203 



ON LATTAKIA TOBACCO. 

 By W. T. Thiselton Dyer, M.A., F.B.S., &c. 



In 1876 I published a note in the ' Journal of the Linnean 

 Society' (Botany, vol. xv., pp. 246, 247), in which I pointed out 

 that Lattakia* tobacco is produced by Nicotiana Tabacum, and that 

 it had been smoked with pine-wood. The latter part of this 

 statement was based on the opinion of Dr. Post, the Professor of 

 Botany at the Syrian Protestant College at Beyrout, that el Ez'r, 

 the name of the tree yielding the wood which was used for fumi- 

 gation, resulted from a transposition of the letters of el Arz. Dr. 

 Post subsequently informed me that at the time he made this 

 suggestion he had not seen the name written. He pointed out to 

 me that "the apostrophe between the 'z' and the 'r' must 

 indicate, in accordance with the usual custom of Arabic translitera- 

 tion into English, a letter not transferable into our tongue, probably 

 the 'ain.' " It would then be " a quadriliteral and not a mere 

 transposition of the triliteral Arz." Dr. Post subsequently ascer- 

 tained that the word is a local one, and not classical, and, therefore, 

 that the conjecture from philological data as to what the tree 

 might be which produced the wood fell to the ground. 



Mr. Gr. J. Eldridge, Consul-General at Beyrout, subsequently 

 obtained specimens of the foliage of the tree which bears the name 

 of el Ez'r, and it was immediately identified by Dr. Post as 

 a Querent, probably Q. Cerris, L. Professor Oliver having, how- 

 ever, carefully compared the specimens with those in the Hew 

 Herbarium, informed me that he considered that they belonged 

 without doubt to a variety of Querent Robur, L. . 



At the time I communicated my note to the Linnean Society J. 

 was not aware of the existence of a paper in the ' Technologist 

 (vol. hi., pp. 161-165) by Mr. Charles Edward Cxiiys on the cultuie 

 of Lattakia tobacco. ' In this it is stated (p. 164) that the peculiar 

 mode of preparing this tobacco was the result of an accident. 

 The Nessaries, whose almost sole occupation was the cultivation ot 

 tobacco, on one occasion at the time of the harvest, were at war 

 with Latakia, and determined to keep the crop, when gat heied, in 

 a safe place until the return of peace. It being then the com- 

 mencement of winter, fires were lighted in the cabins, in ■*£«*■'» 

 usual, the tobacco was hanging. The wood ^ at .^^ e ^ fo ' f 

 fuel was a species of the Quercus lie,; known by the local name ,of 

 ' Ozer,' and, as chimneys were unknown, the cabins speedily became 

 filled with smoke, and the tobacco thoroughly impieg at »d 

 When the tobacco was offered for sale « the flavour and odour were 

 found to be far superior to that which it possessed before. .. . . a 

 demand arose for this kind of tobacco, and the name Abou . Biha 

 (father of perfume) was given to it in consequence Dt. W*t 

 tells me that he has been informed that the roots of the myrtteare 

 also used to fumigate the tobacco, and that this plant is vulgaily 

 called " Eihan," which signifies aromatic.^ ______ 



The name of 11^7^^*^*} . Bpelfcd locally with a double t. 



