Tobacco. 135 



•~~\Valter Raleigh was probably the first smoker in England. 



1 caU i re d the practice in Virginia, and introduced it up- 



]- of tw° centuries ago, and in commemoration of this 



h r nuestionable service to mankind, he took as the crest 



r 1 '- coat of arms, which is still to be seen in his house at 



M' (?ton, a tobacco plant. A well known but somewhat apoc- 



} al story relates that his servant, bringing in a tankard of 



1 to him in his study, and seeing, for the first time in his life, 



h mouth of his master emitting a cloud of smoke, in his 

 iety to quench what he no doubt thought to be a case of 

 ntaneous combustion, dashed the contents of the tankard 

 r gi r Walter's head, to the great detriment of his beard 



and ruff. 



Tobacco, as used by man, says Du Tour, gives pleasure to 

 the savage and the philosopher, to the inhabitant of the burn- 

 ing desert, and of the frozen zone. Its use, either in powder, 

 to chew, or to smoke, is universal ; and for no other reason 

 than a sort of convulsive motion (sneezing,) produced by the 

 first and a degree of intoxication by the last two modes of 

 usage. A hundred volumes, adds he, have been written against 

 it. Among these every one has heard of the " Counterblaste" 

 of King James. The Grand Duke of Moscow forbade its 

 introduction into his territories, under pain of the knout for 

 the first offence, and of death for the second. The emperor 

 of the Turks, the King of Persia, Pope Urban VIII, all issued 

 similar prohibitions, but the object of their wrath steadily in- 

 creased in popularity, till, at present, there is scarcely a gov- 

 ernment on the earth which does not derive a great portion 'of 

 its revenue from tobacco. It is cultivated in Europe as far 

 north as Sweden, and in Asia both the Chinese and Japanese 

 raise it in great quantities. 



The species mostly in use is JV. tabacum, a flower of which 

 is figured in our plate. Its appearance is so familiar to the 

 American reader as to make a description unnecessary. In 

 England its cultivation is prohibited in order to increase com- 

 merce with this country, and consequendy it is principally 

 raised for curiosity, as a border flower. 



In most of the Southern States tobacco is a staple produc- 

 tion, and vast quantities are yearly exported. To some north 



