I20 The Soverane Herbe 



An average hogshead contains tobacco intrinsically 

 worth ;£'35. The duty of 3s. a pound amounts to 

 ;£'i50, and the hogshead enters the factory with the 

 value of ^185. 



The case of wood is split off and the tobacco stands 

 revealed — a solid cylinder into which the leaf was com- 

 pressed on the plantation. With crowbar and wedge 

 the hard, dry mass is split into cakes which girls take 

 and gently separate into their component bunches or 

 ' hands ' of leaf 



The assortment of the leaves for manufacture into 

 the various kinds and brands of tobacco is an art 

 demanding the highest judgment and skill. Tobacco 

 is selected for colour, aroma, body, and drinking power 

 — the ability to absorb water without becoming unduly 

 moist. A fiery tobacco is chosen to mix with a 

 badly burning tobacco, and a light leaf to modulate a 

 dark tobacco. The lighter leaves are used for cut and 

 flake tobaccos, and the stronger for cake and twist. 

 No special growth of leaf is alone used for any 

 brand. Nearly every variety and brand of tobacco 

 is a compound of many different leaves. In reality 

 every tobacco is a mixture and formed by a union of 

 different growths of the sovereign herb. Your favourite 

 honey-dew or navy-cut is compounded of light leaves 

 of Kentucky, Virginia, and Missouri, with a leaf or two 

 of Dutch or Asiatic tobacco, as the ambrosial mixture 

 is of Virginia, China, and Latakia. No tobacco is 

 elementary ; indeed, even the apparently simple shag 

 is a blend of some six or seven different growths to 

 obtain the established flavour. Java, Dutch, Japanese, 

 Greek and other non-American tobaccos are chiefly 



