TOBACCO IN RELATION TO HEALTH 61 



extract a deadly poison called solanine, which they describe 

 as an acrid narcotic poison, two grains of which given to a 

 rabbit caused paralysis of the posterior extremities, and 

 death in two hours. Traces of this poison are also found 

 in healthy tubers. And yet nobody was ever poisoned by 

 eating potatoes ; far from this, many in times of scarcity 

 have died for want of them. Considering these things, 

 smokers may possibly comfort themselves with the thought 

 that tobacco does not stand alone in evil repute, that even 

 a vegetable which enters so largely into the composition of 

 humanity as does the potato contains a portion an infini- 

 testimal portion it is true, but still some portion of the 

 element of evil which seems to permeate more or less all 

 things earthly. But let them reserve their judgment until 

 the evidence of the chemist has been heard. It may be 

 urged, too, that the highly prized virtues of the tomato, a 

 family connection, might be taken into account in estimat- 

 ing the sins of the shady ones. The love-apple of Eris, far 

 from creating discord, gives unalloyed pleasure, affording 

 the epicure a gastronomic delight. 



The genus Nicotiana comprises upwards of forty species, 

 of which five only are cultivated for tobacco, and, of these, 

 three stand out conspicuously as the best and most favoured 

 ones of commerce. In botany they are designated : (i) 

 Nicotiana Tabacum ; (2) N. rustica ; (3) N. persica. 

 They differ one from another chiefly in the degree of 

 thickness of the midrib and fibres, and in the evenness of 

 the leaves, which are usually hairy and somewhat clammy 

 feeling. The first mentioned is the typical tobacco plant 

 of America, whose home is still where Raleigh's first 

 colonists to the New World found it, in Virginia. From 

 its leaves is prepared the great bulk of the tobacco con- 

 sumed in this country, as well as in America. It is a 



