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GARDEN CULTURE OF TOBACCO. 
The subject of this article is somewhat out of date : it ought to have been intro- 
cbed in March ; but as it was then overlooked, we must now view it prospectively. 
)acco is of great importance to the gardener ; it is one of those agents upon which 
b can place confidence, which never deceives him if he applies it with judgment, and 
a he right time ; but it is very costly, and though to the man of property this is 
a affair of minor consequence, there are others who feel the outlay of 3s. 6 d. or 4s. 
a ound that occurs several times in the year. Not, however, to dwell upon contin- 
glcies, it is our intention to prove by undeniable facts and evidences, that the 
Jnomical gardener and amateur may furnish himself with a very excellent succe- 
d ieum, which, though its inherent qualities may not amount to more than two-thirds 
c; those possessed by the best American Tobacco, are still very efficient, and are 
f her recommended by the great facility and light expense with which it can be 
0 ained. By way of introduction, however, the following sketch is offered as con- 
t ling a concise historical view of Tobacco. 
The genus Nicotiana comprises about forty species, fourteen of which are 
c.tained in “Loudon’s Encyclopaedia of Plants,” p. 136. It belongs to the 
tlanece, order cxliii. (Nightshades) of Jussieu, its colleagues in the tribe being 
tanum, Atrojpa, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Capsicum, and Phy satis. These “Lurids” 
( iridce) of Linnseus, are all of a suspicious sombre character ; they tell of bane and 
j son, and truly the gardener acknowledges the destructive power of the herb, 
1 ich can in a few seconds lay prostrate myriads of those “ Vastators ,” which, if 
thy fail to realise Mr. Smee’s enthusiastic announcement, do most certainly prey 
nn, and utterly disfigure his best Roses, Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, &c., &c. 
The term Nicotiana was derived from that of Jean Nicot, the agent of the King 
( France at Portugal, who there procured the seeds of the Tobacco from a Dutchman, 
t o had obtained them from Florida. Nicot sent them to France in 1560. “ The 
f it plant was said to have been presented to Catherine de Medicis, whence the 
itne ‘ Herbe de la Peine’ The name Tobacco, which has superseded all others, is 
fit of a certain district of Mexico. Petum or Petume (whence, evidently, our 
ndem genus Petunia is nominally derived) is a Brazilian word.” 
There are two species of Nicotiana, which alone are worthy of the gardener’s 
■ ention, for the purposes of washing and fumigation. The first, and earliest known, 
i A - . Tabacum, introduced in 1570 ; the second, N. rustica, from which the Tobacco 
' Syria is prepared ; both are annuals, and are raised from seeds. N. Tabacum, 
3 real Virginian Tobacco, attains the height of 4 to 6 feet, if properly cultivated : 
leaves are very large and expansive — the lower decurrent down the stem, the 
per sessile, oblong, acuminate, and of a rich, yellowish green. When fully grown, 
an open situation, and under the influence of a powerful mid-day sun, they exhale 
VOL. XIV. NO. CLXV 
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