274 Brodigan's Treatise on the Tobacco Plant. 



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The manufacture of tobacco we have slightly described in the Encyclo- 

 paedia of Plants, We have since had an opportunity of witnessing the pro- 

 gress of all the different operations carried on in preparing shag and other 

 kinds of smoking tobacco, pigtail and other chewing tobacco, various snuffs, 

 and different kinds of cigars, in one of the most extensive manufactories 

 in London ; and the conviction on our mind is, that very little in the way 

 of manufacturing can be attempted by the gardener or cottager. That little 

 we shall shortly describe. 



The tobacco, being properly fermented and cured, may be kept closely 

 pressed and excluded from air, in casks, till wanted ; or, when the curing 

 process is completed, smoking-tobacco and snuff may be made from it as 

 follows : — Open out the leaves singly, and from each tear out the mid- 

 rib. The midribs are better adapted for rasping into snuff than for cut- 

 ting into shag for smoking ; and being scented by any essence, such as that 

 of thyme, anise, lemon, or more especially by that of the root .of .Tris floren- 

 tina, the orris root of the druggists, may be tied up in what are called car- 

 rots, or rolls, about 18 or 20 in. long, 2 or 3 in. in diameter in the middle, 

 and half an inch at each end. They are tied with packthread drawn as 

 tight as possible, and the threads quite close, so as to compress the tobacco 

 into one solid substance, and completely to exclude the air. When snuff is 

 wanted, unroll a part of the packthread at one end, and rasp the tobacco 

 into snuff with a file or grater. The carrot may then be laid in a dry place 

 till wanted for a fresh supply. The soft parts of the leaves may be treated 

 in the same manner, and a snuff produced which some prefer to the other. 

 Gardeners may dry leaves of any odoriferous plant, such as thyme, mint, 

 Aloysuz citrioddra, &c, and tie them up in the tobacco carrot as substitutes 

 for liquid scents ; and, if thought necessary, they may add a leaf or two of 

 Feratrum album to add pungency. For cottagers, there are agrimony, wild 

 thyme, and various other plants, which may be added. 



The soft part of the leaves, from which the midribs have been removed, 

 may be slightly sprinkled with water, without any admixture whatever, and 

 twisted into a rope, about the thickness of a common straw rope. The 

 rope may then be coiled up in a ball, as firmly and compactly as possible, 

 tied round in two or three places with packthread, wrapped in paper, and 

 placed in a dry place, excluded from the air, till wanted for use. When to 

 be used for smoking, cut off a few inches of the rope, open it out, and cut 

 it into shreds with a knife or chopper, so that it may resemble shag tobacco. 

 If it is to be made into snuff, open out the leaves, dry them over the fire 

 or in an oven, and pound them in a mortar, adding to the powder any 

 scented water, or volatile odoriferous oil, at pleasure. If more snuff is 

 made than is wanted for immediate use, put it in a glass bottle, and cork it 

 closely. The Scotch and Irish snuffs are, for the most part, made from the 

 midribs ; the Strasburgh, French, Spanish, and Russian snuffs from the soft 

 parts of the leaves. 



The process of forming cigars is very simple ; but, as it cannot be done 

 well without much practice, it would be of little use to offer a description. 

 Whoever wishes to make himself master of all that is known on the culture 

 of tobacco in different parts of the world, and all the different modes of its 

 manufacture, may consult Cours d' Agriculture Complet, Paris, 8vo, edit. 

 1823, art. Tabac; Carver's Treatise, London, 8vo, 1779; Tatham's Essay, 

 London, 8vo, 1800; The Experienced Bremen Cigar-Maker, or funda- 

 mental and practical Instructions for making Twenty-five Sorts of Cigars 

 according to the latest experience, Chemnitz, Kretschmar, 1824, 8vo ; 

 Schmidt's Tobacco Culture of the French and Dutch combined, with the 

 Mode of preparing the Plant for Use, Dresden, 8vo, 1824, Arndd. 



