120 tobacco: its use and abuse. 



injurious effects often do not appear until very late in 

 life. 



*^ 4. The tobacco smoker, especially if lie commences 

 tte habit early in life, and carries it to excess, loses his 

 procreative powers. If he marry he deceives his wife, 

 'and disposes her to infidelity, and exposes himself to 

 ignominy and scorn. If, however, he should have off- 

 spring, they generally either are cut off in infancy, or 

 never reach the period of puberty. His wife is often 

 incapable 6f having a living child, or she suffers re- 

 peated miscarriages, owing to the impotence of her hus- 

 band. If he have children, they are generally stunted 

 in growth or deformed in shape : are incapable of strug- 

 gling through the diseases incidental to children, and 

 die prematurely. And thus the vices of the parent Ae 

 visited upon the children, even before they reach the 

 second or third generation. I have constantly observed, 

 that the children of habitual smokers are, with very few 

 exceptions, imperfectly developed in form and size, very 

 ill or plain-looking, and delicate in constitution. These 

 imperfections are most manifest in the female offspring, 

 for the procreative inability being chiefly in the hus- 

 band, and less in the wife, unless from disgust at his 

 habits, and the female generally deriving the chief char- 

 acteristics of form, feature, and constitution, from the 

 male parent, the female child is more or less the victim 

 of his vices and debased habits. If, therefore, ladies 

 sufficiently value their own happiness, and the health 

 and happiness of their families, or desire what all desire 

 "who love their lords," they ought not to marry 

 smikers; no' should they trust the promises of reformsi- 



