42 TOBACCO : ITS HISTORY. 



rather lose it entirely than pay the heavy duty 

 on the damaged portion. Were the duty very 

 small, possibly the damaged portion might be 

 sold at a price which would more than cover the 

 duty ; but the duty is too high to permit such a 

 speculation. The state allows the damaged 

 portion to be burned, without any duty having 

 been paid on it. When a hogshead is to be 

 opened, the head is knocked out, some of the 

 staves loosened, and by a dexterous management 

 the hogshead is taken completely off the tobacco, 

 leaving the latter standing upright, as a brown 

 mass of tobacco-leaves, dense and impenetrable. 

 If, by the action of sea-water, bad packing, or 

 any other cause, any of the mass has become 

 injured, two men, armed with long cutting in- 

 struments, stand on opposite sides of the mass, 

 and chop away all the injured part, by small 

 bits at a time — an operation of no small difficulty 

 owing to the solidity and hardness of the mass. 

 The remainder is then weighed, its duty is de- 

 termined, and samples are taken by the brokers, 

 who proceed to effect a sale in the usual way of 

 business. The damaged tobacco is burned in a 



