strong nitrogenous 

 manuring favor the production of a large nico- 

 tine content ; and light, sandy soils the opposite. 



Moreover the nicotine content depends on the 

 age and development of the plant. 



An investigation by Chuard and Mellet 

 showed nicotine contents of leaves : 

 In young plants 7 weeks old contained .0324% 



In plants 10 weeks old contained 0447% 



In plants 13 weeks old contained 4989% 



In plants 19 weeks old contained 9202% 



The longer the plant is permitted to grow the 

 larger will be its nicotine content. 



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