OP ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 
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1.—NICOTIAN A TABACUM, Lin. 
Synonymes. —N. Havanensis, Log. ; N. Yirginiana, Ilort. 
Engravings. —Wood Med. Bot. t. 69 ; Stev. et Church. Med. 
Bot. 1, t. 37 ; Bot. Gard. No. 160 ; and our fig. 1, in Plate 45. 
THE VIRGINIAN TOBACCO. 
Specific Character. —Leaves sessile, oblong-lanceolate, acumi¬ 
nated ; lower ones decurrent; throat of the corolla inflately ventricose ; 
segments of the limb acuminated.—(G. Z)om.) 
Description, &c. —A very vigorous plant, growing from four to six feet high, with very large leaves and 
pink flowers, which appear rather small in proportion to the size of the plant. This species was the first 
discovered, and, according to Linnasus, it was brought by the Spaniards to Europe in 1500. About the same 
period it appears to have been cultivated by the first English settlers in Virginia, who had observed the use made 
of the leaves by the Indians (who imagined that smoking would cure several diseases), and wished to imitate 
their example. About 1607, tobacco was in such request in Virginia that it passed generally in lieu of money ; 
and a man who had a roll of tobacco in his pocket, could purchase a dinner or procure a bed, as well as one who 
had a purse of money. Tobacco was brought to England, in the reign of Elizabeth, by Sir Walter Raleigh. The 
story of Sir Walter at first keeping the use of the plant a secret, and of its being discovered by a servant, who 
when he saw smoke coming out of his master’s mouth thought he was on fire and threw water in his face, is well 
known, as is the work written by James I. against smoking. James, however, was not the only sovereign opposed 
to tobacco, as the Emperor of the Turks, the Grand Duke of Moscow, the King of Persia, and Pope Urban VIII. 
all issued similar prohibitions; and in 1689, an edict was issued in Transylvania, threatening those who should 
plant tobacco with the confiscation of their estates. At present, tobacco is cultivated to a great extent, chiefly in the 
West Indies and the Southern states of North America. When grown as an article of commerce, the plants are 
raised in beds, and then planted out in the fields three feet apart ; and when they send up a flower-stalk, its top 
is nipped off, to strengthen the leaves. When the leaves become brittle, they are cut with a knife close to the 
ground; they are then carried to the drying-shed, where they are hung up in pairs to dry. They are afterwards 
laid in heaps, and covered with blankets, to heat them, and on the nicety of this operation the goodnpss of the 
tobacco depends ; as if the leaves are overheated, they are spoiled,—and if not sufficiently, they are deficient in the 
intoxicating properties for which the tobacco is chiefly valued. When no more heat is perceivable in the heaps, 
the leaves are packed in casks for exportation. The manufacture of the tobacco into snuff, &c., generally takes 
place in England, though some cigars are made in Cuba and other places. The leaves are first carefully cleansed 
from any earth or other impurities that may have become attached to them, and all their decayed parts are picked 
out ; they are then moistened with salt and water, or a decoction of liquorice and salt, &c., and the midrib of 
each leaf is cut out. The most perfect leaves are then rolled up to form cigars, a reed or iron pin being kept in 
the centre of the cigar, and the leaves rolled round it by a kind of machine. Some of the remainder of the tobacco 
is then spun into cords, or twisted into rolls for chewing ; and another part is cut into shreds by an instrument 
like a straw-cutting machine, for smoking in pipes. Snuff is made by drying the leaves, and grinding them in a 
mill; and there are many different kinds, differing in their fineness and in the scents mixed with them. What 
is called shag tobacco, is made by drying the leaves on copper. The coarser leaves are used for making tobacco- 
water, or for fumigation, to destroy insects. 
There are many varieties of the Virginian tobacco, but the species is the kind usually grown in British 
gardens, where, though its leaves are sometimes gathered and dried for use, it is principally cultivated as a 
handsome border flower. It requires a light but rich soil. The seeds should be raised on a slight hotbed, or in 
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