c 



areer smokers 



The recreative uses of tobacco had grown to wide pro- 

 portions in the 18th century. Pipe smoking was still most 

 popular among New Englanders though snufF and chew- 

 ing tobacco had numerous devotees. In 1724 the Boston 

 Coiirant fumed helplessly over the "enormous" con- 

 sumption of tobacco, a common subject for scolding 

 editors. The Puritan Fathers would have been horrified 

 at some of Massachusetts' career smokers. Among the 

 most notable was Jonathan Dwight of Springfield who 

 built a Unitarian church at his own considerable expense 

 in the early 1800's. This "old-time gentlemen" could 

 always be found on the streets of the town on any clear 

 day. All one had to do was to look for a small cloud of 

 smoke. Dwight added somewhat to his local fame by 

 his method of lighting his pipe in summer— he used a 

 burning glass. 



Xhe new smoke 



Before the end of the 18th century there was a swing 

 in smoking tastes which developed rapidly in the next 

 few decades. Consumer preference was largely for cigars, 

 long the favorite smoke of Spaniards, Portuguese and 

 Latin Americans. The new vogue was to have valuable 

 economic effects for Massachusetts. 



Tobacco farming had been moving west in the state, 

 to the "beautiful and gracious" Connecticut Valley area. 

 Small crops of "shoestring" continued to be harvested. 

 The nickname of this variety came from the appearance 

 of the long, narrow, close-veined leaf. 



23 



