A FAMOUS REPUTATION. 391 
inches in length by fourteen in width, is thick and substan- 
tial, has the appearance of a rich Kentucky tobacco, and 
when placed under press immediately after being cured 
becomes black without the aid of any artificial means. It is 
put up in rolls, or, as they are called, “carrots.” This tobacco 
is raised mostly in the parish of St. James, La., and derives 
its name from an old Spanish navigator who settled in St. 
James parish in the year 1820. His first attempt at raising 
tobacco, for his own use, succeeded so well and gave him 
such a fine result, (the plant developing itself to a great extent 
and being very rich,) that he concluded to devote all his time 
to the culture of tobacco, in order to make a living out of it. 
The seed first used by him was the Kentucky, but this was 
subsequently changed for the Virginia, which has been in 
use up to this time, being renewed every four or five years. 
The tobacco originally put up by Perique was twisted by 
hand and placed under press for three or four days, then 
taken out, untwisted, retwisted and replaced in the press for 
five or six days. After undergoing the same process three or 
four different times, it was finally left to remain under press 
for six months, and then taken out for use. Mr. Perique, how- 
ever, soon made a capital improvement in the mode of put- 
ting up his tobacco; for, as early as the year 1824, we find 
the tobacco in beautiful rolls of four pounds, and as hard as 
a “Sancisson de Boulogne.” 
This tobacco, which has retained the name of its producer, 
is still manufactured in the same manner as it was fifty-four 
years ago, the work still being done entirely by hand. The 
plant is cultivated as the Virginia tobacco by about a dozen 
small planters in that part of the Parish called “ Grande- 
Pointe,” seven miles from the Mississippi river. A small 
quantity is also raised on the banks of the river in the same 
parish by a few planters. The growers of Perique tobacco 
have tried Virginia, Kentucky, and Havana seed, but prefer 
the former—Havana producing too small a plant without a 
much better flavor. ‘ 
Tobacco is grown in other parishes of the State; it is 
