191 NICOTIANA TABACUM 



has hitherto been always supposed to be derived from N. rustica, L., 

 is prepared from the flowering panicles and even the capsules of N. 

 Tabacum, and that its peculiar flavour is due to being smoked 

 for some months in the smoke of the wood of Pinus halepensis. 

 The other principal kinds of tobacco are the Shiraz or Persian from 

 Nicotiana persica, Lindl. ; East Indian, Manilla, and Turkish, from 

 N. rustica, L. ; and Cuba and Havannah from N. repanda, Willd. 



The consumption of tobacco in this country has very much 

 increased of late years. Thus in the year 1841 the quantity of 

 tobacco cleared for home consumption amounted to 8f oz. per 

 head of population. In 1851 the amount had increased to 1 Ib. 

 01 oz. per head; in 1861 to 1 Ib. 3 oz. ; in 1865 to lib. 5 oz. ; 

 and in the year 1874 to nearly 1J Ibs. per head of population 

 of the United Kingdom. Thus in the year 1874 no less than 

 45,253,303 Ibs. of unmanufactured tobacco were retained for 

 home consumption, and of manufactured cigars and snuff, 

 1,280,154 Ibs., the whole representing a money value of about 

 1,600,000; and the duty paid on this amounted to 7,500,000 

 sterling. The total annual production of tobacco over the whole 

 globe is probably not less than 3,000,000 of tons. 



General Characters and Composition. The characters of leaf 

 tobacco are thus given in the British Pharmacopoeia : Large 

 mottled brown ovate or lanceolate acuminate leaves, bearing 

 numerous short glandular hairs; having a peculiar heavy odour 

 and nauseous bitter acrid taste ; yielding when distilled with 

 solution of potash, an alkaline fluid, which has the peculiar odour 

 of nicotia, and precipitates with perchloride of platinum and 

 tincture of galls. 



The active principle of tobacco is a volatile alkaloid termed 

 Nicotia or Nicotine. Virginian tobacco in the dried state con- 

 tains a varying preparation of nicotia, but probably on an average, 

 about 6 per cent. Nicotia is also generally said to be present in 

 tobacco smoke, but this is denied by Vohl and Eulenberg. Nicotia 

 is a colourless, oily, volatile, inflammable, powerfully alkaline 

 liquid, of sp. gr. 1*048 at 60, boils at 482, and has an acrid odour, 

 and a burning taste. It is very soluble in water, the fixed 



