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CHAPTER VI. 



NATURE AND PROPERTIES. 



The active principle of tobacco is a volatile, tighly 

 poisonous alkaloid, called Nicotine (CioHuNa). Although 

 green tobacco-plants contain generally more nicotine than 

 the leaves after they have been prepared for the market, 

 yet the odour is only perceptible after the fermentation 

 of the leaves has set in. It has been ascertained that 

 young leaves 2 inches long contained 2-8 per cent., and 

 leaves 10^ inches broad and 16 inches long, as much as 

 5 ■ 6 per cent, of their weight of nicotine. The amount 

 increases as the plants become ripe, and decreases on 

 their becoming overripe. 



Though the narcotic effects of tobacco experienced by 

 the smoker must partly be attributed to nicotine, it 

 cannot be said that they are solely due to it. It is well 

 known that the products of combustion of quite harmless 

 substances are often stupefying. Good Syrian tobacco 

 contains no nicotine, yet smokers consider cigars made 

 from this tobacco to be strong. It is evident that the 

 strength of a cigar, as judged by the smoker, depends 

 greatly on the circum-stance whether the tobacco burns 

 well or not. If it burns well, a greater amount of 

 nicotine is consumed and decomposed, and less of the 

 narcotic products of combustion are created, than when it 

 burns badly. Cigars of the latter description, containing 

 little nicotine, are more narcotic in their effects when 



