44 THE PLANT. 



many are manufactured either into smoking tobacco or 

 into snuff. For the fabrication of snuff, leaves which 

 are rich in albumen and nicotine are preferred to those 

 containing a smaller amount of those ingredients. The 

 leaves intended for snuff are, either when still entire or 

 after being ground to powder, subjected to a kind of 

 fermentation, which takes place pretty speedily, with 

 evolution of heat, if they are kept moistened with 

 water. From the putrefaction of the albumen there 

 arises a considerable quantity of ammonia, which is a 

 principal ingredient of German snuff, and is also occa- 

 sionally increased by the manufacturers, by moistening 

 with carbonate of ammonia or caustic ammonia, to suit 

 the taste of consumers. 



The leaves intended for smoking are also improved 

 in quality by a slight process of fermentation, which 

 serves to diminish the quantity of albumen in them. 



These preliminary remarks will help to explain the 

 different methods of cultivating tobacco. 



The size of the leaf in length and breadth, its light 

 or dark colour, the height of the stem, the amount of 

 produce, a-nd the greater or less proportion of albumen 

 and nicotine, all depend very essentially upon the 

 manuring of the plant. 



The plant succeeds best, in Europe, on light, sandy, 

 humose, loamy, or marly soils. The strongest kinds, 

 richest in albumen and nicotine, are grown on virgin 

 land, and on heavy clay soil manured with bone-dust, 

 shavings and clippings of horns and claws, blood, 

 bristles, human excrements, oilcake, and liquid manure. 



In Havannah, tobacco is grown on virgin soil, on 

 cleared forest lands, which are often burnt first, as is 

 done in Virginia. The best qualities (the poorest in 

 albumen) are yielded in the third year of cultiva- 

 tion. 



From this it would appear, that animal manure 

 abounding in nitrogen (ammonia) favours the produc- 

 tion of nitrogenous constituents; but the soil, on the 

 other hand, which is poor in ammonia, and probably 



